Waking Up

 We had the most beautiful spring day on Wednesday, but I slept through it. After the New Year Celebration with Baha'i friends on Sunday, I was looking forward to the green. But I missed the best day this week.

 The crocuses and violets are showing up all over the lawn where the ducks have eaten away the grass and the walnut tree has dropped branches. But not in the garden bed. Let it be.

 Everything is starting to green up and the ducks are dancing and bobbing in pairs. Today I walked the dog in a frigid rain, but when I came out of donating blood, it was too warm for my new Cassidy sweater.

 One of my Lenten challenges is working on donation blankets each day. When I took this picture, I realized it was a bit wonky. Though there are no hard and fast rules to log cabin knitting, there are reasonable guidelines. I'm working harder to marry the different stash cotton yarns. I already cast on another blanket to knit on my break at work, but there was no knitting because I was on the cardiac telemetry team. No one else seemed alarmed by this. I used to be hot damn at reading strips but I haven't ever lead a code. Don't tell the other tele nurses, they may laugh at me. It was, as usual, a great team and I thank my partner for taking my eager flakiness in stride.

 Where do I store my blankie you ask? In my new Piddlee bag. Woohoo. I love the careful finishing.

 And I love Mr. Sheep. Look, he loves me too.
I'm back in the swing and catching up on innumerable duties. The first order this week is to get other volunteers to share the load. It may be work up front, but I volunteer to be in community and get all cranky nursey (especially on a clock turn around day) when all the emails say they would love to help me with my thing. Hey, it's our thing. Don't expect me to lead everything. Who would knit?

Travelling Woman Shawl enjoying the sun in the living room.

Feeling Onceful

Spring has sprung, but I am struggling with getting anything accomplished.

 I am having little success in taking my own pictures. Road to Skye asked for some. Not only is today not a good day for photos, I'm may not even put makeup on. These are from a few weeks ago in the lovely lighting of our main bathroom.

 The cowl is Maximus. I bought the wrong yarn for the Encompass shawl and ended up with bulky instead of chunky. I rarely knit on that end of the scale. It was quick and easy and added to the gift drawer.

Today I hope to finish a few things: the Travelling Woman Shawl and the Log Cabin Blanket. I won't give you betting odds. I did buy the gorgeous new blanket from Mason Dixon and added my sheckles to over $2,250.00 in aid for Japan. I had already had my eye on the Kaffe Fasset Cross quilt and felt the allignment of the ideas.
I also cast on a second baby blanket for my Lenten knittin, the spiral pi this time in blue. I wanted something simple for my night shifts this week. It is left over from the blanket I didn't get to give to my Grandmother before she died. That one went to charity as well. These blankets will double as my gift on behalf of the Frecklebump.
Then I will still need to swatch for my next nephew sweater and roll up all the deliciousness that was stash enhancement this spring break.
Whew! I was lucky enough to find a break in the rain to walk the dog. My real motivation was to get enough knitting time to watch the Knit Girllls podcast. I am a fan and joined the block swap as well.
So maybe I am getting a bit of direction in my knitting. Now to set that on my volunteer work.

Recap and March Cap

 I had to really make an effort to drop the other knitting to work on the March Help Mexico hat in the yellow. One hat a month in a progression of rainbow colours. We had a party last night for St.Patrick's and this is my day after. One knitting friend stayed over and we went through my knitting books over coffee while I started this. It's Em's stash, but the only yellow I could work with. Again the Lifestyle top down hat. The other knitting is a log cabin for a hospital in South Africa and the last repeat of the Travelling Woman Shawl. Then on to swatching for ..... hmmm.

And I showed her the stash I got at the Fibres West in Abbotsford on Friday. The top is Fleece Artist Suri Blue then the multicoloured entwined by electrictree (my wonderful and talented niece) and the raspberry silk cloud by shibui from Valley Yarn. Julie remembered me, so sweet. They say you buy yarn that matches what you're wearing. I didn't take any photos (duh) but my finished and fitting Cassidy goes well with these.
This is a pretty small event by some standards, but it is packed with friendly vendors who bring in delights rarely seen in my neck of the woods. Electrictree yarns are all hand dyed. There was spinning stuff, too. It was enough to overwhelm me and make a serious dent in my BFF's wallet despite the SABLE talk of the day before (Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy).
We also stalked Felicia at Sweet Georgia.I bought some sock yarn in the beautiful Stillwater colourway and some grey for Emily. I felt a bit stash-bloated because we went to Urban Yarns on Sunday after Emily's UBC audition and picked up some Casbah for me and some Sweet Georgia merino silk lace for Em. I just couldn't decide, so Emily did for me. And a good choice.
Spring Break continued with local Shakespeare (the Tempest in steampunk!), Red Riding Hood at the new big theatre and the party. I even worked one day.
Last night we had old friends from the now defunct pipe band and it was warm and friendly. A huge stew, biscuits and soda bread, finished with pecan pie, a bought little cheesecake and Linda's peach cobbler. Yum. Today I am slow and tired. I walked the dog on this official first day of spring.
And I'm scattered as I update this post with captured ideas. I love the new squares from Mason Dixon and got caught in a vortex of old January One posts. Wow. I can hardly remember when I started reading her blog and being led by her colourful wonderfulness. I love the writing and how engaging it is. I'm so full of ideas and opinions, but tend not to get too deep on this blog. Maybe I should try to reveal myself a bit more. I'm in a thoughtful mood. I'm not being very productive. But I knit the hat.

Back On Line

After two weeks of barely reading knitting blogs or keeping up on Ravelry, I am relieved to have my PC back. I'm still planning on buying a Macbook soon, but I have all my data in this box.

There was some real knitting visiting to counteract the lack of virtual.

There was a trip to Bellingham to visit my dear friend and pick up some books I had ordered. This is the new anniversary edition of the Knitter's Almanac next to my well-worn copy. If it weren't for this book and Knitting Without Tears, I would have given up knitting. Despite the army of sisters and grandmothers who encouraged me, cast on my stitches and fixed my errors, I was on the road to knitting ugly, poorly fitting garments. Thank you Elizabeth Zimmerman. You also saved my sanity while I was home with two kids.

We drove to Mount Vernon where we picked up some sale Zauberball at Hellen's Needlework.

And some Shibui at Wild Fibers. I was looking for Malabrigo, but you won't feel bad for me and my runner up choice.

I am knitting on the Travelling Woman Shawl in the When Irish Eyes are smiling, but it is being neglected for some project knitting: blankets for a hospital in South Africa. I was invited to join through the charity knitting thread on Ravelry and really took to the idea. This is Lent in our Christian Calendar and it is good to do some intentional helping. Lots of people take something bad away for Lent, but I always try to add something good.

I am doing my best to channel spring. There was snow on the ground when my last photo post was so rudely interrupted by an unscheduled shut down.

So here is my welcome to spring. If the forsythia blooms it will complement the impatiens. Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day and I wish you blessings beyond the luck of the Irish. I grew up with Irish myths and legends (some of them about my family) and I still count myself among the diaspora.

I am celebrating by hosting book club and then a party with our old friends from the Pipe Band. There will be music and libations. I wish the same to you.

Despite Discouragement

How cranky am I without my computer? Our IT guy is complaining that he's never had to fix a Windows 7 before. Boo hoo. Meanwhile I am getting on with most other things.
The Cassidy sweater is almost finished. The finishing is such a big job. A bit like giving birth. Hopefully I'll forget most of it and launch into the conception of another sweater. I chose to use the shawl collar from the twist pattern instead of the hood. I have to thank Gigi of the Knitmore Girls podcast for the great tip on tulip button holes. I have the same Summer Interweave magazine and was probably sent the same link to Eunny Jang's video tutorial, but wouldn't have followed through without her recommendation. Great button holes! I hope to finish it for Friday's trip to Fibres West in Abbotsford.
I am also screaming along on my happy Travelling Woman shawl in the Irish Eyes Are smiling Rockin Sock Club color way from Blue Moon Fibres. I would like to get this done for Easter (not St. Patrick's Day which isnalready Thursday).
I have book club on Thursday, here, and also have the deadline of the book, Body and Soul by Frank Conroy. I am really getting into it. No discussion before the group. But I know why I couldn't get my hands on a copy.
I must not forget that it's already March and I must get on with Emily's grad blanket.
Oh, and I added a Lenten challenge to kit for a hospital in South Africa. Does this sound like too much? It feels like it.
The music festival was a big success. Emily did well in all her trumpet and voice classes and Lee and I did our best run yet with the cats piece.
Tomorrow I take Em to UBC (where I studied First year Theatre and D did his pre-vet) for her audition to the music school. Next month is UVic which includes a ferry ride and staying on campus near Scotty's dorm. He'll love that.
I didn't work this week and was pretty wound up with the competition. Time seems to have morphed. It is still chilly and rainy.
I think that's all the typing I can take on this odd little iPad. Hope your frustrations are uncomplicated.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Longing

I am longing to have my computer back so I can share with you my knitting, the Music Festival and the nicer weather for camp clean up. This weekend was double booked all around. My sweater parts are blocked an I have begun the long practice of seaming Cassisy.
I started a new sock ( a few times) and chose Conwyn from Nancy Bush's Knitting On the Road because it has nice leg shaping and not too many foot stitches. The Socks That Rock in Stonewash are (again) surprisingly soft.
My leftover STR from the sock club last year is becoming a Travelling Woman in the colourway When Irish Eyes Are Smiling (see, you need pics).
I will probably take the sock to the music festival. Emily is playing trumpet and singing all week. No piano this year. I sing on Thursday, but our recital went quite well yesterday, so I just have normal trepidation. I get to wear a cat mask which will help me focus.
The sun is out, but this will be our week allowance, so I'd better walk the big black thing and do my Monday housework.
D is off to Red Deer for a few days so Em and I can cheat on dinners and go for salads. Cooking supper begins at 3:30 here, so I should gain quite a bit of time and lose some calories.
With a bit of a break, I am longing to knit.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Limping Along

I was enjoying a surprisingly eloquent post yesterday, after shoveling snow from the driveway, about the down sides of being capable, when my computer flatlined.
Scott was home but the regular prodding didn't help. It is now at D's office waiting to be taken to computer ICU or the morgue. It was backed up as early as last Monday.
But I am even more awkward on this iPad than the full unit.
I worked on Friday on a new medical unit that I really liked. I have more shifts there coming up.
I enjoyed being included in a knit cup tea with a friend's friend on Saturday.
Sunday was snow and the trading of so. For daughter at the Abbotsford Starbucks. Weird. Reading break was uneventful and over quickly.
I am still knitting on the Cassidy and the Lady Eleanor. Boring. Hope to finish the last piece of the sweater and start putting it together.
Started the Hedgerow socks, but I think there are too many stitches for my foot. Can't go down another needle size from 1.75 mm. Maybe I'll just cast on something else.
Meanwhile I will watch the Knit Girllls and enjoy your blogs.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

What's Going On?

I love how in the Completely Cauchy blog she writes, "Lots going on, nothing getting done." I feel that way entirely.
Like the Lady Eleanor shawl (blanket) I'm knitting in the evenings in front of the TV. I just slog along. It's 30 inches wide and I plan to go to 48, but your guess is as good as mine if that's one week or 2 months.

The Starving Artist hat was a success in the mohair. It looks a lot like the Fleece Artist mohair that we were winding up at Jean's, even a similar colourway.

Emily said it was a success, though I'm tempted to make it again in a smaller needle.

I have the left front almost finished on my Cassidy cardigan, but have ripped back a few times because it's pattern and shaping at the same time. The gates to hell have a sign over them that says, "At the Same Time".

I was gifted this lovely hyacinth that doesn't smell enough to stimulate my allergies. Wonderful at my kitchen sink where I don't have a window.

I finished my monkey socks this morning and decided not to cast on another pair right away because I should knuckle down and finish this cardigan.

So I cast on the Chic Knits Maximus cowl from Lion Brand bulky I got at Michaels. I picked Scott up for the reading break and snuck in there.

So now, not only is the carnivore home, but my basement is full of big boys. They very sweetly bought me a bottle of red wine to thank me for making them feel welcome.

So basically I am sweeping floors, doing dishes and trying to get back from two night shifts last week.

Oh, and our church choir competed in the local Music Festival last night and won gold! Even though I choked on the flute, the adjudicator loved us. We love us, too, especially our director.

Blossoms

I got a Valentines gift a few days late. It's an interchangeable needle organizer from madbird.

I sent an email to D as a gift suggestion and voila. A little zipper pouch for the accessories.

I'm thinking of how to mark the sizes. But I love it.

Our walk today was filled with glorious flowers. There's an ice storm in Vancouver right now.

The snow drops are finally brave enough to show.

I think this may be euphorbia. Not sure, but it's very cheerful. I'm craving some colour!

My February Project Help Mexico hat is finished. I'm still following Bridget Bear from Needles in the Hay's year of colour schedule. Following the rainbow, February is orange. I had to pick up some ivory chunky to stretch the orange in my statsh. I wasn't sure of striping, so I used fibionacci sequence. Love it. I even managed a bit of a jogless jog in the stripe.

This will be for some child of migrant workers in the Baja. I love the top down construction from Lifestyle Top Down Hats. It's more of a recipe than a pattern and I may end up using it for all my monthly hats.

Emily brought me a Booster Juice for lunch. Yay. I'm trying to stay up late and sleep in because

I am inbetween two night shifts, but it really doesn't work too well for me. I feel a bit lazy.

On the bright side, I'm reading more and LOVED How to Knit a Love Song by knitter and blogger Rachael Herron. It was a lot steamier than my usual Dickens and Doyle. I loved the knitting content and the nod to Elizabeth Zimmerman. It took me only two days to read. My own visuals came partly from the blog The Pioneer Woman. I wonder if she knows about the book? Thanks Rachel H. There's a sweater pattern in the back! I always share books I love, and I want others to understand the deep knitting in this book, but I don't know if my mom and friends want to read such a sexy book.

For now I'm going to enjoy the sunny day and hunt for more little blossoms.

Hanging In There

Yesterday I made pasta with my Christmas present pasta roller. It hooks onto my Kitchen Aid mixer and it couldn't have been easier. I think this batch is enough for a family of four. I could have made it just a bit thinner, going down a knotch. But it was fun.

The back of the Cassidy is done. Apparently I didn't have enough stitches after I adapted the arm hole for my wrong row gauge, but I ripped it back and finished it last night. This is almost a meditative knit now. This morning I cast on the first front. The sleeves are already done. This is the best way for me to work because otherwise the sleeves seem to take forever. I work 2 nights this week, but I don't think this is simple enough for that kind of brain.

I cast on the Starving Artist hat because I'm a crazy fan of Lala and the Knit Girllls. It's simple in its elegant construction. I'm using the "Black Watch" colourway mohair that my sister gave up on. It will probably be a hat for her. Imagine having 2 Christmas presents already! Not quite yet.

We are noticing the light sky earlier in the morning. This is about 7:20. There is hope.

This is a crazy weekend. I'm doing hiring interviews as well as helping and performing in our church Variety show. At least I get to practice the cats duet before we compete in the Music Festival. Hang in there.

Keeping In Touch

The ducks are coming up from the river to check out the birdseed. We don't feed them, but at this time of year they are almost friendly.
I'm planning a St. Patrick's Day party to try to get some of our old band friends together. There is work in keeping in touch.
People are always amazed at my ability to capture and listen to podcasts. It's not remarkable, but I did get in early, thanks to CBC. I think the hardest thing is trying out new ones, especially if it is because your favourites are not posting as frequently or have closed shop.
Step one: ask a friend for a good podcast. This includes recommendations from other podcasters.
Step two: find it in itunes and subscribe. It's free, what's the risk? It can take a few shows for you to decide if you are happy with it.
Step three: and this is the one I have failed to do a few times: Subscribe to the blog show notes. You may not want to read them or may not feel you need to, but they will let you know when they post. You can go over to itunes and update your podcasts. It feels great to get the email, or the note on Google Reader: we have just made a show and we don't want you left out.
My newer podcast is the Knitmore Girls. It took me a while to get used to their voices and the way they share, but it's great fun and now it's familiar.
My favourites are the Knit Girllls which is a video cast and Round the Twist with Carin who used to be on the hilarious Lime and Violet, but I don't think we're supposed to talk about that.
Lala and Leslie from the Knit Girllls are just the type of people I want to sit and knit with.
Cast On with Brenda Dayne is one of the first knitting podcasts and she eloquently shares her opinions and her fabulous knitting and life in Wales.
That's already a few hours of podcasting for your walking and housecleaning and just watching and knitting.
If you're a non-knitter, my favourite podcast is To The Best Of Our Knowledge by PRI Wisconsin. It's part way between Ideas, Tapestry and Spark. That's a lot of links.
Can you tell that we have no TV reception? We watch shows on DVD, but that's downstairs. I don't like to go into the basement if there's good daylight.
The snow drops refuse to open. The weather has been shifting from cold and clear to warm and windy. I don't blame them.

Is this witch hazel? I love it. One of the trees on our short dog walk. I'm feeling well enough to walk the big black thing, partly because she's too arthritic to go for our long walks.

There has been knitting. I finished the hat and had the taste for another quick project. Fish dish for scale because we don't have a cat. These are two legs of the Blu Jeans from Mason Dixon's second book, Knitting Outside the Lines. I went into my stash and weighed the denim (after I had rolled it off the cone). Luckily I had enough. I'm not thrilled with the acrylic contrast, but it's in the stash.

The directions are to wash the pieces after you knit and before you sew. They shrank in washing, but only in length. I know this is a controversial topic, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and follow directions. The cotton denim yarn will continue to fade and soften with subsequent washings.

I'm happy how they turned out. They are probably about a 6 month size, whatever that is. I embroidered a little fly and pockets. Embroidery was my first craft when I was pretty wee and we decorated our pillow cases.

The baby shower is in March, so I'm set. Just some baking to do. We bring frozen meals to showers now, did you know that?

The little jeans are my prayer for a healthy second baby boy. I look forward to seeing the great people my husband works with.

I have a day shift tomorrow and will get to catch up with my own team.

With choirs and meetings, I am out visiting quite a bit this year. My plan is to be more connected.

This Wednesday is the Chilliwack Common Threads Knitting Circle. I hope we get a few more out. We all know knitters are the best people and I want to meet some local ones that I may like as much as I do my blogging friends. Let's keep in touch.

Heroes Revealed

I love it when my heroes get recognition. This is so inspiring, I may try to fit in some more practice.

Jake Shimabukuro

Stitch by Stitch

It's gloomy and rainy today, but, ironically, when I was feeling like crap, the sun shone bright and sparkly. My magnolia is contemplating the bloom.

The river is high from all the rains. See where D butchered the hazelnut? Don't worry. It will thrive. but for now my roses and rhodos will have more light.

I started a pair of denim baby pants, the Blu Jeans from Mason Dixon's second book. These are for a second son of one of our veterinary families. The shower is in March, but I felt the urge.

I'm trying to knit from stash, but it's really hard. You have to identify how much yarn you have, and then go look for patterns and then pick another yarn because you found something you really want to make, but you have to fudge the yardage. Wow. A lot of work. But the antibiotics are already kicking in and I can breathe to the bottom of my lungs.

I started a New Years Goal and barely made it to the first step. I want to knit one child's hat a month for our friend Carlton's Project Help Mexico. The pattern I used was the Lifestyle Top Down Hat. A brilliant pattern that can be worked with any yarn. I have a small head so I just made it to fit me, which means I have all the measurements I need with me. The yarn is (from stash) Caron Simply Soft Shadows. I bought it to make a gift that I never got around to. I don't know where the rest of it got to, but it took almost a skein.

The other part of the goals is to follow Needles in the Hay in her challenge to knit a different colour each month. So January Red worked fine. I have some orange and Emily has some yellow. This could work OK. Carlton said the kids like bright colours. The plan is to keep to the stash.

Another idea I have, to use some of my baby wool, is to knit a sweater in honour of the Ravelry baby that Casey and Jess are having, but to donate it to our local Community Services. I will post on their site to see if we can get some momentum going. Interested in knitting along and donating to your own local? Let me know.

Little by little I am getting better. Of course your blogs and the new video casts are keeping me company. I can't just watch Bones. Today I will venture out to the grocery store and then come home to keep up with my stitches.

Resurfacing

Now that I'm home, I come down with another terrible chest infection. The good news is that my chest is now clear, but I feel like I'm just coming up from underwater. I got some good antibiotics just in case. I don't know if I'll take them.
The Cassidy is coming along without too many hitches. I have to adapt for 5/6 row gauge, but I think it will be OK. It's garnet 220. I just bought the Twist pattern because Artlady made a shawl collar for hers, adapted from Twist, that I love.

I did not get a tshirt on our holiday. But don't feel badly for me. This is from Nordstrums and I love it so much!! The little bird is becoming ubiquitous, but it reminds me of the precious moments of life. I have them all over my desk. Check out Anne Lamott's Bird By Bird writing book.

My souvenir wool shopping included fiberphile super squish worsted in blackberry. I want to make another beret out of this like my Malabrigo Gretel.

Lovally dyed Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Worsted in the colour Old Town is exactly the paprika of Emily's second choice grad dress. We ordered it in sapphire blue, but I thought I could knit her a scarf in this because it's such a great colour.

I bought a mug at the Library of Congress. I was so taken with the Jefferson Library exhibit. Here it is with my Shelter yarn in quilt and the scarf Purling Oaks Angie wove for me. Yay.

An embarrassment of riches.


I haven't been able to take pictures of my finished objects because the light was so dreary. Here are the Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk fingerless mitts, a little worse for wear from our trip. They were cozy, but not always warm enough for the Washington weather.

I didn't get to bring my Moody Kerchief in Malabrigo. I wear it constantly, it's so soft!! I had to knit one when I saw Lala's. The ones on Ravelry are so gorgeous. I'm still getting used to the funky contrast colour edging. I added a set of lace because I had lots of Purple Mystery main colour. I'm glad I didn't go too crazy, because the Twist variegated just made it.

I am not too sick to do a bit of knitting. Just not too complicated. Probably need to make some baby pants for a March shower. All this fretting over patterns. Just go to your own favourites page. Most of those patterns are already downloaded. Stick with what you already like. Especially when you're just resurfacing.