Sunday, August 26, 2007

Okay...there's a reason I haven't been blogging...

...and that reason is this:



I've been working on the beaded fringe for my stole. I have less than two weeks until Phantom of the Opera (at which I wish to wear said stole) and I am madly trying to finish this. I have not been able to vacuum my apartment for fear of sucking up the many beads that I have scattered on the floor (not intentionally), so I really hope I finish this soon.

I figure I should probably post a pic of my Campanula WIP:



I have finished turning the heel and am now making my way up the leg. I am hoping to have them finished by the end of the week.

This morning my boyfriend left me his bank card and told me to go spoil myself. I didn't really think too much about his reasons why, I just ran with it...

...straight to Yarn Forward:



I bought:
Sock yarn: (from top to bottom): Lana Grossa Meilenweit Colortweed #1009, Super Soxx Color #630.0067, Lana Grossa Meilenweit Tweed #135; a 3.5mm 80 cm circular needle for the Fall Turtleneck I'm designing; a mini sweater key chain; and the latest issue of Knitter's Magazine.

Then I bought a few more things (but these we can both enjoy):



The second seasons of The Muppet Show (I love Kermit!), and CSI: New York. The Tinker Toys are for me to attempt to make my own swift. ($17.99 vs. $65+) We will see how that goes.

Last but not least I received my latest order from The Loopy Ewe:



Happy Anniversary to Ewe from J Knits (sorry guys it was a limited edition yarn); a pattern specially made for the yarn; and Sheri added a row marker (you can kind of see it on the page).
I am really excited because my next order gives me Loopy Groupy status. I can't wait!

Well that's the update. Now it's back to beading.

TTFN and KEEP KNITTING!

Sunday, August 19, 2007

WOW...where to begin...

I guess I'll start with the fact that I ACTUALLY WON A CONTEST! Yep that's right! I won the first contest in the Campanula KAL. All I had to do was post about the along on my blog...but still I win free sock yarn! Yippee.

Next: My boyfriend and I went to the Museum of Civilisation on Friday, and I took Campanula with me.

Campanula saw:



Cowichan Sweaters in the First Nations exhibits.

Then we went and saw the Canada Hall on the 3rd floor. This exhibit is very cool. It's like you are walking through a town, peering in windows and entering shops and things. I peeked into one window and saw a big spinning wheel, a knitting basket, and freshly knit socks hanging on a washing line. I tried to take a picture, but they all turned out too dark (they only had candlelight in that house).

We went past a display of a kitchen and I had to take a picture of the knitting basket with a pattern for a child's party dress underneath it:



We wandered into what was a book shop, but also sold musical instruments, jewellery and these:


Steel knitting pins and crochet hooks.

Finally we headed outside where we got an amazing view of the back of Parliament Hill:



and I did some knitting on a bench that was there, over-looking the river:



All in all it was a fantastic way to spend a morning, but we need to go back since we didn't see half of what was there.

Finally, if you live in Ottawa or Toronto check out this website:

http://www.findingfortygatheringknitting.blogspot.com/

These ladies have taken it upon themselves to fund shipments of knitted items to Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Northern Labrador. If you are interested you can drop your knitted item(s) off at Yarn Forward in Ottawa, and Knitomatic and the Knit Cafe in Toronto.

That's my news for the day!
TTFN and KEEP KNITTING!

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Campanula KAL

I received my latest order from The Loopy Ewe:



The Claudia Handpainted in Baby Girl for the Campanula KAL:



The Cherry Tree Hill Supersock DK in Fall Foliage:



and a little something extra that Sheri added with my order:



A really cool stitch marker! Thanks Sheri!

I am now waiting for my next order to ship (I know...I know...I can't help it!) I ordered a skein of the Happy Anniversary to Ewe limited edition yarn by JKnits. I was shocked that I was actually able to buy a skein in the Sneak up! Can't wait for it to arrive!

Anyhoo, I guess I should go get to work...Campanula awaits!

TTFN and KEEP KNITTING!

Sunday, August 12, 2007

C'mon VOGUE!...

...let your body move to the music....

I finished the Lemon Drop Socks:

Here is my boyfriend happily modeling his new socks:



They were fun to make, but the colour hurt my eyes, especially when knitting in sunlight!

I went shopping today and bought some new glasses (no pic cause I can't pick them up until tomorrow), and I bought this magazine:



I LOVE some of the patterns. I can't wait to get started on some of them as soon as Knit from your Stash 2007 ends. Happy days ahead.

I did start new socks, and I'm trying something different:



Two socks at a time! It's going pretty well. I still haven't gotten the hang of turning so I don't tangle the yarn, but I'm working on it. These are Lace Mock Cable socks, using the pattern from the back of the leg on the Tiger Eyes. The wool is Fleece Artist 2/6 Merino, in the Rainforest colourway (no this isn't the original skein I purchased, it is still lurking around the postal service somewhere. This is the replacement skein that Sheri from The Loopy Ewe was so wonderful to send me!)

No Miss Marple tonight (it's Inspector Morse again. He's good, but he doesn't knit!)

TTFN and KEEP KNITTING!

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

I couldn't resist...

I went shopping yesterday and I bought a few things.

I was going to Michael's to buy beads to work on the fringe for the stole, but I first stopped off in Chapters. I bought these:



No Sheep for you, and the latest Thursday Next novel. I love these books.

Then I went to Michael's and bought the beads and thread:



I can't wait to finish the beading and see how it looks!

Then I stopped at Walmart and bought this:



A digital scale so I can divide up my balls of sock yarn. I'm so excited!

I've been busy feeding my addiction to Ravelry. I've posted most of my sock yarns, some of my projects, and joined a few groups. I warn you...Ravelry is VERY ADDICTIVE...if you don't believe me, check out this post by the Yarn Harlot. She knows the power of Ravelry.

Anyhoo that's it for today.
TTFN and KEEP KNITTING!

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Lemon Drop...

As I promised here is a pic of the finished Lemon Drop sock:



Aren't the colours yummy? I've cast on for the second one, but I got distracted by this:



A sock for my sock blocker key chain. This is a really fun way to use up left over sock yarn.

I finally managed to sign up for a sock club. It's only one month (September) but it seems really fun and it wasn't filled up yet. If you want to sign up it's being offered by Robyn's Nest, which is an online shop created by our very own Knit & Purl Mama. Check it out, she has some amazing Cascade yarns on sale until September 3.

No knitting with Miss Marple today, she seems to be on vacation, so I'll be knitting with Inspector Morse. I must admit while I have heard of Morse, I haven't actually read any of the books. We'll see how it is.

I've input a few things onto Ravelry. Taking all those pictures takes a long time. My screen name there is woolcrazy (go figure), so if you are on there, drop me a note!

Anyhoo, I'd better go work on the second Lemon Drop sock so I can start Campanula when my wool arrives.

TTFN and KEEP KNITTING!

Saturday, August 4, 2007

More socks, vacations, and a new KAL!

I've been busy. On Wednesday my Uncle came to visit for the first time in 15 years, and I got to see my Aunt and Cousin. They live up in the Northwest Territories, so they don't get to visit often. We spent some time touring the 1000 Islands with my other Uncle and Aunt on his boat. I had a great time, and so did my current sock in progress.
Here is the sock as we pull out of the harbour in Brockville:



The sock in New York State:


The sock in Ontario:


The pictures were taken only minutes apart. How cool is that?

The sock at Boldt Castle:




I would LOVE to own a house like that! We didn't get to land and look at it because we didn't have our passports and the castle is on American soil. There's even a Customs and Immigration booth by the dock!

The best part of the day? I got to drive the boat on the way back!


That was a blast!

The sock is being knit for my boyfriend, who chose the wool himself at Wool 'n Things. It's from Artyarns and it's 100% Luxury Merino. It's really soft and smooshy. The pattern is kind of a mismatch. I'm calling it my Lemon Drop socks because I have this craving for lemon candy when I'm knitting them. The toe is the same as the Tiger Eyes, and the heel is Wendy's.

When I woke up on Thursday, my hibiscus had bloomed:

The colours kind of match the sock:


Here's another shot of a flower, with the sock for size comparison:


Oh...more news...I received my Ravelry invite. I haven't had time to do much more than log in, but tomorrow I'm going to try and start to input some of my stash and projects.

Last, but definitely not least, I've joined another Knit-a-Long. This one is the Campanula Knit for a Cure KAL. It began on the first, but I'm waiting for the wool I ordered from The Loopy Ewe before I start.I bought some Claudia Handpainted in Baby Girl. The colour reminds me of a pink ribbon, so I thought it would be perfect for the KAL.
Anyhoo the sock awaits! More pics tomorrow!
TTFN and KEEP KNITTING!