New Phildar

So much love for these patterns...I might actually have to order myself this catalogue. Finally a few sweater pattern that are getting me excited again:












more love here.

entering her single digits...

My good friend's daughter is turning ONE tomorrow...I can't even believe it:



pattern: double-breasted knit coat from Easy Baby Knits 6-12 mos. size
yarn: Cascade 220 Quatro the heathers colour #9453, 2 skeins (ok, you know I just chose this yarn as my 80's homage to Heathers! hmmmm, I need to watch that again --it's been a while)
needles: 5mm



Ah, the joys of knitting for someone so little --you can bust out an actual garment in no time flat with a real sense of accomplishment (she says as her wallis sweater languishes in a corner somewhere...). Sidebar: I've discovered that it is seriously counterproductive to try on a sweater when it is close to completion. My Wallis sweater literally only has the sides still to be seamed up. So what did I do this weekend? I . tried. it. on. Bad idea. The thing is freakin' enormous and now my desire to finish it after all these months was immediately quashed. yargh.

But this little beauty turned out great. As usual, the buttons were my biggest dilemma, and the thing sat finished awaiting those for several weeks.



I'm really of the button school of thought that buttons should pretty much disappear...hence the difficulty in finding a compatible purple. It really makes me crazy when I am on the hunt for a black cardigan and can only find ones with white buttons. What's up with that? But personal pet peeves aside, I'm happy with how it turned out in the end. Seaming was a bit of an issue, as the raglan shoulder seams are supposed to be seen on it as a bit of a "design element"--and that's easier said than done. I'm starting to think I could really benefit from some sort of seaming course. The problem with those is that they always want you to bring a finished piece that still needs to be seamed. When do those two realities ever synch up?

My other fear is that this jacket will also be too small. I knit the 6-12 month size as the next one up was seeming really big as I was knitting the back. AND I got the yarn out of a sale bin somewhere so knew I'd run out on the next size up. I knit the length and the arms a bit longer, but that's about all the mods there were. Guess I'll know this weekend if it fits...if it doesn't I will likely take it home and simply block the shit out of it.

Also getting the jump on some smaller "office" holiday presents:



These were fun and FAST.



I used mostly DK weight yarns...I'm fearful that some of my co-workers with bigger hands may not be able to get them on. I'm a terrible judge of this myself due to my own freakish child-sized hands. Did I mention in the end that we had to get my engagement ring sized to a THREE?! I'm still reeling from that one. But anyway...knit in the round so there would be no seam, and for the most part I cast on around 60 stitches, depending on what knit pattern I was going with. I just got the bangles from one of those cheap-o Ardene/Claire's type stores and then mattress-stitched them on length-wise. Easy peasy. Definitely plan to crank out more of those.

And for the men in the office? Something similarly small? A tie pin perhaps? Ok, maybe not.

Is anyone else having this issue where blogger is automatically cropping all your photos (regardless of what size you load them up at)? It's driving me crazy.

Gretel II electric boogaloo

how many electric boogaloo (breakin') references can any one person make? Allow me to make that my life's mission.



pattern: Gretel beret by Ysolda Teague
yarn: Patons Merino Classic in Royal Purple
needles: 3.25mm

I've been meaning to re-make this particular hat for ages --it really is a great pattern. My first attempt was ok, but the Cash Iroha I used just seemed to keep growing and growing with every wear. I have a relatively small head so in no time flat I felt like I was wearing a giant mushroom cap.

And inspired by Miss Muffy's attempt at a smaller version, decided it was time to de-stash some trusty (and less drapey) Patons and have at 'er myself!

Results? Success!



The irony here is that the new and improved purple version on smaller needs is actually the BIGGER (slouchy) size of said pattern...the green was the mid-size.


(the darker purple pics are more accurate for colour...)

I am far happier with this new version, and even though it will likely continue to grow a wee bit as well, I think there's a reason that Patons always seems to be my go-to yarn (cost-effectiveness aside). It really is old faithful --and the last Slouch that I also made in Patons, is probably one of the hats I get thee most wear out of.



At some point along the way I managed to inadvertantly drop a couple of stitches that I managed to salvage, though it wasn't until several rows on that I realized/fixed, and then attempted to self-correct rather than rip back. As a result I think I merged a couple of cables and overall had less stitches I was knitting with. The cables are busy enough that I can no longer find the flaw and I think it actually helped me get a smaller/better fitting hat out of the deal. Go figure --for once my laziness worked to my advantage...though if I was asked to re-create I likely couldn't figure out those particular "mods" for anyone.

I'm sure everyone by now is starting to whip into a Xmas knitting frenzy, and I for one am no exception. Though I am trying to go SMALL or go home this year rather than the other way around, and I have a bunch of stuff coming off the needles very soon so hopefully won't be quite as remiss in posting as I have been of late. It helps that the new house is finally starting to shape up a bit as well and won't be sucking up quite as much of my time anymore. Also I have officially run out of money to do anything else to it (or buy anything for it) anyway. Pictures HERE if any of you would like to see how it's shaping up...

Hope everyone had a great Halloween-- I'm still crashing from all the sugar and alcohol I've managed to consume in the last 48 hours or so --apparently blondes really DO have more fun!


Coffee, Tea or me?

all too brief respite

Oof --my life has been crazy busy lately. Even when there's down-time it seems like one errand or project just piles on top of the next. We did manage to get away this past (Canadian) Thanksgiving weekend though for some much needed fall-colours-sunshine--and the weather has been absolutely glorious here.

If there's one place I wish I could retire to (you know apart from the South of France or some place more exotic...), it's Prince Edward County. We had an amazing day of thrift shopping, wineries, apple orchards and cider houses. And the beach! Honestly, I wish I could just pitch a tent and live directly on the beaches of Sandbanks. (My love of all things geriatric seems to be making me wistful for this lifestyle...) and while we were there it afforded me a pretty backdrop for a little F.O shoot for this post:



The Purl Bee's Lace Rib Cowl



As you can probably tell from that last picture, it's about three times the size it should be (it's doubled up in the first pic). I wish I could say this was a gauge issue, but it's really more of a wacky yarn issue. I used two skeins of a mystery silk & cashmere blend from School Products. It is the last of all the yarn I bought on my last trip to New York less than a year ago. The guy in the store referred to it as "pashmina". Like most of the yarn in that store, it's a bit vague but I am proud of myself nonetheless for having used it all up. It will be my justification for planning another trip there!

After knitting it all up, the cowl looked like this (un-blocked):



A nice, normal cowl.

But then one wear and it just kept groooowing and growing and narrowing and narrowing.....



It's a weirdo, but no matter, I likes 'em big.



Also nearing completion right now is my Wallis sweater:



Which as predicted, I totally ran out of yarn on. I've since bought more and am hoping to really get going on it again this weekend. I didn't however manage to get the same dye lot, so I'm a bit fearful that it will be totally obvious. The back and the front are done, so hopefully where the new yarn begins will be less of a big deal.

I am also about to complete my "mystery knitting". I am totally clenching right now praying that I won't run out of yarn, as it's a total stash busting project and there is no more.



I guess it's really not that much of a mystery --it's for my BFF's daughter who is turning one in November, but i'll save the deets on that until it's totally done anyway.

But that's about it for progress pics. I'm casting on for a couple new smaller items, and something for the BF (Fiancé?). I guess now that I've got the ring I'm obliged to knit him something. He keeps requesting socks, but well, y'all know how I feel about socks. Worst girlfriend ever.

a thrifty dilemma

Every summer, vitually every neighbourhood in my city has a community wide garage sale. Some of them are enormous, and thousands of people attend, and some are just kind of starting to get off the ground. A couple weeks ago I attended the New Ed garage sale...it's one I've been attending on and off for about a decade now, so as community garage sales go I'd kind of put it into a the "mid" range size-wise. There were definitely a few good scores to be had (pictures for flickr eventually...) but I also had a couple of knitting-related scores, so I thought I'd mention them here.

Naturally there was the "little old lady" church-type sales (who always seem to sell lots of knitwear) and while nothing ever really appeals to me per se, I always manage to make off with a pile of dishcloths. Mostly I think I just feel obliged as that could essentially be my mother selling up there, and being a knitter I have an appreciation for the work itself etc. etc.

But here is my dilemma...

for two bucks, a definite must buy. Someone else obviously put a lot of work into this:



I assume this is crochet, right? (okay, I know a lot of you right now are like "duhhhh" but I don't know how to crochet so it's a fair question).

For two bucks I thought "those handles alone are worth two bucks and IMPOSSIBLE to find around these parts".

But then....when I brought it home and went to tear it apart, I faltered. Would *you* tear it apart? I mean as a knitter I am endlessly tearing apart my own work, so why do I feel bad about destroying someone elses? I'll never use it otherwise. Odds are good that I might even knit something in that very same colourway (ok maybe not but still). It wasn't a GIFT made specifically for me or anything. And further still "ugh, is the person who knit this dead now?"

OK, maybe I should stop even asking these kinds of questions...I'm coming across as a real weirdo.

In OTHER news (massive subject change), the always generous Wendy of Musings from a knucklehead nominated me for an award and totally made my day!

Here are the instructions:
1. Please put the award on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you
3. You must nominate at least 4 fellow bloggers for this award.
4. Add links to the recipients.
5. Leave a comment so the recipients know they have received an award.

So to spread the love, I've decided to expand my blogosphere horizons here a little bit and link to 4 NON knitting blogs. Is that crazy? Should I only be spreading knitterly love around here? There are just so many amazing blogs that I regularly check out and I *am* a bit of a design and fashion junkie, so maybe I will share some of those...

Oh Joy SO many style and design inspirations here. She has an amazing eye and I never grow tired of her posts. Her eye for colour is unmatched --and I believe she's a textile designer in her own right.

Desire to Inspire. A Canadian and an Australian come together to share their interior design inspirations. I frequent this blog a lot and only just recently realized that the Canadian half of this duo actually lives here in Ottawa. I think I can now pinpoint my main rival for thrifted mid-century pieces round these parts! I am totally absorbed in her Kitchen reno updates, and find we share a similar design aesthetic...particularly when it comes to "curbside re-appropriation" if you know what I mean. (Dirty picking as we call it in my family...) Sidebar here--I managed to score a vintage Knoll tulip chair out of someone's garbage last week and plan to spend my weekend rustoleum-ing the eff out of it!

Victoire Okay, thought I would give another local shout-out here. Victoire is a great local boutique with a passion for Canadian designers, always ahead-of-the-rest and on-point style savvy with two very down-to-earth co-owners Katie & Regine who have long been a part of our local ladyfest scene. Even if you're not shopping there (my monthly massage happens kitty corner to them downtown so I find it hard to NOT go in...), their blog is still a source of fashion inspiration regardless of whether you can get in there and physically drool over everything first hand or not.

Design is mine Another fun design-related blog, though this one is a lot less stuffy than most and not quite so Eames-era funiture-centric like a lot of other design blogs I subscribe to. In short...it is super fun. She takes the time to compile lots of etsy finds as well, so there is a real indie/d.i.y slant to what she likes to profile. Visiting her site is the internet version of strolling through the Bust craftsale.

So there you have it. I'm tempted to do a knitting only version, but I think for a lot of you who already do come here that might not give you any new reading. Next time though! I would actually love to hear about everyone's blog obsessions, kniting-related or otherwise.

baby blue is for blondes

I suddenly find myself in the enviable position of having a lot of blog content....do I meter it out in drips and drabs...do I cram it all here and make you want to skim rather than even read...gah, I know you come here for the pictures anyway (evidenced if nothing else by the couple of people who told me they liked that last cowl I knit)--not my pics, not my cowl, tho I am knitting it!

God knows I spend a lot of time skimming blogs myself rather than actually reading them. Does anyone else using a reader find that it makes them really REALLY lazy when it comes to catching up on blogs? The impatient girlie that lives inside of me is always like "come on, you get the gist of what's being said here, let's move onnnnnnnnnnnn (stomps feet), you have 30 more updates to read today".

So here you go:



The Star Crossed Slouchy beret, as modelled by my gorgeous friend Rebecca. I secretly hate her and her natural blonde hair, ice blue eyes, and perfect skin that never needs a lick of make-up. Fortunately for me she's as sweet as pie, so therefore impossible to really hate.



pattern: as mentionned above, is a free ravelry download for those of you on there
yarn: less that 1 skein of Emerald Blue Malabrigo
needles: US size 10

A SUPER fast, super slouchy knit. I cast on less stitches for my pea-sized head, but I dunno, it wasn't really working for me...I think it's all those varigated blues:





Rebecca's head is even more pea-sized than my own, so it's slouchier still on her--but it just suits her so much better and I'm happy to gift it to her. I have another blonde GF in my life *and* another skein of this so I will likely bust out another the same for her as well. The yarn is gorgeous, and as knits go it was jiffy-quick.


***matching shirt totally not planned!***

I've cast on for a number of new projects lately, but I'll save those for another post--some "secret" knitting in there too. Someone a while back was asking me about some Barbie knits too (apologies for my lack of memory!) and in the throes of all my recent unpacking I was afforded the chance to take some fresh pictures of these for you:


(the background is our new house which is very slowwwly starting to come together...)



N.B: my mother knit all of these outfits for some of the vintage dolls in my collection. I know I've said this before but I promise I'm not some crazy Barbie collecting lady (not that there's anything wrong with that...) but these are all Barbies from either mine or my sisters' collections growing up.

I'm a pretty serious feminist, but I still have a major affection for Barbie (I know some folks might find that strange), but my love for kitsch pretty much outweighs my love for most things in life. Especially the older dolls, before her face went all weird in the nineties (heh). I'm well aware that a couple of the American girl barbies I have when NIB are worth something ridiculous like 2 grand each, but these are dolls that I played with, not mint, and definitely not for sale. There, that is my one disclaimer here. Also I'm hard up for doll shoes so I am also aware that those red shoes are not a pair and definitely do not match. Make that my second disclaimer. Barbie can be lazy when it comes to fashion too, but I prefer to think that what she's really doing is taking it to the maxxxxx.





All three pictured above are from this book. The next two are from old patterns from my mom's own collection (they are all hand-written so I couldn't tell you where she originally got them...)





So there you have it--baby blue hats for blondes segued nicer than one would think into a post about Barbies...

low on content...

Last night I FINALLY picked up the needles again and cast on for --you guessed it: another cowl. Though in my defence, it's one I haven't knit before...

Though still from the purl bee


(image courtesy of knotty bits)

It's their lace rib cashmere cowl. I've been anxious to finally get some more "at work" knitting on the go, and cowls always seem to be an easy choice for me. Sorry, no pictures of my own to show today...my life is still pretty dishevelled, and given that I consider myself organized to an almost anal degree, this is a point that is about to send me off the deep end.

The fact that I was even able to cast on for something new last night is due ONLY to the sad reality that I've thrown my neck out (this is a recurring YOGA injury --yes, I said yoga injury...) and couldn't really leave the sofa. Having just been to my RMT a few days ago, the fact that I've thrown it out is all the more annoying (But then I am a lazy "icer", in much the same way that I find flossing a chore) so i guess it's no wonder. Believe me, as I sat there last night surveying the living room and all the shelves that need to be put up/boxes still to be unpacked/painting to get done --can I just say, thank-science there was knitting to distract me from the guilt welling within.

It also gave me pause to consider what else I'd like to cast on for in the next while. I"ve been pretty monogmaously knitting the Wallis sweater, and only Wallis, which is unusual for me. Usually I like to have three or four projects on the go. And now that fall has hit, I think a new beret is definitely in order.

I was tempted to do another Gretel beret, but truthfully don't get that much wear out of the last one I knit. But maybe that's just down to my previous colour choice. So, I haven't ruled it out, but am wondering if perhaps the "Star Crossed Slouchy beret" (free pdf download or those of you on ravelry...) would be a good substitute.


(photo from ravelry user tiffanythomas)

It's actually quite similar to Gretel, what with the cables and all. I think I'd be tempted to go a bit less slouchy on it though (pea-sized head alert...). And in addition to gearing up for two new baby arrivals in the family, as well as the BFF's daughter's birthday on the horizon, some secret gift knitting is soon to be in the works.

It seems like after languishing for so long with no real knitting purpose, I suddenly feel like a bunch of "must-dos" are being thrown my way. As always, it never rains but it pours.

I just discovered the new "following" gadget that blogger is doing (I am probably the last one up on this as always...) pretty neat, and I promise I'll get to y'all soon...

So, anyone have the new Twinkle book yet? good? bad? I just ordered mine from amazon yesterday, sight unseen. I've been trying not to buy any knitting books for myself lately, so I'm hopng it's worthwhile.