Swatchless

This weekend, friends of mine became parents, and I started knitting!  The news of the healthy baby and happy family had me digging through some of the stash to find some old fashioned Astra yarn that I had found at a thrift store a while ago.  When knitting for a baby, machine washable yarns are a definite plus!

My new favourite baby bonnet pattern is the Top Down Bonnet with Anime Character {Ravelink} by Adrian Bizilia.  I have made this bonnet with the ears and face before for a Japanese friend of mine.

This time I made the bonnet without the face and ears.  It’s amazing….a totally new and different hat.

I enjoy how the stripes join up with each other along the line of increases.

This bonnet did not use up ALL of my stash, so I have cast on for a top down raglan sleeve sweater to match (blue with yellow stripes), and there might be enough left for booties too!

The wonderful thing about knitting for a new baby is that projects are small and manageable, and they look SO cute!

What’s your favourite thing to knit for a new baby?

It is with great regret that I announce my death…..

Tonight there was a pair of beautiful socks in my mail box.  They are purple and stripey and so soft and comfy! This is the first pair of hand knit socks I have ever been given, and I will treasure them.  I’ve noticed that knitters don’t often get hand knit gifts for some reason….

Thanks so much to warrior “suckittrebek” for the fine knitting, and the yummy chocolate!  I’m glad (and a little concerned) that you enjoyed killing a Canadian so much.

Pattern:  Don’t Box Me In

Yarn:  Bamboo & Ewe Pattern, superfine wool/bamboo blend yarn (55% wool, 30% nylon, 15% rayon from bamboo)

I came home tonight, with FREEZING toes (it’s -25 C with windchill tonight).  I tried on my new socks, and put my feet up for a bit. I might get a chance to do a little knitting of my own before I go to sleep.

It’s been quite a day!

About two years ago I knit these Magnificent Mittens (5-1 Mitten, by Anna Zilboorg) to be auctioned off to benefit the local school board’s “Food Sharing Project”.  I was able to borrow a copy of Anna Zilboorg’s book from our local library and had fun looking at the amazing and intricate patterns.  I knit these out of Brigg’s and Little Tuffy wool.  It made me feel good to be able to do something to support such an important local initiative.

The annual Talents & Treasures Auction goes a long way in supporting the Food Sharing Project. It raises much needed funds to provide approximately 3,500 students, daily, in about 80 sites in the Limestone District School Board and the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board with the nutrition they need to be successful students.

The 2010 Auction is taking place tonight.  It’s always a good show, with a great variety of items to bid on.  Bring your friends!

Auction Details:

The public is invited to attend the Talents & Treasures Live and Silent Auction Friday, January 29th at Bayridge Secondary School, 1059 Taylor Kidd Blvd. Doors open at 6 p.m. for the preview and to begin bidding on Silent Auction items. There will be raffles, silent auctions, and the live auction, with Gordon’s Estate Services, which starts at 7 p.m. Admission is $3 per person or $5 for two persons, with complimentary refreshments. VISA, Mastercard, Interac, cash and/or cheques will be accepted.

Today is one of those days….actually this week is one of those weeks….it seems like there aren’t enough hours for all the things that have to get done. I’ve been having fun though, spending a lot of time after work helping the K-Botics team build a robot!

In short….No time to knit.

I did have time to write a HAIKU about a sad mitten I saw in the parking lot tonight.

Dark and very cold,
A lone mitten on the ground
Is missing its mate

Watch out folks…it’s cold out there!  -22 C tomorrow.  Keep hold of BOTH your mittens.

Here’s the list of events from ravelry

I had the best of intentions….I was just going to Wool-Tyme to drop off my sample of illusion knitting for the class I’m teaching in April.  I had no plans to buy ANYTHING.

The store had several customers, and as I waited for the store clerk to be free, I wandered around looking at patting the yarn.

I should have known better than to approach the discount table.  I CAN’T refuse a good discount.  Specially when it is on lovely chunky blue merino alpaca silk…..

This yarn was worth breaking my “knit-from-stash” resolution.  I got 3 skeins….and saved 8 bucks….so that sort of makes me feel better.

Yarn:  Sulka (60% merino wool, 20% Alpaca, 20% Silk) 50g/50m

It is so soft and fluffy.  In these skeins are so many possibilities….so much promise….

What would you make out of it?

See what happens when you get going on an idea??  I’ve been playing with illusion knitting these days in preparation for the class I’m teaching at Wool-Tyme.

Here’s an idea I’ve been working on for Valentine’s day…

A lover’s mitten…perfect for hand holding.

more photos and pattern details will be released shortly.

Today I heard from my target (#180 – Sybil).  She is DEAD!  The mail got there way faster than the post office man said….he guaranteed it would take LONGER than 7 business days, but it took shorter than 5.  She is happy with her socks! 

The image above comes from the leaderboard which gets updated with more deaths daily.  The issue that I have now is that my target has already assassinated her target (#181 -TakesNoPrisoners), who has assassinated her target (#182 -Termiknitter) who has assassinated her target (#183 -The Full-Contact Knitter).

So….I’m trying to contact #183, to find out where their socks are.  If they have not been finished, they should get mailed to me.  If they have been finished then #184 will also be dead, and their socks should be mailed to me.  #183′s socks may also be in transit in their unfinished form to #182 who should then mail them to me.

I have contacted the head of the competition for the contact information of these knitters, and we’ll see what happens next.  I’m just excited that #178 (suckittrebek in NM) has not mailed socks to me yet, so I’m still alive (until I check the mail on Monday at least!)

Yay sockwars!

Note:  I also found out by stalking the sockwars ravelry group that another warrior is from Kingston….I met her at WoolTyme….this could get VERY interesting!  hahaha….

Is it a bad sign that I want to hand deliver a pair of death socks?

No….I’m not knitting a candy cane…..

This is a sample of illusion knitting that I made to be on display at Wool-Tyme.  This technique simply requires you to knit and purl.  It looks very plain when viewed from above, but far more impressive when seen on an angle.

If you are in Kingston, and want to learn how to knit your own illusions, I’m going to be teaching a class on April 24th.  Beginners welcome!!

Contact Anne at Wool-Tyme Kingston to sign up!

Wool Tyme

Email:wooltymekingston@gmail.com

Address:725 Gardiners Rd. Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7M 3Y5

Phone:  613-384-3951

I’m trying to think of some other motifs to hide in my knitting….Illusion hearts are perfect for this time of year with Valentine’s day just around the corner.

What image would you like to hide in your knitting?

These socks, knit by my aunt, were a work in progress since the summer.  They are knit in a very fine fingering weight wool, with corrugated ribbing at the top.  She brought them out for me to see….and ask for advice about what to do.

You see, one sock is considerably longer than the other.  They are impeccably finished, toes grafted and ends woven in….but one foot is still about an inch shorter than the other.

How could this happen??  Let’s think a minute….

Have you ever stretched a sock out to measure it?  Do you ever knit while watching TV, movies, or reading a book?  Do you ever ignore a mistake that you’re making, hoping that it will all be fine if you just keep going?  Do you ever knit one sock, then knit the other a month later after you forget how long you made the first sock?

I’m not sure how she ended up with socks like this, but she was asking me how to remedy the situation.

My gut instinct was to try on both socks, decide which one fits, and rip back the other sock to the start of the toe decreases, and re knit the toe.

She is more gutsy than me….her plan was to cut the toe off the shorter sock, and pick up the stitches, knit an extra inch and a toe.

What would you do?  Are you brave enough to cut your knitting?