I’m going to try exporting my data from Wordpress for import into MT. I searched and found a script, authored by and available from Carthik.net. The script is here. To use it, paste the text into a new document and give it a .php extension, upload it into your root WP folder and access the file through your browser. The output should be your data formatted for import into MT. Paste everything into a new document, save it as import.txt and follow Movable Type’s importing instructions.

I’ve actually done this once before a while ago and it worked like a charm. I’d forgotten about it until just now. WP has undergone a bunch of changes since then so I’m not expecting a miracle, but it’s worth a try.

And then maybe I can get back to some knitting.

Stupid WP makes me want to cry. I spent practically all fucking day installing, uninstalling backing up, restoring, on and fucking on. I’m in the exact place I started but with less hair. I couldn’t downgrade; it wouldn’t recognize my backup. Anyway, I’m in exactly the same boat as before. I discovered that if I “save and continue editing,” the date fucks up. If I just publish, the date posts correctly. What the hell is that about? I spent all day searching the support forums and nothing to show for it. Tonight Alex and I ate ravioli from a can because I spent so much time fucking around with this stuff. For nothing!

Today sucks. Except for the couple of hours I spent on the phone with my friend. That was really fun. She’s coming over on Friday with her little daughter and I’m really looking forward to it.

I’ve got a couple of pictures of my Durrow sleeve ready to post but the only ones that turned out are close-ups of the cabling. The yarn is dark navy and with the weather like it is, I can’t get a decent photo indoors. I’ve also got some more thoughts on why I had to add an extra pattern repeat on the sleeve, but I’m tossing my ideas at Jodi first, so that will have to wait.

Okay…wish me luck. I’m about to destroy my website.

So I’m making the smallest size for Alex, changing only the length of the sweater to 16″ from underarm to hem instead of 17″. The sleeves remain at 18″ in length which is about an inch or so too long, but the kid is growing insanely and I’m hoping he’ll be able to wear the sweater again next year.

At first I followed the pattern as written, but for my preference I found that 3 repeats of Chart B were not enough. Once Chart C was completed, the cable pattern ended a few inches below the shoulder which I thought was too low. I looked at the chart then counted how many stitches I’d have left once I completed the decreases at the top of the sleeve and found that it was possible to continue the cable pattern up past the shoulder. I ripped back a bit and added a repeat. Once the decreases are complete the saddle shoulder is created by knitting for a further 3 inches without decreasing, and the cable pattern now extends through 2 of those inches, ending 1 inch shy of the neck. I’m happy with that.

What I am not happy with is Wordpress 2.0. I’m having nothing but trouble and I’m going to downgrade back to my previous version later tonight or tomorrow. Feh.

Tonight is our SnB and I’m going to bring my handdyed stuff to show off.

In happy news, I mentioned previously that I had emailed an old friend, someone I haven’t seen or spoken to in around 8 years. She replied (hi, Astra!) and we’re catching up. We have plans to get together at some point soon. I’m also looking forward to reconnecting with other friends with whom she is still in touch. Yay! I love the internets.

Alex and Jeremy had dentist appointments today and they discussed orthodontia for Alex because the kid has some serious buck teeth and quite the overbite. We were referred to someone in our area and now we will see what we will see. I have no idea of the costs involved, nor if Jeremy’s insurance will cover any of it. It would be nice to get it sorted, but the reality is that we may not be able to afford it right now. At least his teeth are in great shape and he hasn’t had a single cavity since he was 4 and I was too stupid to take him to a dentist regularly.

Tonight my sister Natalie is coming over to spend the night and get drunk. We’ll be playing one of Alex’s christmas gifts: an LOTR version of Trivial Pursuit. Natalie, Alex and Jeremy are going to clean the floor with my ass because they’re a bunch of NERDS and I am not. That’s okay. My buddy Reisling and I will make our own fun.

As far as knitting goes, I’ve completed the back and part of a sleeve of Durrow, finished one sock from my handpainted Kool-Aid yarn and one sock made from some Knitpicks Simple Stripes in Vineyard that I bought ages ago. I’ve got half of one Embossed Leaves sock (pattern from the Winter IK) completed. I’ve also knit one petal of the Flower Facecloth (pattern from Weekend Knitting) and discovered that I absolutely abhor cotton chenille.

Spam disguised as a friendly and confidential note from someone who reads your blog must be the new black. I got this in my inbox today:

Dear Fellow Knitting Enthusiast,

I came across your knitting blog and thought you might find the information
below useful, both to yourself as a possible book author on this topic, and
to your readers, who might also be interested in creating a book on their
work.

If this is not of interest, my apologies for the email.

Following this was a fake news article about a website that offers self-publishing. What bugs me is that I like this particular company and I’ve been to their site lots of times. I would totally consider using them if I had something to publish. I like their product. I really don’t like this tactic of trolling for email addresses by blog and blog type. Agree? Disagree?

I couldn’t wait and even though I’ve already got two socks on the go, I had to see how my yarn knitted up. I’m pretty impressed. No pooling!

My second attempt. Now I need to get more undyed yarn, and some real dyes. And an extra kitchen.

Yeah, I couldn’t wait. Unfortunately this hank is still a bit damp so I can’t wind it up just yet. I really like the colours but I didn’t do as well a job this time as I did before. In some areas it seems I didn’t put enough pigment. I hope when it’s all wound up it looks good like that, but it wasn’t my intention. I mixed Kool-Aid colours to get better shades, but in a couple of instances the colours separated while the yarn was in the oven, leaving me with a few lengths of bright turquoise and bright green instead of the dulled versions I had mixed. We shall see.

On my kitchen table (which is covered in a cheap vinyl tablecloth because it’s unfinished pine) we have a few plastic cups of Kool-Aid, a big aluminum pan lined with a garbage bag, and a hank of undyed yarn. I soaked the yarn with a bit of Eucalan for half an hour first.

Kool-Aid and paper towel

I dipped bits of paper towel to see how the colours would come out. I added some orange to the green to get a better shade. The purple just looked like a mucky black so I added a bit of red. The store didn’t have cherry flavour in the regular packets, so I used the kind with aspartame. It worked out fine, but I made sure to rinse it really well afterward. I didn’t care for the bright turquoise at all. I changed it to greyish blue by adding some green and purple.

This is where I forgot to continue to take pictures. At first I used the plastic spoons to add the dye to the yarn but that was too slow so I started just pouring it straight from the cups. The pan I used was old and warped - the center of the pan was higher than the edges and this helped keep the dye at the edges. I tried to keep like colours together, but other than that I didn’t arrange the colour sections in any particular order. At this point I started to think that I made a terrible mistake and that it was going to come out horribly. The greyish blue was dull, the purple was muddy and the orange was way too bright.

I read that setting the dye by cooking it in a pot or in the microwave is good for solid colours, and that you should use a steam basket for varigated so the dyes don’t run together in the pot while it’s heating. I also read you can bake the yarn in the oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes to set the colour. Since I don’t have a steam basket, I used the oven. I carefully moved the yarn onto another aluminum pan (no plastic), trying to keep the colours from running and dripping. I put it in the oven for 20 minutes, but the water wasn’t running clear yet so I just kept it in there until was. I was expecting a horrendous hot sheep smell but all I could smell was Kool-Aid. I let it cool then I rinsed it with Eucalan.

Finally dry and on the swift

This morning I still wasn’t impressed with the colours. I really hated how they looked in big chunks, and I still thought the orange was way too bright. I wasn’t expecting much at all, but thought I would wait until I reskeined it before I started to cry.

You can see the placement of the colours

I was so wrong! I reskeined the hank at a larger diameter so I could see the colours all mixed up, and I LOVE it. It’s fucking fantastic. I’m a genius, bitches!

Beautiful!

The purple brightened up, the greyish-blue took on a lavender hue, and the brightness of the orange actually made a nice contrast. I can’t wait to knit it up! Let’s hope I can find a decent gauge and stitch count so it doesn’t pool.

All wound up

I took a few pictures of the dying process…specifically, I took a picture at the beginning and then I forgot because I was too busy making the world’s ugliest colour combination.

I did it pretty late last night, and I forgot to rotate the hank around on the hanger before I went to bed so the part that was hanging at the bottom is still a bit damp. Once it’s dry I’ll take some more pictures. I can’t wait to see it wound into a ball…perhaps magic will happen and when the colours are all mixed up it will suddenly become stunningly beautiful. Ha ha.

My Knitpicks order showed up today. I bought 2 skeins each of the solid colours for lacy patterned socks. I also bought 2 hanks of the dye-your-own. I’ve got a big handful of Kool-Aid packets in some limited colours since the selection across the street sucks ass. Anyway, I think with some mixing I might just do all right. Or not…I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. Cross your fingers and I’ll have some pictures as soon as I’m done.

My first finished item of the year: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Boots Stretch socks. Plain stocking stitch with a 2″ 2×2 ribbed cuff. Short row heel and wedge toe. They’re really soft and I can’t wait to wear them out.

Didn’t want you to think I only knit one sock.

Jodi’s Durrow

I ripped out the boring raglan and started Durrow for Alex instead. I’m making him the smallest size, which is 40 inches. I figure it’ll be a bit big, but hopefully he can wear it for a couple of years. Now Jeremy’s jealous. He wants a Durrow, too. Can I really knit two of the same sweater without wanting to kill myself? I guess we’ll find out.

Earlier today I went outside for a smoke and started thinking about some old friends. I think it’s been about seven or eight years since I saw them last. I don’t remember how we stopped seeing each other. I don’t recall any bad feelings but it was a long time ago and I have the nagging feeling that it’s my fault we fell out. Anyway, I googled and was able to find some contact info for one of them, so I emailed her and sent her a link to my site. Now I feel kind of sick…nervous. I hope they get in touch.

Salt Peanuts - Yeah, this isn’t exactly from last year, more like the year before. At first I was apprehensive about starting this project because I feared it was too hard for me. I didn’t have much experience and I kept the yarn and pattern in my stash for many months before I even started. Then I swatched it up. Then I knit the ribbing a couple of times, being unable to maintain a constant gauge. Then I put it aside, never to even look at it again. As it is right now, I’m totally over this particular cardigan. I love the eyelet ribbing but I could care less about the flipped-out collar. I’m glad I never knit it. Now that I’m not just experienced enough to knit the pattern, I’m experienced enough to design myself a new one. So Salt Peanuts is officially done.

Ribby Cardi - While I love this cardigan, I hate the Elann Peruvian Highland yarn and so that’s the end of that. Knit at the recommended gauge it’s just too floppy. I also knit Mariah out of the same yarn at a slightly tighter gauge but it pilled horribly after one wearing, so I’ve decided I’ll use the yarn for a felted project instead, like clogs or something. I’m still planning on knitting the Ribby, but the sizes in the actual pattern aren’t quite right for me. I’m going to rework it from scratch at 5st/1″ and I’m going to use Galway, which I love.

Cotton Candy - Well, this one just went nowhere fast. It’s languishing at the bottom of one of my stash bins and it looks like it’s going to stay there. I still want a cardigan out of the Cotton Fleece but it’s not on my agenda any time soon.

Clapotis - I got bored of it. I also screwed up somewhere in there and then realized I’d made it too wide, so I just chucked it into one of my stash bins. I may go back to it if I don’t come up with something else to knit with the Silk Garden.

Perfect Pie Shawl - I love this shawl, but I find I hate knitting with mohair. I’ve tried three different yarns and haven’t been thrilled with any of them. I may still go back to it, I haven’t decided.

Lucky Cardigan - I haven’t given up on this one, but it’s on hold for now. It’s knit at a teeny gauge and in my size that’s a lotta lotta stitches. I love the thing, and I love the yarn I’m using for it, but I screwed up massively and had to pretty much start all over and it’s destroyed my soul. Okay, that’s a little dramatic but my stomach still hurts about it.

Must-Have Cardigan - I still love this and I’m actually still working on it, albeit very slowly. I completed one front and then went onto the back. I lost interest in the cabling and so now I just knit a few rows here and there until I get bored. I’m halfway to the underarm shaping on the back and it’s taken me about 7 months to get this far so who knows when it’ll get done.

Navy Raglan (for Alex) - Uh, there is guilt about this one. I have never knit anything for my poor kid and he wants a sweater. So I cast on in October for raglan knit in the round. I was expecting to get it done in about 2 weeks since the circumference for the sweater was around 38″ and my gauge is 18st/24″. But I got bored! It’s in the cupboard, telling me what a bad mother I am every time I go in there to get some other project.

Nutmeg Cardigan - I started this way back in February and then put it away and ENTIRELY forgot about it. I found it again just recently, having no idea what the hell it was. I figured it out and decided to rip out the cardigan front and do a pullover instead. It’s in the cupboard next to Alex’s sweater now, boring me even though I want to wear it in the worst way.

I think (hope!) that’s it. Ugh.

On the way to my parents’ house yesterday we stopped by the LYS and they had new sock yarns, so I bought these. They’re in 100g skeins, and I don’t have my sister’s scale with me so I can’t split the skeins in half. I wanted to go toe-up with these and continue until I ran out of yarn, but without a scale I’m just going to have to wing it and probably end up with leftover yarn.

I’ve already got two pairs on the needles. One is plain stockinette made from Lorna’s Laces in Glenwood and the other is the Embossed Leaves pattern from IK, in dark charcoal Patons Kroy. But that’s neither here nor there, since I also bought myself a new sock needle.

Happy New Year, kids!

Natalie and Alex

My mom and her Kiri shawl

Cascading Leaves Socks for Natalie

Sock label

Just after the dinner dishes were done last night the cold water knob of our kitchen faucet fell apart. We can’t fix it, but we can turn the water on and off with pliers. The faucet is very old and we knew its days were numbered, but I thought it would last at least until we renovated the kitchen. We have to get a new one this week because the pliers are a major pain in my ass, but we got a gift certificate for Home Depot from Jeremy’s mom for Christmas, so that takes care of that.

My gifts went over really well. My sister loved her socks (which I didn’t mention previously because sometimes she checks out my site), my mom loved her shawl and my dad wore his hat all day yesterday. I made a Jayne Cobb hat for my sister’s boyfriend, and right after presents were opened he insisted we watch the hat episode of Firefly while he wore his. It was cute and I’m so glad he liked it so much. I’ll have pictures later in the week.

The place is clean, Alex is gone, Jeremy’s at work. All I have to do now is decide what I’m going to knit.

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Our first Christmas in our house is marked by the lack of an actual tree. When I say actual, I am referring to the fake department store variety, the tree of my preference. Instead, we have an actual tree. My mom felt sorry for us so she and my sister bought us this cute little thing. Good thing it came with decorations (we won’t discuss the fact that they’re GLUED ON to a LIVE PLANT) because I didn’t have any of those either and couldn’t spare the $$ to buy any. When it gets warm we’ll plant it outside in the garden somewhere.

Decent, and most importantly, CLEAN

Now that I’ve shown you our tree, have a look at my toilet. I mentioned before that I had a little plunging accident and my toilet overflowed a couple of days ago. That night Jeremy pulled out all the foul and ancient carpet. Yesterday he picked up a piece of cheap vinyl flooring at Home Depot. $26 and hours of scrubbing, pulling out staples and loose bits of lino gave us a clean, acceptable floor in the WC. For a temporary fix it’s fantastic. We’re not bothering with quarter-round or trim since we’re going to renovate the whole room relatively soon, but even with the vinyl just stapled down like this, it’s actually better than it was before.

Happy Holidays, everyone!

I can rest. The room is painted and usable and not at all in any way yellow. Jeremy stepped out to pick up some replacement outlets and a light switch, and that’s all that’s happening in there until it’s time for window and door trim, baseboards and molding. I love the colour. It’s really cozy. It’s perfect.

Now on to the million and one other things I need to get done by tomorrow. I’m hoping to be plopped on the couch with a rum-spiked eggnog by midnight.

Last night Jeremy brought home the paint chips I asked for, including some extras since I wasn’t really expecting the colours I looked at online to be bang on. They were all so nice, but as I brought them into the office and held them against the floor or the furniture, they weren’t quite right. Muse was too dark. Quiet Refuge ended up looking pink. Pink! Corn Husk Green was absolutely lovely but it’s too light for what I want in the office, so I’ve earmarked it for the bathroom when the time comes. It’s gorgeous, and will look fantastic with our white tub/shower, white flooring and all we’ll need are some purple towels and bathmats. I haven’t decided on whether the vanity will be white or stained wood, but I’m getting way ahead of myself.

This morning Jeremy went out and bought the paint and another drop cloth, and when he’s on his way home from work I’m going to get started cutting in the trim. He should be able to start painting the second he gets home, which will leave us with enough time to do the second coat before we go to bed. I’m so relieved.

As far as knitting goes, I finished my gifts in plenty of time (keeping it down to four relatively small things helped). I had a few spare moments last night and one skein of Estelle Watercolours DK in Ecru, so I cast on for a skinny Mimi Verylong. It’s surprisingly slow going. I’m not really enjoying the repetitive k2tog, yo but I want the finished product!

I appreciate everyone’s comments and while I was in love with the idea of bright bold colour, I have realized that I can’t live with it. I looked around my house and my things; I own nothing even remotely close to this colour, shocking though that may be. I’ve always loved it, but I think I feel towards golden yellow the way I feel about dogs: they’re beautiful and fun to be around, but I sure as hell don’t want one in my house.

Anyway, I was playing around over on the Behr site and came up with these that are much more my sort of thing. I’m not even going to pretend that you guys have any sort of say in my determining of the final colour, but I want to know what you think. Which one stirs your loins?

In bathroom news, Jeremy worked for hours late last night to pull up all the carpet and tack strips. What a nightmare. Underneath we found stick-on tile linoleum of the barfiest variety. They aren’t coming up easily. The floor around the toilet has a lot of water damage (no real surprise there) and it looks like it’s going to need to be replaced. I guess we’ll be renovating the bathroom sooner than we expected. Right now we’ve got cardboard boxes covering the entire floor to make it nicer for walking in the meantime.

Why, WHY would you put carpet in a bathroom? Especially when the toilet itself is older than Moses.

Excuse me, I have to get drunk RIGHT NOW.

Yeah. I’m not sure what to say. I think I hate it.

I wouldn’t exactly say I made a mistake, since I chose the colour from a multitude of paint chips and I was going for bright, intense colour. The colour came out exactly like the chip and I loved it as we were painting it, but now that we’ve moved a few things into the room I’m starting to really dislike it. It’s too intense. The name of the colour is Mellow Yellow (irony at its finest) and while I love the shade, it’s just way too intense. It’s the colour of the freaking SUN right before you go blind from staring at it. I am a little concerned for my ocular health.

The colour is a little bit more orangey in person and since the window in the room is so tiny there is no way I can get a decent photo with natural light unless I set up a tripod, so you’ll have to use your imagination.

Granted, the room is not complete. We still need trim and molding and coverings for both the window and breaker panel, but I’m having a hard time imagining I’ll like it more with all of that stuff on. We won’t be able to actually install that stuff until spring, anyway. I don’t think I can live with this colour for that long.

I want a much paler version of the same colour, or something different entirely. Unfortunately our furniture looks terrible in there…I thought the birch would offer more of a contrast than it actually does. The futon frame is an unfinished pine, and I was thinking of a dark black/brown stain and some varnish, which would be easy enough. The desk and our drawer units are veneers and I don’t want to paint those.

It turns out that the floor slopes incredibly, which is something you don’t notice until you put a rolling office chair in there. Sit on the chair and you go whooshing backwards. Good times.

Oh, I think I really, really hate it.

The room at first.
A whole lot of work.
Wallpaper begone.

The sell or not to sell question got me thinking. I have family members and friends who, once they see some of my knitting, get all excited and come up with the bright idea that I should go into business and sell my knitting. These people, of course, are not knitters because if they were, they would never suggest such a thing. To make garments and items out of quality fibres (because what’s the point, otherwise?) is pricey. Knitting is not an inexpensive hobby. Add to the cost of materials the sheer amount of hours that go into making something and there is really no way to recoup costs, let alone make a profit.

I also get attached to my knitting. I don’t love everything I make; just going through my archives will show that I’m unhappy with a lot of it. But the items that turn out to my liking and that I’ve spent time ripping and reknitting to get them right…I couldn’t sell them. My blood’s in there. Gifts are different…but not that different. I like to give people knitted things, but I need to know beforehand that the items are wanted and will be appreciated. I knit a baby sweater for someone earlier this year and when I didn’t get a phone call upon receipt of the gift, it broke my heart. Little things like hats and scarves or gag gifts are no big deal since I can knit them up in a few hours (so if I give you something small don’t feel like you owe me your first born or anything!), but the idea that I spent a concentrated amount of time knitting a beautiful sweater for someone’s baby without getting so much as a simple thanks was very disappointing and disheartening.

In the new year I’m going to try my hand at dyeing yarn. I’m going to start with Kool-Aid and we’ll see what happens from there. I can’t wait to try it. It’s been impossible before now because we’ve had so much to do as far as working on our house, but we’re almost finished with our big projects and that’s going to open up some time and space. Will I sell my hand-dyed yarn? Maybe. I guess I should see if I’m any good at it before I decide.

Lately I’ve been having a lot of trouble with gauge. The tension of my knitting is changing rapidly and I’m finding I’m knitting a lot more tightly than before. Right now I’m working on a certain pair of socks. I completed the first sock about three weeks ago and I began the second one last night. I’m using the same yarn, the same dyelot, the same circular needle at (obviously) the same size. It felt like I was knitting with the same “hand,” so to speak - knitting this sock didn’t feel any different from the first.

I finished turning the heel last night and held up both socks to compare. The new sock is smaller, stiffer and tighter (dirty!). I’m going to have to rip most of it out and go at it again with a larger needle to get it the same as the first. I’m surprised that my tension is evolving so rapidly that I can’t trust myself to go a few weeks without having to question the outcome.

In the beginning I was an extremely loose knitter. I would go down three or four needle sizes to achieve the correct gauge. Now I’m often achieving gauge at the recommended size. I understand that knitting and tension evolve over time, but I’ve never experienced a change this quickly before. I can’t even make it through a single pair of socks? Frustrating!

Edited to add: The Toronto area is expected to get about a foot of snow tomorrow and tomorrow night, but in our area we’re supposedly only getting half that. Ha. I’m bracing myself for twice as much.

My second attempt at the cabled hat came out really well. I added a pattern repeat and made the ribbing deeper to form a cuff. Now my head looks head-sized with the hat on, instead of like a tiny pea. I had some yarn left over so I’m making fingerless mittens. One down, one to go.

Tonight I’ve got the last bit of sanding and spackling to do in our ant room/office/guestroom. Thanks to an early Christmas present from my mom, we’ll be buying paint tomorrow and the room will get primed! The colour will go down on Saturday or Sunday, as soon as Jeremy gets home from work. I am so excited! The room is almost finished. I may cry from sheer joy.

Last night I knit the above hat. It’s the Basic Cable hat from Stitch ‘N Bitch Nation. I used 6mm dpns and Galway, double-stranded. It’s beautiful but it makes me look like a total pinhead and it pops right off at the slightest movement. I’m going to rip it out and do it again, this time adding an extra 12-stitch repeat and making it about 2 inches deeper.

Same dye lot, totally different socks

These are my latest socks, the ones I finished on our drive home from Jersey. The colours are much richer and warmer in person. Both balls were from the same dyelot. While I didn’t expect my stripes to match up, I did think the yarn would pattern in the same general way. One sock has very definite stripes and the other has subtle gradations. Oh well. The yarn is Fortissima Colori #2412. The socks are stockinette, toe-up with short-row toes and heels. They’re very comfy.

During the last hour or so of our drive to NJ, I had to pee in the worst way. I wasn’t even planning on saying hello until I had barged past my friends and used the bathroom but instead of being greeted by Freakgirl or Geekboy, I was face to face with a very tall man who looked vaguely familiar. I stepped inside and instead of rushing to give me a hug, Freakgirl was just staring at me. So was this man. Did I know him?

A couple of summers ago, Marjon and her husband Ivon made a big trip to the US from Holland to see the country. Since we had been corresponding for some time online and she was going to be on the continent, I insisted she detour into Canada and stay with us for a few days. Unfortunately Ivon had to go back to Holland early and we did not get to meet him. Marjon and my family fell in love and it was very sad to see her leave a few days later.

So I’m starting at this dude, wondering why the hell no one is talking and it hits me that this guy looks like photos of Ivon that Marjon has shown me. But it can’t be, why would it be, they live in Holland.

Then the front door closes and I see Marjon. It’s fucking them! I totally lost my shit. They actually flew in from Holland and no one told me so it could be a surprise! Best. Surprise. Ever. I will never forget it.

On Saturday they held their annual holiday party which was a blast. Great people, great time, great big hangover the next day. Freakgirl posted a few pictures.

Even though we had never met Ivon in person before, it was like we had already known him. I’m glad they came and we got a chance to meet. I was really sad when they left on Monday morning because I don’t know when we’ll have another opportunity to see them. Stupid ocean.

Monday night the remaining four of us went to see Rent at the movies and then stuffed our faces with Mexican food. It was a really fun night and I wished we had more time, but we had to leave in the morning.

All I knit the whole time was about 4/5 of a sock. At least it was the last 4/5 of the second sock, so I actually have a completed pair.

So instead of packing like a good little girl, I’m doing this meme that everyone else seems to be doing as well. Have a great weekend, everyone. I know I will.

TEN random things you might not know about me

1. I was a Brownie
2. I used to figure skate
3. I’ve had a one-night stand with a random guy I picked up in a bar - twice
4. My first concert was Poison
5. I’ve had my nose pierced 3 separate times because it closed up
6. I’m married to a former Canadian diving champion (he placed first in nationals when he was a kid)
7. When I was 8 I fell out of a tree and broke my ankle
8. I used to go to raves
9. I was on my junior high school’s basketball team
10. I can cross each eye independently of the other

NINE places I’ve been

1. Macedonia
2. The Getty
3. Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash
4. Court
5. La Bodeguita del Medio (Hemingway’s favourite bar in Havana)
6. A Kids in the Hall taping (thanks Sandra!)
7. Quebec City
8. Jail (to pick someone up)
9. A taping of an old Canadian gameshow called Just Like Mom (like the Newlywed game but with kids and their moms)

EIGHT ways to win my heart

1. Buy me yarn
2. Buy me computers
3. Tell me I’m brilliant
4. Make me dinner
5. Put the toilet paper roll on its holder instead of leaving it on the counter
6. Fold the laundry
7. Surprise me with Starbucks
8. Ask me if I’ve lost weight

SEVEN things I want to do before I die

1. Get a decent haircut for once
2. Spend an obscene amount of money, all in one place
3. Publish something
4. Eat in the upscalest of restaurants
5. Travel more
6. Get fit
7. Become more independent

SIX things I’m afraid of

1. Heights
2. Bugs
3. My jaw getting stuck open
4. Being unable to afford our home
5. Car accidents
6. Flying

FIVE things I don’t like

1. Bad coffee
2. Public bathrooms
3. Stupidity
4. Gum on the sidewalk in summer
5. The fact that I’m 30 and I still get pimples

FOUR ways to turn me off

1. Lie to me
2. Disrespect my property
3. Decide grammar is not for you
4. Patronize me

THREE Things I do everyday

1. Read blogs
2. Knit
3. Kiss my son

TWO things that make me happy

1. Knitting
2. Summer

ONE thing on my mind right now

1. Dinner - I’m starving

Pattern: Polly’s Kiri [pdf] - I knit 8 repeats of Chart 2 plus the edging and wound up with a shawl measuring 48″ across the top and 22″ down the centre.

Gauge: Roughly 5.5 st/1″ blocked

Needles: 3.75 mm (US 5), and 6 mm (US 10) to bind off

Yarn: 3.5 balls of Elann’s Baby Cashmere. The pattern describes using Kid Silk Haze with 4.5 mm needles. Both KSH and Baby Cashmere come in 25g balls, but the KSH is double the meterage at 200/25g. I used a heavier yarn with smaller needles to achieve a denser shawl since it’s to be used as a winter scarf. Merry Christmas, Mom!

Symmetrical

The first time I dislocated my jaw it was wedged open so much that I had to cram a deodorant in my mouth to relieve the pressure. The only way to relieve the pain of your jawbones crunching together is to open wider, so I had popped in a stick of Secret to bite down on, instead of letting the weight of my head sit on my lower jaw. I was like that for 5 hours. Do you know what you can’t do when your jaw is stuck like that? Smoke. Add an anxiety disorder and I was panicking and freaking out all over the place. I got serious drugs and it took the doctor about 45 minutes to get me unstuck and relocated. This involved him actually getting leverage by having one leg propped up on my chair. It was gruesome. I’m glad the memory is so vague. Thank you, morphine!

This time my jaw loosened up immediately and even before we left for the hospital (which is a 20-min. drive out here in the boonies!) It was low enough that all I needed to prop it open was a pen. But this time I didn’t dislocate straight open. My jaw was totally crooked. Just as painful, but my bones were grinding from the side instead of one atop the other. The emergency room was nice and they saw me right away. Didn’t give me mophine until after they took their xrays, which made sense because I doubt I’d have been as easy to photograph. The pain from holding my head in certain positions was absolute torture. But once they gave me the muscle relaxant that makes it possible for the doctor to loosen everything, it hit me so hard the muscles in my face went completely slack and my jaw fell loose. Then I started talking mumbojumbo and I think I dropped the f-bomb. I talk shit when I’m sedated.

I managed to make it through this time without panicking. I was a hair’s width from freaking out entirely and I managed not to. It’s been almost a year since I’ve been on medication to manage the anxiety, and this was a huge accomplishment for me. I think having Alex there helped. We had to wake him up and bring him with us because I just wasn’t leaving him home alone, and I was scared I’d panic and terrify him. I didn’t want him to be scared.

I’m very much okay. I feel like I’ve been punched in the side of the head by Popeye but that feels good in comparison, and it’s nothing Advil won’t fix or at least numb down to a dull roar.

This pattern is fantastic. Despite the title of this post, it does NOT make me want to off myself. I memorized it within my first repeat of Chart 2, but even without memorization the pattern is very intuitive and it’s easy-peasy to read your work to know what you need to do next. Right now I’m working the final 6 rows of the edging, and I’m done. I’ll have it blocked this evening and I’ll post with some photos and measurement details.

Right now Polly is working on an alternative edging. I can’t decide which one I like better; although short-rowing the garter stitch edging looks like a major fiddly pain in the ass, it is very beautiful and frames the leaf pattern perfectly. However, it doesn’t have a central point at the bottom. I guess it wouldn’t be too hard to tack on one more leaf with a second length of yarn before you begin the edging…I don’t know.

The original edging is pretty and easy because it’s just worked back and forth like the rest of the shawl. And it has a central bottom point. 6 rows to go!

Now we’re broke in terms of having extra money or savings, but we have a little home of our own. I wouldn’t trade it for all the yarn in the world, and lucky for us, Alex is not spoiled (karma obviously forgot to punish me) and enjoys having our own house as much as we do. When we lived at my parents’ we could buy electronics and yarn and toys on a whim and still have money in the bank. I get pangs now and again when I covet stuff, but it passes quick because I really do have more than everything I need. When my grandparents came to Canada they came with nothing and lived hand to mouth for many years before they could afford to spend any money on themselves. Our lives aren’t quite that tight and I have nothing to complain about.

I know my family understands that we can’t be extravagant. We’re spending the bulk of our shopping money on Alex and getting him a Nintendo DS. I want him to have something really fun from us this year. I’m knitting my father a winter hat out of stash yarn (he lost the one my sister made for him a couple of years ago). It has to be machine washable since my dad is rather bald and his hats need cleaning more often. I’m thinking a ribbed pattern with a simple cable would be plain enough for him to want to wear and interesting enough for me to want to knit. Natalie told me that my mom wants a scarf to go with her new coat. She specified a sheer silky one rather than a knitted one, but since I have some Baby Cashmere (in Parchment) from Elann in stash I think I can whip up a very pretty lacy scarf in little time. My mom likes to fold her scarves into triangles so I’m thinking a miniature Charlotte’s Web would be very nice. I would have preferred to make a Flower Basket Shawl but I can’t find my appropriate copy of Interweave Knits. Natalie is trying to save for a big shelving unit so she’s asked us for a gift certificate to put towards this, and that’s what she’ll get.

Do you understand what all of this means? It means I don’t have to go Christmas shopping! And really, that is the greatest gift of all.

This is the view from my driveway this afternoon. I was expecting it to melt today, but no such luck. It’s snowing even harder now. On the one hand I’m very distressed, on the other hand I’m craving a peppermint-mocha latte from Starbucks and I want to put Christmas lights in the window.

Surprise! I’m almost finished!

I started Via Diagonale the other day and I’ve been using my Denise needles because my 24″ 4mm Addi is attached to another bag that I started eons ago and forgot about. The Denises aren’t great for this project because the Butterfly cotton doesn’t stretch so the needles are flexing. The cord is too thick and I’m spending more time shoving the stitches around the needle than doing any actual knitting. This morning I pulled out all my stash bins to find my Addis and swap them out. I couldn’t find the stupid bag, but at the bottom of one bin I found this sweater. I had forgotten entirely about it.

It’s a raglan cardigan, 2×2 ribbing at the edges, no waist shaping. Apparently I’ve completed the back, one front and one sleeve. Unfortunately I have no pattern notes. I know I was using one of the sweaters in Rowan’s A Season’s Tale as a guide, but I modified it. I’m just going to have to count stitches and rows to figure out what the hell I’m supposed to do next. I don’t even know what the gauge is or what needles I was using, so I have to swatch for a sweater I’ve almost finished.

I’m glad I found it…it’s exactly what I want in my wardrobe right now and the fit’s right, too. The yarn is some single-ply chunky Peruvian wool in the colour, Nutmeg, from Elann (it’s NOT the Peruvian Highland stuff…it’s different). I’ve been spit-splicing it, I’m happy to see. But I did some crazy short-row shaping at the neck of the front panel that I have no idea how I’m going to replicate. Ack. Why can’t I be organized with my pattern notes?

Meet Stuart, the 400-pound alligator

The zoo was a lot of fun. We made it there in time to watch a short hands-on presentation where we got to touch some of the reptiles, and Alex made friends with a python. I took quite a few pictures but I stupidly didn’t photograph the info cards that explained what all the animals were and where they are from. I thought I would just remember. Duh.

Say hello to my little friend.

Little friend’s head.

Mayor of Sunnydale?

Alex is in the picture for scale. The thickest part of this snake was almost as big around as Alex himself. Scary.

Delicious.

The snakes were fed in front of us. They devour the mice much more quickly than I would have thought. This one is a rattler and when the handler opened the pen to toss in the mice, his tail went right up and started rattling. The sound is surprisingly loud. We also got to see them feed the alligators, who eat raw chicken from the grocery store. I had to take all of my photos from behind glass or a wire cage, so not every picture turned out. This is too bad because the sight of those alligators pushing each other out of the way for a piece of chicken was pretty cool.

I think these guys are iguanas, but I’m honestly not sure.

Aw. I loved this little guy.

I thought this one was cute.

Pretty green frog.

I love frogs. The next two photos are of poison arrow frogs, whose toxin is so poisonous that a tiny drop can kill an adult person in 10 seconds flat.

Green and black poison arrow frog

Blue poison arrow frog. This was one of my favourite things there.

The barn owls were fed dead chicks.

Some kind of tarantula. Gross.

Walking stick. Can you see it?

Behind glass, they’re interesting.

That’s pretty much it. Believe it or not, most of the reptiles in the zoo were acquired because they were originally pets that had become impossible for their owners to manage. Lucky for these animals, the reptile zoo took them in. Stuart, the 400-pound alligator was one such pet.

Pattern: My own. I measured myself and came up with a basic raglan pattern. I added a horseshoe cable down the centre length of each sleeve. I added a bit of waist shaping and used a 4×1 rib at the bottom edges. The turtleneck is 2×2 rib.

Gauge: 4st/1″

Needles: 5mm (US 8) for the turtleneck and 5.5mm (US 9) for the rest

Yarn: Rowan Cork in the colour, Chilly. I love this yarn. I wore the sweater all weekend and except for a bit of bagging in the elbows (which wasn’t noticeable except in the top photo), the sweater held its shape and looked fresh. Not even a hint of pilling. It’s really light and very warm. If I can get my hands on more Cork, I will.

I don’t have time to take a picture now since we’re leaving for Ottawa very soon, but I will post one on Monday night. This is my best sweater to date, I think.

One good thing about binding off in Kitchener even though I had to cut it out is that I finally got comfortable with grafting. I ended up in a rhythm and now I’m never going to be apprehensive about grafting a few stitches at the toe of a sock again. The resulting bind off looks just like a tubular cast-on, provided you get the tension right. All you need to do is put the purl stitches of your ribbing on one needle, the knit ones on another, and graft in the usual way. Here’s a great example, along with some other tips for a stretchy, bound-off sock cuff.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

I’ll be showing it off for snakes and alligators this weekend. While in Ottawa Jeremy’s mom mentioned she wanted to take us to a reptile zoo that she heard about, and I’m guessing it’s this one. She said you can touch some of the animals. Alex is excited but I’m REALLY excited. I had a boa constrictor around my neck once during junior high. My school had organized a presentation about snakes and I was one of three people chosen to wear the snake and guess its weight. I don’t remember much else about it except that I guessed wrong and the snake felt really neat against my neck.

When we were kids, my sister and I always tried to bring frogs back home from our cousin’s cottage. Halfway home my dad would always ask, “What’s that smell?” and the next thing you knew he stopped the car and made us dump out the frogs. How many frogs had to die on the highway because of us? I can’t even think about it.

We have lost all steam in finishing up the office/ant room. It’s still in the same state…the drywall hasn’t been completely taped yet. The plan is to have it finished before Christmas, but I have no motivation at all. Feh.

I really think I’m going to get this sweater done for the weekend. My second attempt at the back went perfectly. It’s finished and waiting to be blocked. I’ll be casting on for the front in a few minutes, and I should be able to get within a couple of inches of the underarm shaping by the end of tonight. As long as I can finish knitting the front by tomorrow night, I’ll be okay.

Almost dry

The sleeves are blocking and almost dry. I fear they may be a little too long, but I can fix that if it’s absolutely necessary, and not until after our trip.

I’ve decided against bust darts in the sweater. I want to be able to wear it as an oversized sweater when I lose a bit more weight and if I make darts now they’ll be in the wrong place later on. I’m not going to plot out the neck shaping until the last minute. I marked the back with a pin where I need the front opening to start and I’m going to use that as a guide when I get there. Both back and front will get blocked tomorrow night, ready for seaming on Wednesday.

I still haven’t decided on a collar…crew or turtleneck? I’ve decided I’ll let the sweater decide. Once it’s seamed and I’ve got it on I’ll be able to see what will look best. Last night I started imagining a hood along the lines of Under the Hoodie from Stitch N’ Bitch (Alison added one to her Pop sweater, here). I certainly don’t have time to knit a hood by Friday but I can knit a similar neckline with a short collar for now, then I can undo the bind off and knit the full hoodie when we get back. I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it some more.

I didn’t bother measuring it earlier because I was sure I was on gauge, being so careful and all. So imagine my surprise when I measured the width of the piece and came out short by 4.5 inches. Gauge was perfect; I was 20 stitches short. Rip, rip, wind, wind, smoke, smash, smoke, throw, curse, stomp, pout.

I started again and knit 2 rows before I finally went to bed. Now I’m down to less than 6 days and I still have both front and back to knit.

How could I have made such a huge, time-wasting mistake? My chest hurts. The question is, does knitting seclusion continue? Can I realistically finish this by Friday or am I setting myself up for a huge disappointment? I don’t know what to do.

I guess I shouldn’t have knit those socks in between sleeves. Going from 5.5 mm needles to 2.5 and then back again was what did it. This time I’m not putting it down until I’m finished, and I’m keeping the first sleeve next to me at all times for reference.

Today is the 3rd. We’re leaving at around noon on the 11th. There are 190 hours between now and then. Is it humanly possible for me to knit the sleeve, back and front, block everything and seam it together then knit the collar? Or am I being ridiculous? All I know is that dinner every night from now until we leave is going to be crap from the freezer and I’m going into knitting seclusion. Showering is optional while in knitting seclusion, which can work in my favour since no one will want to get anywhere near me.

I still have to plot out waist shaping, darts and a neckline.

I think I can do it. I have access to coffee and Alex’s Halloween candy.

I cast on for the second sock on Sunday out of a sense of duty (I completed the first one on June 6) and grafted the toe at midnight on Monday night. They are made of Koigu, and the pattern is in Interweave Knits Spring 2004.

Alex had a great Halloween this year. His first school dance ever was a blast for him. He danced to practically every song, including a bunch of slow dances with his eighth-grade date and her friends, to the admiration of the boys in his class. Not only that, but the kid won a prize for Best Dancer. Now, if you’ve ever seen Alex dance, you know the award must really have been for Most Exuberant Dancer. My first school dance was a total bomb. I was too chicken to ask anyone to dance and I had a terrible time. I’m glad Alex doesn’t have the hang-ups I did as a kid.

Soulless Cat

Natalie and my mom came over after work to see Alex in costume and have dinner. Natalie brought two carved pumpkins and my mom brought baklava she made on the weekend. She’s still not getting the whole diabetes=no baklava thing. Anyway. Sue made it in time to take Alex around with Jeremy while I stayed behind to hand out candy to the very few kids that showed up.

The front of our house

I took this by balancing my tripod on top of Natalie’s car. I’m thinking of asking for a full-size tripod for Christmas.

Biff the Mechanic

We removed the wallpaper in the office, which thankfully came off really easily. Above you can see what we found painted on the wall underneath. Lovely. I still have more taping and sanding to do before we can prime, so we get to enjoy Ursula’s love for Bert a little while longer (we know her name was Ursula because it was written on one of the other walls in pen).

Tomorrow is Halloween and Alex is going to be a mechanic. Jeremy got him some coveralls from work and we’ll grease up his face and give him some tools to take to school. They’re having a dance during the last two periods tomorrow. Alex came home from school on Friday announcing he has a date for the dance. An eighth grader, no less! They’re going to enter the dance contest together. Cute.

When we lived at my parents’ house we developed a tradition of going over to Jeremy’s aunt Sue’s place for dinner and trick-or-treating every year, because her neighbourhood is more fun. Lots more kids, lots more trees, more decorations and more people give out candy. Being our first year in the new house, we’ve moved the tradition to our place to see how it goes. Sue will be coming over to trick-or-treat with Alex and Jeremy, and I’ll be handing out candy with my sister and mom. Then we’ll do a pizza for dinner or something.

I had intended to make a pie for tomorrow but I can’t now because yesterday I got the brilliant idea of raking the leaves in the backyard. We have a pretty big yard that’s bordered on two sides by about ten huge trees. I managed only two piles; about a quarter of the yard got raked before I just couldn’t do it anymore. Today I am so stiff and sore that I can’t twist at the waist. I have to clean the house and do a few loads of laundry, and I don’t know how I’m going to manage. So no pie.

As far as knitting goes:

Cork Raglan: I’m about to begin the raglan shaping on the second sleeve. The Cork is fun to knit with but I’m pissed off that such an expensive yarn has so many knots. I’m into the fifth ball; three balls had knots, two of the balls had two knots each. That’s a hell of a lot. Anyway, I should finish the sleeve tonight and get started on the body. I want to have this finished to wear on our trip to Ottawa on Nov. 11. I’m knitting at 4st/1″ so I really think I can get it done.

Alex’s Navy Raglan: I’ve gotten a few more inches into the body. This is the first thing my selfish ass has knit for him, and he’s being so patient.

Socks: I started a new pair for myself out of some striped Regia that I’ve had for ages, but the first one somehow turned out too big. Instead of rip it out, I’ve decided to give them to Jeremy. He’s really hard on socks and in order for me to hand them over, he had to promise never to wear them to work. Of course, I had to cast on for another pair for myself, with some KnitPicks Simple Stripes. I decided to try a 2mm needle instead of my usual 2.5mm but I really hate the smaller needle. I’m going to rip it out and start again with a 2.5.

I have a problem knitting the second sock of a pair and unless I cast on for it right away, it might never get knit. I still haven’t gotten back to my second blue Cherry