FOs...

Trigger mitts, designed on the needles, knit from wool of a sheep that now resides on my farm. They fit me perfectly. I hope they fit the recipient as well!

Thomas (apparently I was disturbing his sleep during the photo op!) with a finally finished mohair-blend sweater that's over 18 years old. Kid you not. I bought the yarn when I was still in school (high school that is!), living at home. Granted, it was my last year at home but still. It was my first ever colour-work and first sweater and first mohair yarn, blah, blah, blah... And I don't even like it, and it's huge and makes me look even huger. It sat in a box waiting to be sewn together over 17 years. I didn't have a clue about finishing knit stuff back then, because let me tell you, it took many hours and MAJOR perseverance to undo those seams that I did stitch. And I was too ashamed to take pictures of the horror. Now the shoulders are grafted (can you believe it??!) and all other seams are done by the book and I can even get the darned thing over my head. Yes, I had MAJOR issues with the neck band being too tight. Don't ask any other questions. I should have taken the thing apart and reused the yarn for socks or something.















I leave you with pictures of Oscar, the Vampire Cat (who loves his picture taken!).

NB No photoshopping involved!

Fickle, That's Me

I'm catching up on blog reading tonight, and this is what I have to put up with:

I think she wants her belly scratched. You think? Can she possibly be any more subtle??
Annie is a pouter. Tough.

And while my dial-up takes its' time uploading pages, I am trying not to waste time. Actually, this is evidence of polygamy. I think. Is it still polygamy if the others are stashed who-knows-where and you are in the company of only one? Even if stash spies lurk everywhere, taking notes of your indiscretions? The spies are actually Jaeger Matchmaker Chunky that I scored on eBay (very cushy), destined for hats + presents. That nice cotton top I started? Where did that go exactly?? I dunno. Maybe I do, I don't want to think about it. So I'm knitting socks for Wiktoria with that pink Italian wool I bought in Kitchener. Wishing now I had bought more than just that one ball. It's LOVELY. I am cursed, not being able to stick to one project at a time.

I'm on a Diet

Doesn't it show???

(I figured cheap, no-name cookies don't count.) As if.

I'm exercising too (and I'd show you, but it's too difficult taking a picture of me sitting down doing nothing!!).

If Only

I WANT ONE. Get this: it's knit furniture!! Yeah, baby!

My thanks to Kim, Yarn Abuser for pointing this out.

And if you go here, you will find more of what I want.

IF I had that kind of money.

IF I didn't have a husband or kids that would destroy it within five days of it's arrival in the house.

IF this company could make their catalogue available in Canada.

That's a lot of ifs.

Please will excuse me now, for I am going to have a sitdown on my child/man-proof furniture and daydream of the possibilities.

Knitting, Crochet, and Kitty Cuteness

My latest knitted undertaking.

The top from the cover in a cotton I acquired during Carissa's destashing. I didn't do a test swatch (don't tell me you're shocked!), on needles 5mm smaller then recommended and I am pretty sure the weight of cotton I'm using is quite different from the one suggested. I'm hoping the finished product won't turn out to be as baggy as the one in the picture. Precisely the reason I'm following (gasp) the pattern for the smallest size. That's kind of funny since there is nothing small about me!

Briggs & Little Wool Blanket

Progress is slow, but I'm getting there. Somewhere between a third and half way done, I'd say.

Annie in a bonnet
Doesn't she look impressed?

A Rant, and more

I love my library. The staff is wonderful. Wanda and Crystal and the other ladies make the Bridgewater Branch of SSRL a really COOL place to visit. They're not only smart, or nice, or friendly, but they're also all honest-to-goodness helpful. With a smile. It's not that they have a huge collection of books over which they preside. But they will help you get access to practically any book you have your heart set on. Once I even got a book brought in from Manitoba, I believe it was. That's where they found what I needed. Amazing. Because of this kind of service, I try to donate money or books or movies whenever I am able. My small way to say thank you, and to help in any little way to make it a better place for other patrons.

(This is where the rant begins.) Recently I managed to borrow the above pictured book through ILL. Good book. Interesting book. Informative book. I found this through scanning it. Then Saturday night I sat down to read it from the beginning. I was really enjoying it until I got to page 18. Page 19 was missing. WTF??? Pages 20 - 22 were also missing! That really pissed me off. The whole section on motifs is missing. Destroying a book is wrong. Even worse because this book doesn't just belong to one idividual. It's not only the one individual that is deprived of the information of the missing pages but any future person wishing to learn about this particular subject. This book was published in 1985. Odds of finding a replacement copy are slim. And lets face it, any copy that may be found is probably going to cost more than the original. I sure hope it wasn't a knitter that could be so selfish or rude. I had hoped that knitters as a whole would be more principled than go ripping patterns from books for their sole enjoyment. It's not like the book couldn't be signed out again if the "thief" wasn't finished with it. I am not going to apologize for using that word. People don't like to think of themselves in such low esteem. But what else is it but stealing? What?? It's not stealing because that person only took a few pages? Give me a break. I wish eternal torment of conscience on the person with such low regard for public property! (End rant.)

James in the "Penthouse Suite"

...because everyone knows that the penthouse is the best, sleeping on wool socks makes it even better! (That'll teach my husband to leave his sock drawer open!)

I started these on Sunday, when I needed something to keep my hands busy while watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. On a 5mm crochet hook, and Bernat chunky, it makes for a project that practically crochets itself and lets my brain take a vacation. I was somewhat surprised when my daughter said she liked the black one better but not too much because "it's holey". I haven't decided how many of these squares I will join together to make something. May be a blanket, may turn into a couch cover, but I strongly suspect it will end up in the kids' rooms as a toy accessory of sorts.

RIP

PEPPER

Brianna's cat and loyal companion

May 2000 - June 7, 2006

RIP

A Good Day

Lookie what came in the mail today! I am a happy, happy woman. One of a few awesome things I scored on eBay from an Ontario seller.

My own copy, at last. I've been obsessed with lace knitting for a while, now, but I have been having a difficult time finding good pattern books at LBSs. However, if I wanted a book to show me in great detail how to make a knit or a purl stitch, there are dozens on the shelves. What's up with that??

My niece Wiktoria (pronounced Victoria), cruising through Niagara Falls. She's almost 6 months. Isn't she a cutie patutie? Gush, gush...

My goofy brother (and top of his wife's head):

Lately I've been watching "How Clean is Your House". Have you seen it? Two British women taking people's homes by storm with cleaning bucket in hand, and whipping the place into a sparkling abode? I must admit the start of every show ready grosses me out, but the cleaning tips are quite good. I am not a neat freak by any stretch of the imagination, but I tell you, this show got me off the couch, got me to put my knitting down, and shamed me into a cleaning frenzy! I could NOT HELP MYSELF!!

Something I don't see every day: I had just turned on the computer, the kids were coming through the door, and then I hear Mathew hollering "...there's a deer, there's a deer...."

"Where, where??!"

"..., just jumped over the fence, WOW..."

"....WHERE???..."

"...was in the front yard; LOOK OUT YOUR WINDOW!..."

And sure enough, when I ran back to my room, and looked out, there was this gorgeous doe prancing through the small side field, not deterred but electric wire in the least. She was beautiful, and big. Unfortunately, a perfect specimen for hunting season. But such is life when you live with a hunter. She's safe enough for now. What a sight she was!