Swatchless

Have you been asked that question before?  I never know how to answer.  The truth is, in my free time, my hands are rarely without knitting, weaving, or spinning.  When asked why I’m NOT knitting, my first instinct is to pull out my knitting project from my bag, or desk drawer, or trunk of my car, and start an intense conversation about the intricacies of turning a heel, or working fairisle colourwork.  Eyes often glaze over pretty quickly.

Tonight, I showed a lot of restraint, and stopped myself before I entered into such an eye-glazing conversation.  I was really excited to share my ideas about my latest project, but I don’t know that people were ready to listen to all the details.  You see, I’m a bit of a geek.  I’m currently knitting a model of DNA[Ravelink], and toying with ideas of how to join the knitted base pairs so that the proper pairs fit together, and that the DNA strands can unzip to show the replication process.  Eyes glazing yet?

photo credit: Kimberly Chapman

Right now there is not much to show for all of my knitting.  I have started one of the twisted tubes, but since I’ve run out of stuffing I’m taking a bit of a time out.  I’m taking a break from knitting, and spending my time catching up on all of the other things that often get put on the back burner.

So….here’s a question for ya….

So, why aren’t you knitting?

Here’s a cute idea!

Image source: knitpicks.com

Today was a long and wonderful day.  It started off bright and early with a bus ride to Montreal (very productive for knitting!), an adventure through the Biodome where we explored several different artificial biomes.

There were monkeys and macaws and otters and lots of fish and frogs and starfish…

…and penguins…

…and puffins…

…and so much more that were hiding–I never did see the 3 sloths that were apparently up in the vegetation.

In the gift shop I found lots of cute things, including these knitted beauties!  Can you imagine that there are people in Kenya knitting life size penguins?

It seems a bit strange to me, but I was impressed by the “made from scratch” aspect–hand spun, hand dyed, hand knit…right up my alley!

After the biodome and a quick lunch downtown we headed to the Cirque Du Soleil tent at the old port.  I had walked past this site once before, never thinking that I’d have the chance to see a show.  I’m so glad that I took the opportunity to go today!

I am not able to sum up in words what I saw–and photography wasn’t allowed.  There were  feats of strength and balance, daring acts on a trapeze, incredible synchronized performances of unicyclists who kicked metal bowls onto their heads and the heads of other unicyclists–you have to see it to believe it.  There was a hoop dancer, and a rollerskating duo, and a couple of clowns who made several appearances and were very funny!  There were people in monkey suits that you’d swear were ACTUALLY monkeys, and guys doing trampoline stunts on a flexible balance beam.

The costumes, were elaborate and beautiful.  The music was rhythmic and blended so well with the action–at one point scientists in lab coats were playing percussion on giant test tubes, and playing small test tubes like panpipes.

I strongly recommend going to see a show if you ever have the opportunity.

Of course, I took the opportunity to finish my my sock during intermission.  I will always remember that this was my Cirque Du Soleil sock.

People laughed a lot when I was taking these pictures–most of my family and friends know that I knit a lot, and take pictures and post them up here, but to strangers in Montreal I must have been quite a sight.  Some stopped to talk to me, but others giggled and walked right on by.

Trying on my finished sock!  Very excited that it fits and it stays up thanks to calf shaping (increasing 2 stitches every 6 or 7 rows up the back of the leg).  I must get started on the second sock because I want to be able to wear them before it gets too warm for wool.

Ever since my friend showed me the pattern for a knitted pigeon, I had to make one….

Today was the day that Percy meets Bernice and Bernie.  I’m not sure what they think of each other, but I think my Percy pigeon looks pretty good.

If you want to make your own Percy, here’s the pattern [Ravelink]

Let me introduce you to my newest buddy!

The lego man that I knit earlier this month (Some Assembly Required), is now decked out in WAFFLES and K-Botics gear!  I had such fun making the teensy tiny clothes….that once I made a hat, I couldn’t stop!  The WAFFLES shirt was knit from yellow baby weight yarn (very light fingering yarn) from the top down with raglan sleeve shaping.  The shirt needed a row of ribbing at the bottom to keep it from rolling.  The WAFFLES motif was stitched on later in chain stitch.

I used acrylic yarn (bits and pieces left over from knitting robot hats) to make the purple and blue clothing, but I needed to split the yarn up, and use a single ply, and sock needles (2.0mm DPNs).  The hat was knit from the crown to the brim in stripes incorporating the K-BOTICS and 2809 colourwork section before a row of ribbing and casting off.

The sweater is knit from the collar down, raglan style ending with a row of ribbing.  Sleeve stitches were picked up and knit to the cuff, then I picked up the neck stitches and improvised a hood that would fit over a lego head–significantly different proportions than a human head!  I embroidered K-BOTICS and our logo on the sweater using light blue, to match our team hoodies.

This little guy is looking for a new friend.  I may have to make one or two more when I get a bit of free time!

What should his name be?

This past weekend the Cantabile Men and Women’s choirs went on tour to Burlington Vermont and Eastman Quebec, which meant a LOT of time spent singing, and a LOT of time on a bus.  Its funny, when packing for this trip the first thing I thought of was what knitting to bring.

I decided that a new knitting project would be needed to keep my fingers and brain busy during the long bus ride.

Some Assembly Required

This is a fiddly project.  I made it more fiddly by attempting it with sock yarn (Sisu) and size 2.5mm needles.  I was not sure how this would work as bus knitting–it could have been a disaster.  I recommend bringing a baggie to put the finished parts in, and using 5 needles rather than 4.  I remembered at the last minute to bring a darning needle, and stuffing.

It was great fun watching the parts take shape.  The pattern is very well written, and the pictures are extremely helpful to the construction of the many tiny pieces.

Once completed, this little guy started having fun on the trip….he specially liked breakfast time…  (this next picture is dedicated to the W.A.F.F.L.E.S. First Lego League Team.  I was thinking of you this weekend as you were watching the World Festival!)

LEGO WAFFLES

The original pattern results in a guy that is 10 inches tall.  My lego guy, knit in finer yarn, is about 5 inches tall.  And, with a significant amount of balancing, he’ll stand up!

with a 1 litre juice box

I arrived back home to notice that some other things had grown in my absence.

My radishes: growing tall, reaching for the sunshine

Before

After

My pigeons: now they are getting grey feathers and their eyes are open.

Before

After

Thanks to all the twitter knitters out there for your great pattern suggestions.

The popular patterns were:

The Fae Folk Hat [Ravelink]

image source: ravelry.com

and Ishbel [Ravelink]

image source: ravelry.com

but….I am not in the mood for something fiddly like lace right now.  I seem to be in the mood for something totally different and fiddly in another way entirely.

image source: ravelry.com

This is a pattern called “Some Assembly Required” [Ravelink]

As soon as I read the pattern blurb, I knew it was PERFECT for me!

“Warning! Some Assembly Required is extreme knitting! This is not suitable for beginners. Please review the techniques list before purchase. The pattern may be hard, but it will be worth it.

Some Assembly Required is a pattern that will enable you to make an adorable toy that can be taken apart and put together again. The head, torso, and legs are independent pieces, so you could make multiple pieces in different colors and they would be interchangeable.”

I’m not sure WHEN I’ll get the chance to knit this….maybe a paralympic knitting project?  I am comforted by the fact that it is in smallish pieces, so I will feel the thrill of accomplishment many times as the project grows.

Thanks again to yarn piggy from flying pig knits for giving me the pattern!