Swatchless

Being fairly new to designing knitting patterns, I was so excited when I was asked several weeks ago to design a hat for K’s toddler.  The requirements were that it be an “elf” hat with more than just Christmas colours.  I learned that “elf hat” means long and pointy. K requested that it have some patterned sections and stripes.  We agreed that ear flaps and ties would be very useful and a pompom would be fun too.  So after a chat and a quick sketch, and some toddler measurements, I went home to think and draw….but nothing much happened.

I bought some lovely “crayon coloured” acrylic yarn….I know….I usually don’t buy acrylic, but this hat is for a kid and it will need to be washed from time to time without felting.  Still…..no inspiration….

Amazing when inspiration hits isnt it?  I can honestly say that I must have dreamed up the design.  Yesterday I had yarn in a basket, and a bit of a graph coloured in.  Today I have a hat!  (I don’t have any groceries or laundry done, but that’s beside the point)

Pattern details will be coming shortly (I have to remember what I did!)

The hat is knit on 4mm needles.  The yarn is called HIT by Schoeller + Stahl.  I knit with the yarn doubled and paired it with some Red Heart Acrylic that I had left over from knitting robot hats.  The HIT is really nice to work with.  I’ll have to think up another fun project with all the yarn that’s left over.

Now…on to the next.  Plenty of Christmas knitting awaits, but that’s top secret for now.  I wonder what I’ll dream up tonight!

Ossama! He was our tour guide in Jordan, and from the first smiles on the bus, I knew that it was going to be a fun 5 days together. From impromptu Arabic lessons on the bus, to stories about the different archaeological digs, and stories about his own family, Ossama added a personal touch to our tour. He spent time with all of the group, getting to know each of the 14 of us, and asking us about our countries and lives.

fashion lessons on the bus

Even though he has been to all of these places so many times before, he presented each historical site with enthusiasm. He showed us through Petra, pointing out things that we would never have noticed on our own. He showed us around the Wadi Rum desert in the footprints of Laurence of Arabia. It was that night, camping under the stars in the desert that we got to really appreciate his sense of humour. Thanks Ossama to being on scorpion patrol!

At the end of the trip, we exchanged contact information, and have continued to be penpals over the last few months. I’m glad to have made such a nice friend in a far away land. I’m learning so much about the everyday life of a tourguiding nomad!

To thank him for his fantastic tourguiding, I made him some lovely wool socks for his birthday….but they got lost in the mail (which makes me quite upset).

the missing socks

So, Ossama….I’m sorry that these haven’t found you yet. When you are in Amman, take a close look at the footwear of those around you. Let me know if you find these socks walking around somewhere. You’ll know they are yours….they have a “small fox” on each sock.

(for the knitting geeks out there: Socks were knit cuff down, and fox sewed in afterwards with duplicate stitch)

Looking back on the year, it appears I spend money on very few things, the necessities…..like rent, and food, and car maintenance, clothes (mostly from thrift stores), and wool.  Funny how wool has become one of my necessities….

My mad money this year has been spent on some serious stash enlargement.  I have been buying spinning fiber from Paradise Fibers, a fantastic online store!  They have a wonderful selection, and a good quality product.  Their shipping is reliable, even all the way to me in Canada.  It is always exciting to go to the post office, giddy at getting a box full of goodies like merino rovings, sari silk loom waste, and yak down.  It turns out that not too many people know what yak down is….and even fewer care to hear me go on and on about it!

yak down

KnitPicks has also been a great online source of wool and inspiration for me this year.  They have me on a mailing list, and truthfully, when the reminder emails arrive, telling all about their great prices and good selection, I often get sucked into exploring their website and often buy more than I was originally intending.

More mad money was spent after a particularly crazy day this fall, when several friends and I went on a “wool run” to Wool-Tyme.  You know you’ve got a problem when important meetings are brought to a hasty conclusion in order to allow enough time to get to the wool store before closing time.  I love it at Wool-Tyme, there is something for everyone!  Baby wool, sock wool, thick mitten wool, lots of acrylic (for those who don’t like wool), there’s alpaca, and silk, and cashmere, and camel…..Just thinking about it makes me want to go visit again tomorrow….At Wool-Tyme people are encouraged to touch the merchandise, or bring in knitting projects to get help, or ask staff for advice about new projects.  And, at Wool-Tyme, I’m sure they would love to hear me rave about yak down!

Over the past years, the store has expanded from the sales of wool, yarn and buttons, to now include spinning and felting and rug hooking materials, and they’ve also gathered a community of crafts people who come together for lessons or other social knitting events.

So, although I may have an addiction to knitting, and I may spend a considerable amount of time at local yarn stores, patting yarn, and plotting out new project ideas, I feel completely justified in doing so.  The money spent on wool is really buying hours of creativity, productivity, and relaxation.  The finished product is more than just a hat or a pair of mittens, it is a collection of moments, of love, and warmth.  In the grand scheme of things, I think it is a rather good addiction to have…..but then again, I’m biased!

Wool-Run anyone??

Unexpected….

• vacation
• new foods
• boat travel on the Nile
• new and renewed friendships
• death
• swine flu
• blogging
• robotics (and world robotics championships)
• car accident
• storms
• phone calls
• challenges in my day to day work
• rewards from my efforts at work
• kindnesses from unexpected sources

The good, the bad, the total surprises…I guess I should know by now to expect the unexpected.

Thanks to all who helped along the way this past year!

Monday night was a great night for Kingston Ontario!  The Olympic torch made its appearance at market square at 7:00 PM carried by Vicki Keith, a world famous marathon swimmer, and one of our local heroes.  She was cheered on by thousands of people, and many of her “penguins” (members of the Penguins Can Fly swim program).

Photo Credit: A. Stephens

My brother and I were in the crowd with red mittens waving and cheering as the torch flame ignited the cauldron on stage.

Despite the slight rain, it was a real celebratory atmosphere, with lots of music and mascots, and speeches from local dignitaries.  I was proud to witness this special event, and be a part of history!

I even got to hold the torch with Vicki Keith!  I got to show her my mittens too….and update her on the pattern sales–half of the proceeds from the sales of the Red Olympic Mitts pattern will go to support the Penguins Can Fly swim program.  It will be so exciting to write a big cheque for her and her penguins in the new year!

To see where the torch is now, click on this interactive map!

Would you, could you in a cave?

The best tea drinking experience of the year for me happened in a cave, in Petra, Jordan; and although these kids were cute, and had an excellent sales pitch, we refused to ride an “air-conditioned bedouin ferrari” to get there.

We set off, climbing up winding paths in this mountainous desert terrain for over an hour (850 steps) at the heat of the day (at least 38 C).

At the end of our climb, there was a cave, which was welcome relief from the sun.  We sat there, on the floor, resting against cushions for a good hour, drinking hot sweet mint tea and enjoying the glorious scenery, and resting our weary legs.  Beside us was a friendly bedouin cat, and several men playing instruments and having a good chat and enjoying their sheesha (water pipe).

This is a better picture of the monastery, taken from a different vantage point.  From inside the cave, it’s hard to appreciate the scale of this building that was carved into the rock by the ancient Nabatean people.  Petra is a magnificent place.  If you go there….be sure to climb up to the Monastery, sit in the cave, and enjoy the most memorable cup of tea you’ll ever drink!

The Monastery, Petra--look at the tiny people!

Would you, could you in a boat?

My most memorable tea making experience:

Captain Hamada and Ali taught “Captain” and I how to make tea during our 4 day felucca journey.  We became quite good at it after a bit of practice.

Here are the basic instructions: (taken from my journal written while on the boat)

Step 1: The tea tray (10 inch round cake pan), tea glasses (1/2 cup), sugar bowl, loose tea, and tea spoon come off the shelf.

Step 2: The gas stove is lit (with matches or with flint, as “Captain” showed us)

Step 3: The kettle is filled with Egyptian tap water, from a big container on board.

Step 4: The kettle is boiled, and the glasses are rinsed with boiling water. To do this, cardboard is needed to wrap the handle of the kettle or else you will be burned.

Step 5: Tea is spooned out carefully into the glasses. Captains take 1 spoonfuls, but we only take half (Egyptian spoonfuls are HEAPING spoonfuls).

Step 6: Sugar is added. Captains take 3 spoonfuls, and we started off taking 2, but weaned ourselves to 1.

Step 7: Hot water is added, and stirred.

Step 8: Drink the tea after it cools a bit and everything settles.

Step 9: Carefully lean over the edge of the felucca and hold the glass tightly and dump the tea leaves into the Nile.

Repeat 6 times a day at least.

Best Packaging of the year….

Borio cookies!!!

Bought in Egypt–12 cookies for 5 Egyptian Pounds (1.25 Canadian Dollars). Eaten on the way up Mt. Sinai.

ETA: They tasted pretty good at the time, but are nothing like their more famous North American cousins.

I don’t often seek out risky situations that might bring forth a rush of adrenaline. I do enjoy a good roller coaster from time to time, but didn’t go on any this year that I can remember.  Thinking back, my big rushes tend to be brought on by accomplishments, like after a big test, performance, or competition.  This year’s rush came at a Robotics Competition in April.

Last year between January and March a significant portion of my “free time” was given to a high school robotics team competing for the first time in the First Robotics Competition. The K-Botics team started as a group of students who were interested, but had no ideas how to build a robot. Early in January, the NASA webcast brought us all together to learn about a new game of 3-on-3 robot basketball played on ice.

No, really! It’s called “Lunacy”, and it was created to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing.

This is the video that we were shown at kickoff last year.

We went quickly from learning the rules of the game, to designing a strategy, and prototyping possible robots. Over the six weeks of build season (every evening and all day Saturdays), we created not only a fantastic robot, but also a cohesive team of students and mentors. It is a treat to work with such dedicated individuals! We shipped the robot off, and later joined it at the Greater Toronto Regional (GTR) the largest regional competition in Canada. The top alliance of 3 teams would head off to the Worlds in Atlanta, along with the winner of the Chairman’s Award and the Rookie All-Star Award. We had submitted a thick report detailing our plan for this year, our plan for the future, our involvement in the community, and lots of pictures of us and the robot.

Here is a video of us (team 2809) in the semifinals at the GTR competition. We didn’t get any farther in the competition….

But….and here comes the moment of the RUSH….at the end of the weekend’s competition, the speeches were given to announce the Rookie All-Star winners.  We were sitting together in the stands, with eyes closed and fingers crossed, hoping that we’d be named.  What a rush it was (as you can hear in the video) to be called down to the floor, and be recognized for the many hours of hard work, and great accomplishments of the season. 

Even though we went on to Atlanta (having an excellent BUS RAVE on the way) and won an award at the Worlds, I still count this win at GTR as the biggest rush…maybe it is because it was our first.  Stay tuned for more robotics fun this January!

How have I changed the place that I live… not much actually.  Since it’s an apartment I’m not at liberty to do all that much, nor do I have the time or energy to do so.

I did make an attempt to organize myself my stash last March.  My mom and I drove up to Ottawa for passport related stuff, and headed to IKEA on the way back.  We managed to somehow jam boxes for 3 sets of tall shelves into the car (with seats folded and pulled forward as much as possible).  It was also quite a job (involving the creative use of abandoned grocery carts) to wrestle the boxes out of the car and up to my apartment.

I spent several afternoons with the screw driver assembling the shelves, and then with a bit of help got them anchored to the walls.  For a while, I was more organized.  But then it appears that the number of books I own has multiplied to fill these shelves.

Now….I’m about do to something brave.  Most knitters have a stash of yarn, a hidden supply that is going to be used for something at some time but is currently waiting for that perfect project.  Some of it is yarn bought at a certain place, like the silk I bought in Japan when I learned to dye with indigo (lesson translated thanks to my very patient friends who had no interest whatsoever in silk or dyeing), or the super soft alpaca that I bought from the Weavers and Spinner’s Guild sale….I know it will be a scarf sometime, but I need to have the time to enjoy knitting with such lovely fiber.  Some of it is yarn bought on sale, or because I love the colour, or because I forgot I already had something similar….I know…I know…I have a bit of a problem.

So, here’s to bravery.  This is my stash, or at least most of it.  Doesn’t it look pretty?  Without this shelf, it was all piled in boxes in various corners of my apartment.  I have certainly gained more floor space with this stash storage shelf.  Looking at all that wool makes me think I need to knit more….so there will be more room on those shelves to store other important things.

This perhaps leads into my new years resolution post on being more organized, or perhaps just knitting faster than I acquire new yarn.

All you knitters out there….tell the truth….you have a yarn stash too, right?