05.26.09
The dangerous yarn swift!
My yarn swift has finally arrived! I bought it with the last of my birthday money on etsy. It took forever to get here, thanks to Canada Customs. They opened the box and charged me $8, which officially makes the shipping more expensive than the swift itself. Oh well, at least the swift wasn’t damaged when they opened it. I dunno, what is it about this box that looks dangerous or suspect?
The label was very clear about what was in it, and was labeled as commercial goods, so I’m a bit stumped. Look out for the dangerous yarn swift!!
The swift itself is fantastic. I used it to wind some sock yarn as soon as I put it together.
The yarn is Cosmic Fibers Andromeda in the colourway ‘Lila’ from the Dexter series. I wound it using a nostepinne – I don’t have a crank ballwinder. Like my last pair, I think I’m going to knit this up using sock math. And my new Signature DPNs.
In other news, I’ve decided that I don’t like knitting lace. Shocking! I’ve been working on a lace shawl the last couple weeks and I am nearly bored to tears. The repeats require so much concentration that I get tired of it really quickly, and end up avoiding the WIP entirely. I like knitting with simple patterns that I can memorize or plain knit and purl so I can knit without really thinking about it. Knitting it kind of meditative for me – it shouldn’t be stressful. So, I frogged the shawl. Instead, I think I’m going to make another Clapotis with the yarn. I made one for my Godmother a while ago and the pattern is nice and simple once you’re used to it. The yarn is fingering weight, so I think the Clapotis will have a really nice drape. We’ll see. As for my sock yarn blanket, I finally knit a few more squares. I think it’s too early for more pictures though. Maybe in a couple weeks.
Oh, and I had the chance to use my new video camera this past weekend. I went to a local cultural festival and took lots of video of traditional dancing and music from a bunch of different countries. It needs some editing, but the video is coming!
05.18.09
Happy Victoria Day!
I didn’t see any fireworks this year, but I do have an old video I made of the Victoria Day fireworks in 2007. Enjoy! The video has a password, so answer this question: what is my favorite obsession/hobby?
I love my ‘killer’ socks!
My Dexter socks are done! Actually, I finished them a week ago, but I finally have photos now…
I love them. They are my first pair of hand-knit socks that fit perfectly – snug, with no sagging. I think I may knit all my socks with just ’sock math’ from now on – no more patterns! My next pair are going to be knit with US1 Signature DPNs. My brand new set has been staring at me for a few weeks now, but I was determined to finish my Dexter socks first. Can’t wait to get started!
I’ve only managed to knit one (!) square on my sock blanket since the last time I mentioned it. I really wish I had more time to knit at home, but this past week at least, I’ve been really busy. Birthdays tend to do that. My birthday was this week, and I usually make it a very small day – no parties, maybe dinner with family, that’s it. This year my mom decided to give me a dinner at Jack Astors on the actual day, and a party this past Saturday! My mom rocks. Geez, I may actually start looking forward to my birthday now…
I ended up buying a video camera with my birthday money, and I absolutely love it. It’s the Kodak Zi6, and it records in HD.
I’ve always loved making videos, usually ones with lots of editing, music etc. I used to have an account on LiveVideo, before it blew up and got rather crass and raunchy. I’m now thinking about opening an account on Vimeo for my new videos. I’m really excited about this – I miss making my videos…
Totally and completely off topic – I saw Star Trek yesterday. With my mom! This is actually quite amazing – she doesn’t like action movies, sci fi, or Star Trek. And yet, she loved this movie, and so did I. The story was really well written and all the actors were fantastic. Trust me, if my mom liked this movie, everyone will. Go see it!
05.09.09
Time to simplify.
Well, I did it – I took the plunge and seriously edited my online existence. Social networks and all of those extra Web 2.0 sites were starting to feel like work, and they really aren’t supposed to be that way. So my Facebook profile is gone, I deleted my delicious account and I massively edited my Twitter follows. I feel lighter already! Have no fear though, this blog is staying, and maybe now I’ll actually have time to write in it! I’m also keeping Ravelry, since it is so much more than just social networking. I think my knitting progress would become rather stunted if I cut myself off from a resource like that.
So, now that I have more time on my hands, I can finally tell you what has been going on in my life as of late. I went to Knitter’s Frolic, my first trip to any kind of knitting/fibre type event. I had a lot of fun, and I actually stayed within budget! I met up with Robyn, who runs the online store Robyn’s Nest. I think I’ve mentioned her before – I’ve bought a few of her amazing mini skein kits for my sock blanket. She was really nice, and her little son was absolutely adorable! I’m glad she convinced me to go.
At Frolic, I picked up some yummy orange sock yarn, a cute project bag in a vintage Pepsi ad fabric and some blocking pins and wires. I’m actually really excited about the blocking kit. I’m in the early stages of my first real lace shawl and I haven’t been able to find the right supplies at my usual LYS. Now I think I’m going to hunt down some of those foam floor puzzle pieces – I’ve heard that they make a fantastic blocking board.
I haven’t had a lot of time to knit lately, but I’m making some progress. My Dexter socks are thisclose to being finished and you have no idea how excited I am to finish these so fast. Hey, a month and a half is fast for me, especially since it usually takes me close to a year to finish a pair! Hopefully I can post some finished pictures in the next couple days. My sock blanket, on the other hand, has been feeling abandoned the last few weeks. I have a tonne of mini skeins to knit up, but the project isn’t portable anymore, which has really cut down on my progress. Once my Dexter socks are done, I’m going to work on the blanket with a vengeance!
Hey, my birthday is coming up soon… I forgot all about it…
04.13.09
And… I’m back.
I went AWOL from the blog world for several weeks – sorry! I’ve been going through a period of self reflection and I haven’t felt inclined to blog – knitting is much more relaxing! For months now, I’ve had some very specific goals in my head (buying a home in the next year or so, for example), and I became disheartened by my lack of progress. Paying down debt quickly by not saving made me feel stagnant, although readjusting my budget has certainly improved my morale. I’ve also been feeling a need for change in my life, although I’m not really sure in what way. (Get an apartment? a dog?) My mother suggested I take some time to get away, an idea that intrigued me. So, I booked a cruise to Alaska. And I’m going alone.
I’m really excited about it, even though it is still quite a few months away. This is a really big deal for me; I’ve never done something this big by myself before. I see it as an opportunity to mentally recharge, and reflect on my life and where I want it to go. I also can’t wait to see the glaciers and whales, of course.
As for my knitting… lots lots lots of FOs and WIPs to talk about!
First up, I knit another pair of Bella Mittens – for me!
I love love love them! So soft and warm. I only wish I had more time to wear them, since it has been warming up lately.
I knit my dad another hat.
This was to replace his Christmas hat when it disappeared, and then showed up again a couple sizes too big. I’m really happy with the fit of this one and he seems to really like it.
I finally finished my Jaywalker socks.
These things were on the needles for a year. An interesting pattern, although I’m not really happy with how they turned out. They are a bit big and my tension changed while knitting the second one, so one is slightly bigger than the other. I knit them on wooden Brittany needles, which I really did not enjoy, to say the least. I greatly prefer Bryspun or metal needles. So, I’m afraid these will be relegated to bedroom socks only.
The final two are WIPs and I’m really excited about them. I’m knitting another pair of socks, although this time I’m using Bryspun needles, some gorgeous hand-dyed yarn and actual foot measurements instead of a pattern.
The yarn is named Dexter, and was dyed by the lovely Dharmafey. This is my first try at making socks of my own design and specific measurements and I’m very happy with them. I knit up the first in just over a week, so I think I’ll be finished very soon. The first one fits perfectly!
The final WIP – my sock yarn blanket.
This is so much fun to work on. I cast on in February and haven’t been able to put it down since. Each individual mitered square is 41 stitches, and by the time I’m bored with a colour, the square is done! The yarn is fingering weight (sock yarn), which I’ve been getting from various Ravelry swaps and an amazing Canadian online store called Robyn’s Nest. She stocks the best mini skein kits that are specifically geared toward this pattern/project. In the end, it will fit a double sized bed. This will probably take more than a few months to complete, but I’m okay with that. Knitting this makes me happy, even if weaving in the ends can be a pain in the butt.
Next up – I’m going to tackle lace!
