Don't Adjust Your Monitors.

So, there's good news, and not so good news.

Socks!

This is the start of the Summer of Socks '08 pattern, created by Wendy. I'm using some Henry's Attic sock yarn that was dyed 'specially for me by Chris (awww!). Because of the mesh pattern, it kind of looks a bit twisted, but it's such a pretty pattern, and is perfect in pink. What you can't see is the total mess I made of the heel...so it's a good thing no one will see that part. The heel flap is going much better.

Hearts Tunic!

The back, completed. A very simple, and very quick knit. I just love this shade of red, although it doesn't photograph well. Or, it could just be me.

And I have an FO! Wheeeee!


Columbia! All done and blocked. And tried on - no modelled shot as it's a wee bit too warm for that. It fits beautifully, although the sleeves are a bit long (but that's always the case with sleeves...).

I knit it using Jamieson's Aran yarn, 9.5 skeins of Chartreuse, using size 5mm needles. Columbia is from AS' "American Portraits".

However. Here's the bad-ish news:

Don't adjust your monitors! Do you see what I see?? No need to be polite, you can say it.

"Brigitte, what is that off-colour section at the bottom, starting at the hem??"

Why - that would be the one skein that, even though all from the same dye lot - is lighter than every other skein. The only one out of ten.

Yes, I cried. Yes, I swore.

*sigh* I still love it, and am pleased with the way it turned out. Except for that one area that sticks out like a sore thumb... A really bashed up, bruised and mangled thumb.


It will be an outdoor sweater.

"Forget about it! Do the meme instead! While I lie here."

From my lovely friend Carrie K. -

Rules: You must answer the questions using only one word.



1. Where is your cell phone? Um...
2. Your significant other? Um...
3. Your hair? Long
4. Your mother? *sniff*
5. Your father? Absent
6. Your favorite thing? Yarn
7. Your dream last night? None
8. Your favorite drink? Mojitos (what?)
9. Your dream/goal? India
10. The room you’re in? Quiet...
11. Your hobby? Knitting (duh...)
12. Your fear? Snakes
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Travelling
14. What you’re not? Itchy
15. Muffins? Gluten-free
16. One of your wish list items? Maid
17. Where you grew up? Ottawa
18. The last thing you did? Sleep
19. What are you wearing? Jammies
20. Favorite gadget? MP3
21. Your pets? Funny
22. Your computer? Black
23. Your mood? Upbeat!
24. Missing someone? Yes
25. Your car? None!
26. Something you’re not wearing? Watch
27. Favorite store? Um...
28. Like someone? Heehee!
29. Your favorite color? Blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? Morning
31. Last time you cried? ...Columbia...

"Well, if you're really that bummed about Columbia, you could always pass it on to us. You know. To lounge on and stuff. Just sayin'."

Change Is Good...And All About Sleeves

Well, for me it is. A little change on the layout, and I feel as though I have a new wardrobe. OK, maybe not a new wardrobe...just a few new things. It's spring, what can I say.

Don't be deceived by her sweet, soft face and gentle disposition. Mae snores.

"Yeah, and sometimes she gets windy too, if you know what I mean!"

Gandalf on his "It's-Easy-To-Be-A-Tough-Guy-From-Up-Here" perch, looking out the window.

In my books, it's a good week when I actually make tangible PROGRESS on my WIPs. They may not be FOs, but they are that much closer to being finished:

Columbia is on the bottom. She's a Starmore design from "American Portraits". Marina has a completed one. We may have started knitting Columbia at around the same time, but Marina has considerably more discipline than I do when I comes to sticking to one or two projects. Because, you know. I'm not known for doing that.

And if I had, my Gingko Leaf tunic from Fiddlesticks Knitting would have been done sometime in 2004 when it was started. I really don't know why it's taken me so long to finish it up. Oh wait, I do actually. Lace. On both the right and wrong sides. And knitting with the Ecoknit cotton. It's incredibly soft yarn, but it tickles the nose... The finished sleeve is on top.

Laleli and I have decided to kiss and make up. I started work on the first sleeve yesterday. Every time I start knitting stranded/Fair Isle after having been away for awhile, I'm amazed I stayed away for as long as I did. It's love, kids... I made it through the day without messing up the chart or the colour placements. AND I remembered the differences between right and left, up and down, and how to count.

And the Mork socks? No, I haven't given up on them. I'm actually enjoying them, funky weird colour stripes and all. Um, they've actually been frogged (again...) and restarted. I tried to do a slip stitch on the top of the foot as well as the leg, but decided I didn't like the way it was turning out. So...once again. At least I know this is some pretty tough yarn. Despite all the pulling (and swearing) I've put it through, it's holding up quite nicely, with hardly any splitting.

So...have you heard about this? A new (to english North America) knitting magazine out of Europe - Verena Knitting. I haven't seen it yet, but as soon as I do, I intend to pick it up. Has anyone seen a copy yet?

Have a good Sunday everyone!

Hiding In Plain Sight

"Whoa...I have found THE perfect hiding spot. No one can see me! Hee hee! Hey! Atticus! Yeah, I ate your Dental Diet food! Watcha gonna do?? Man, I am SO. Clever."

Not so clever - no batteries for my camera. *sigh*


So, imagine if you will that Columbia has a front, back and one sleeve. And that - whoops! Hey! Look what just forced itself on me! Made me knit it, it did. Cute little Enchanting top from Fiddlesticks Knitting! How'd that happen?? And it's almost finished?? WOW. And - it's lace. But not just any lace - just lace knit from the best darn patterns ever. You don't even need to think about it - just follow the chart.

And I started some socks too? What the...? Who knew! The OnLine sock yarn I picked up last week knits up pretty quickly. Mine is the last colourway on the right hand side, #930. Believe me - mine looks NOTHING like the one in the picture. Nothing. Instead of nice, neat stripes - mine look like those suspenders Mork used to wear on Mork and Mindy. Hee hee...oh well. I'll show you...next time.

"See Gandalf? I can so touch my nose with my tongue! Don't bet on stuff like that with me, I'm the champ at nose touching. Dork."

"Is it true Auntie Lorraine is coming to visit with me??!"

Last Friday, the organization bug bit me, and I went through my yarn stash and decided that it needed a bit of... organizing. You know - like yarn with like yarn, kits together... Because, as simple as that sounds... Who knew? I found stuff I'd forgotten I even had (of course), and other stuff I wondered WHY I even had. And patterns I'd been looking for and others that again, I'd forgotten I had. Most of them lace. They've been queued in Ravelry. Whether or not they get done is another thing altogether.

I did manage to snap this picture off before the batteries conked out.

Left overs. Although I'd like to pop the bag somewhere and neglect them, it has me thinking instead of what I can do with it all...


And that wow...that represents A LOT of projects.

If you get a chance, go pop by and say hi to Michele! She just had her lace projects on display at her local LYS. Beautiful stuff! And, if you haven't already - wish Lorraine a happy belated birthday!

Earth Hour

What were you doing between 8 - 9pm Eastern time last night (March 29th)?

"Wow, it's so dark out! That's cool..."

The Little Dudes and I participated in Earth Hour, doing our part by turning off all of our lights, and the TV/radio/computer etc., for a full hour. Doesn't sound like much? Well, every little bit counts, and the city of Toronto actually decreased it's power consumption by 8.7% during this hour. Although knitting by candle light isn't very efficient, I certainly did enjoy watching the stars come out in the night sky. My neighbourhood went quite dark, except for one lone house visible from my back yard, and as a result, the light pollution was very low. It was an interesting experiment, and it did make me think about what I can do to decrease my energy consumption at home...

What about you?

"I did my part! For a full hour I didn't run around all looney and weirdo-like, conserving my energy! Does that count?"

The above shot of the beginning of Laleli's first sleeve is proof that I can neither read, nor count. Because picking up and knitting ONE round, and knitting the first pattern round took nearly 3 hours. Because I read "127 stitches", and just took it to mean "each side". Because I didn't seem to think it was important to continue reading on, I missed the very important "total of 128 stitches". I just zipped right past that, deciding that if it says 128 in the same sentence, well it must mean pick up anther 128 stitches on the other side. Couldn't figure out why it just wasn't working out. Then I realized that I had in fact, had had a major brain fart because 260 stitches would make for uh, a pretty big armhole. Once I figured that out, I was then able to successfully pick up 127 stitches, plus the centre stitch for a TOTAL of 128 stitches (amazing what READING the pattern notes can achieve...). Not the first time I've picked up stitches for a Fair Isle sleeve, but you know...I also couldn't read or count yesterday.

Once I managed to do that, I of coursed messed up my colour symbols on the chart, couldn't tell the difference between right and left, forgot to turn the chart upside down, and by the time I did figure all of that out (again with the reading and counting) - I'd managed one round. I then realized - because I forgot once again to READ THE INSTRUCTIONS - I cut the wrong colour yarn for the next round and therefore joined in the wrong colour yarn. That's when I called it a day...

At least Columbia is going much better.




A couple more chart repeats, and I'll have completed the front.



Atticus would also like to thank all of his friends and admirers for all the good wishes and cyber-scritches. He's fine now - it was just a little reaction to the new wet food the vet has him on now, and thankfully not crystals.


And - guess who turned all of 9 years old last week?!

Baby Mae!

A Long Post But Worth It!

Someone put up such a fight on Friday, we didn't make it to the V-E-T.

"Go. Away."

I gave up after one scratch, a few kicks, and a tinkle or two.

So we try again in a week. I need a new strategy.

(Oh, and please bear with me through this looooong post. It'll be worth it in the end!)

We have updates! It's been awhile since I showed off some of them, which doesn't mean I have been neglecting them - just neglecting to update you on them.

"Lalalalalala...doodeedoo...lalalalalalalala..."




Mmmmm...Laleli. I had hoped to have the body completed, and I'm around 10 rounds short of that. It WILL be completed today!



Once I've done that, I want to finish Delores' body. Then I can work the sleeves on both, and the button bands. I was pleasantly surprised (more like a "right on!") when I realized that I have around 15 rounds left until I start the armhole shaping. It seems kind of short... but then I remembered that the buttonband continues all the way around to hem the body. Now that is going to be a LONG, LONG knit... Oh well... Probably shouldn't get too ahead of myself.


And a new kid on the block! I alluded to her briefly last week.

"Lalalalala...oh, a pointy thing...lalalalalalala...I wonder if playing with it would have the same outcome as "running with scissors" Mom always tells me not to do?...Hey! Wait a minute! Hey! Are you taking a picture? Wha' the..."

This would be Columbia, from the Starmore book "American Portraits". I did have a picture of the lower edge of Columbia last week , however I wasn't too happy with how it came out, so I didn't post it... This is much better. I'm using some of the Jamiesons Aran I just stocked up on - this is the "Chartreuse" colour - and it's perfect for this design.

Oh...and my little Nordic Sweetheart hat? Um. I kind of forgot to block her... Got caught up in other stuff and she remained unblocked (although not unloved!). But, I WILL block her today. Yessiree.

What Would You Have Done?


OK. Bear with through this.


I'm really fortunate that I live in a great apartment, in a very nice area of town, close to everything, and painless to get to and from work downtown. It's my home, the longest I've lived anywhere in my life, and has been my home for almost 10 years. I've always had wonderful neighbours. And I still do. My neighbour in the apartment downstairs is great; she's always been considerate, and besides - she has a cute dog! She's not the issue. The issue is her adopted sister, who lives with her.


Now, she's also very quiet for the most part, works hard (the girl gets up at 4:30am everyday for work) - and has special needs (she was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome).


However. There was a time last spring or early summer where I went a period of time where I received no mail. I asked next door to see if it had maybe been delivered to the wrong house, and it hadn't. I had my suspicions that the sister may have taken it (Lorraine, remember me telling you about that?), but I thought - nah, that's just paranoid. And besides, after a couple of weeks or so, it again started showing up, and I received a pile in one day. And that was that. The odd time I would find some of my stuff in the flyers pile next to the door to be recycled, but didn't think much of it. Then, about a month or so ago, I got home from work and went to put my newspaper in the recycle bin, and found some mail addressed to me in the bin! It was my book club catalogue, and although annoyed - I didn't say anything; I just didn't think about bringing it up. About 2 weeks ago, I came home and found one of my magazines thrown on the lawn, in a spot where the wind could not have blown it. I have a big front porch that's pretty much protected from the wind due to the construction, and even if it had been windy - no way it could have been blown there.


Now for this past week. A week this past Friday, a couple of people at work who live in the same neighbourhood as I do told me that they had received their T4 slips in the mail (for non-Canadians - this is the summary of your previous years' income that your employer puts together for filing your taxes). I figured - cool, I should be getting mine. Nothing came on the Friday. I was a bit concerned, I figured by Monday for sure it would be there. I got home from work, and there was NO mail for me. I had a sneaking suspicion... The recycle bins were by the side of road for our next day pick up, so I went over to have a look.


And what do you think I found in the recycle bin? A magazine, my KnitPicks catalogue, my cell phone bill. And my T4 slip.


I was LIVID. Rumaged through the bin, and didn't find anything else.


Went into the house, calmed myself down, and called my neighbour downstairs. I talked to her for a good while, and she herself was not impressed that her sister had been doing it (because we both knew it was her). To her defence, she made no excuses for this behaviour. And she confirmed that she had placed my mail that morning by my door - so she knew it had arrived that day. She said it was her sister's "passive-aggressive" mind, and once she gets a bee in her bonnet, she obsesses over it. Now, I was very nice about the whole situation - I like her, and she's always been a good neighbour. She said she'd talk to her about it, and she did. I understand completely about her sister - I know she has special needs. She's had a rough go of it (their adoptive mother is a saint for having raised her to the level she's at), and her way of thinking is not like yours and mine.


I'm not a vindictive person, I'm very much someone who can look at the big picture in a situation like this and say - what's it worth? Sure, it's my mail, my IMPORTANT mail, but I trust it won't happen again. Oh, and WHY did she do it? She said I make noise. ??? Which I dismiss out of hand, as my neighbour has told me that this is the first time she's lived outside her mother's house, and doesn't understand the concept of daily activity. She takes it personally.


Now. Sure I have 3 cats, but they are 95% of the time very quiet. If Gandalf and Atticus roughhouse, it never lasts more than 15 - 20 minutes at most. And - this is an old house, built in 1892. The hardwood floors are old and creaky. It apparently bothers her to hear this noise. Well, as I told my neighbour - if she can't understand that walking around will make the floors creak in spots, she may not be ready to live outside her mother's house. It's life - and it's going to happen. I will say - I am a quiet person, I'm very considerate, and after all, I've lived here for 10 years in perfect harmony and NO problems or complaints with others below me. And our mailman? It's been the same guy for the past 6 years. It's not him.

Anyway. I'm going on, and you get the picture.


If it happens again, my options are to call the owner, which I'm reluctant to do at this point because it would result most certainly in both of them being evicted (they are NOT on good terms with the owner), and to report this as mail theft to the police. I am on very good terms with the owner - after all, I've been an excellent tenant for 10 years, and her parents who owned the house prior to her taking it over, were wonderful people and very good to me.


Being the person that I am, I'm not keen on either option. But, at what point do I kick my tolerance level aside, and do what is well within my rights to do? If it happens again...

They are walking on eggshells right now, and deep down inside I'm not convinced it won't happen again. I understand my neighbour's sister has special needs, which is why I'm giving her this second chance.


Should I have given her a second chance? Or should I have just told the owner of what's been happening, and let her deal with them?


Anyway, thanks for lending an ear...

Moving on to more exciting stuff!


Guess what?! IT'S A KITTY-COUNSEL APPROVED CONTEST!!



I swapped some Campion in my stash with a lovely lady on Ravelry for some Dunedin she had hibernating. I now have 15 skeins of lovely Dunedin in Mulberry.

Mmmmm, nice... Notice how someone keeps injecting himself into *every* picture I try to take...

Your mission. What should I make with it? Because I can't decide.

Here are your choices (the links are to projects on Ravelry):

1. Elizabeth of York, from "Tudor Roses",
2. Kimberley, from "A Collector's Item's",
3. Spanish Knight, from "A Collector's Item".


Send me an e-mail (bdepocas at rogers dot com), giving me your choice, and very importantly - why. Or, leave it in the comments. If you do leave your choice in the comments, be sure to include your e-mail address! Blogger doesn't record it unless you put it in.


Which ever gets the most votes becomes my Dunedin project, and from those who nominated the winning design, a winner will be chosen.

Contest closes at midnight, Saturday, March 8th, and the winner will be announced next Sunday.

And you will win a most fabulous winter pick me up box with some of my favourite comfort foods, yarn and other fun stuff!

Anyone, anywhere is eligible! Just remember to include your e-mail address.

Thanks again for listening!