Pretty Post With Project Pictures

OK, let's see if I can find where the pictures are saved.

Yay, it worked! Oh, this isn't the picture I wanted, but. Enjoy. :D

Look! Here are the projects I told you about last week.



Phew! There she is, in all her glory - Windsor Waistcoat. Pretty, huh?! The only thing I did differently was use a 3.25mm instead of the 3mm specified. By knitting the extra-small size in a larger needle, I ended up with a finished measurement of 39", which is exactly what I wanted. Doesn't Lorraine design a cool vest?! And you can get your very own pattern by following the link... Just sayin'.

And to keep things "simple" (or so I thought), I started work on my Thistle Bag, courtesy of the fine folks at Virtual Yarns:

Oooo, pretty! This represents about two-thirds of the first half. Trust me. It's a LOT of work. Those fun little Trinity Stitch bauble thingies in the centre of the thistle? Nasty. But - it will be worth it all when it's done; I try to work on it every other day, but by the end of the night, my arms are sore.

(Kitty break)

"What am I looking at?"

"The squirrel! See him?? He's...ooo...look at him go! Look Mae!"

"You're weird. He's outside. We can't catch him."

"I'm gonna get you! Squirrely...squirrel...squirrel..."

Atticus is ready to pounce on the squirrel, despite the window. And I kid you not - Mae? Just sits there, looking outside. Sometimes she'll watch the squirrel, sometimes the birds, but she doesn't get all "squirrely" (heh). Live and let live is her motto.

OK. Back to knitting stuff!

Look what else I've been working on!

Now this one really makes me happy. The colours could not be more perfect together, and it knits up like a dream. As I mentioned previously - it's quick and easy too. Can't go wrong with no colour changes and 4mm needles.

It's St. Aula, knit using stashed 3-ply Mara and Machair. I should have more than enough to knit the "standard" size, and the hood as well, although I haven't decided which colour I'll use for it. I've almost completed the 2nd go-round of the chart, so I'm more then half way to the armholes.

Now, I've also been working on Delores, and the Mystery Pressie, but no pictures this time. Next week...

I'm feeling every bit of my nearly 41 years today - I pulled a muscle in my lower back yesterday bending over to do something stupid. As a result, I have to use whatever is handy to get up from a sitting or lowered position. Ugh... It's fine when I'm sitting or standing. It's just getting from one position to the other that's a bit...problematic. And you know what? Nothing I take seems to ease the ache. I've tried Ibuprofen and Aceteminophen, but both do diddly. Guess I'll just have to wait it out. Oh! I just remembered I still have some Tylenol 3's from my ear infection/hospital stay earlier in the spring! That ought to numb pretty much all pain...heh.

"What do you mean - do I want a baby sister?? Why? Why would I want a baby sister??"

Yes...what is Gandalf talking about??!

The One Without Pictures

Well, I've heard of these things happening, but was arrogant enough to think it would never happen to me.

A moment of silence if you will...for my computer. I pronounced it officially at 6:45pm on Friday night.

"So, how is it you're blogging, Brigitte?"

Well, thanks to my work laptop, I am able to do a few things, but not load pictures. Because ever since I moved? I can't find a thing. No clue where the install CD is for my camera.

*sigh* And I had things to show off. Finished things! And 2 newbies too!

Anyway - I came home on Friday afternoon to find an unresponsive computer. When it boots up to a blue screen of death - it's not a good thing. When you get a "unmountable boot volume" error message, it's an even worse thing. And, when you run every diagnostic and fix known to try and repair it, and you get an even more ominous "...the volume appears to contain one or more UNRECOVERABLE errors...", it's kaked.

And kaked she is. I even spoke to Dell's Tech Support (who were excellent, by the way), and they basically confirmed what I knew. So, hopefully with the help of Lorraine's tech whiz son Alexander, I may be able to recover a few things. Oh, and start shopping for a new computer... It has served me well for 6 years, so I suppose I really shouldn't complain.

I think I'm going to get a pink one. Seriously!

(Aw crap, I just went to open up my links page in Notepad, only to realise that it's not on this computer! Damn!!!!!!!)

Anyway. Until I can find the CD to load my camera software temporarily on this laptop, I won't be able to post pictures. You'll have to trust me when I say that I finished Windsor Waistcoat. And that it fits perfectly! I had no issues whatsoever - I tinkered here and there with the sizing, and made the neckline a bit shorter.

Feeling quite pleased with myself, I allowed a new project to be started. OK. Two. But! Because one is quite rough on the hands to do, I needed something...easier...to do in between.

Firstly, I picked out "Thistle Bag" that I won from Virtual Yarns, and decided to give it a go. I figured it would be a nice, simple and smallish project to work on during the summer.

Simple and smallish... Famous last words. God love the Starmores - and you all know I do - but is nothing ever simple?!! LOL. I guess it's the difference between a knitted handbag, and a superior-designed knitted handbag. The level detail is outstanding, and if I was thinking this would be a quick knit, I was mistaken. Ever try doing a 1 over 3 right cross cable using 2 strands of 3-ply yarn (and not just any 3-ply - Hebridean 3-ply wool)? No? Well. Let me tell you. You may just start throwing up a little bit in your mouth when you realize the front of the bag and the back are the same.

But, I am fascinated with the process, but because the tension needs to be quite tight, my arms do tend to be a bit sore by the end of the night.

So, on alternate nights, I decided to work on my "St. Aula". I'm knitting it using 3-ply Mara as the main colour, and 3-ply Machair as the background colour, both of which I had in my stash. I know some of you *cough*Chris*cough* may be wondering how doing a stranded project can be relaxing, but trust me - it is.

For one - 3-ply vs. 2-ply means far fewer stitches to work with in the round - 220-ish vs. well over 325 on average for 2-ply. There are only 2 colours to work with, so there are no yarn changes and weaving in to do. There is only one chart to work with, and once I've completed the first repeat, I've memorized the sequence and I can get a round done pretty quickly. And, it's going to be a toasty warm outdoor sweater when it's done. I'm knitting the "standard" version, and should I have enough, I plan on making the hood as well.

Easy peasy, lemon squeazy, as Lorraine would say.

AND - now that Windsor Waistcoat is done, I can concentrated on finishing up Delores (also a Starmore design)! It's a complex Fair Isle project, so I only work on it when I know I'll have a few uninterupted hours. I'm also still working on the "stealth project" for my sister and SIL when the weather allows.

Hey! When I went to Virtual Yarns, I noticed that there is a pattern coming out in the excellent British magazine "The Knitter" that will be using Hebridean yarns, and it is really lovely! I had a chance to thumb through a copy of The Knitter while at Chapters last week with Lorraine, and I am quite smitten! It has a lot of beautiful patterns with techniques that I love. It's pretty steep though - nearly $20 Canadian for an issue, but I think I will be saving my pennies and picking this one up.

So, that's pretty much it for now. The guys all say "Hi!" to all their cyber-buddies, and promise to help me look for the install CD for the camera.

Oh! And great news! The civic workers strike is now officially over here in Toronto! Which means garbage pickup for me on Tuesday! I never thought I'd ever be so happy about garbage day, but believe me - this one is one I'm looking forward to.

Here's to a technologically smooth week!

Sun Gods

Wow Kids, what day is it?! I myself am not sure... I've just come off working 17 hours of overtime this weekend, 11 of which happened between 11pm on Saturday and 10am on Sunday morning.

Long. Long. Weekend. And not of the good kind either. *sigh* I had high hopes of knitting a stitch or two in between testing the changes and other such delights, but no such luck. Funny what lack of sleep and headset pasted to your head can do to a person...

I don't handle lack of sleep well. Even though I had a snooze after the implementation yesterday morning, I still feel blah. And as though I've been hit over the head with a stupid stick. Oh well... I guess work does keep me in yarn... And other necessities like food and lodging. Heh.

The guys kept me company. A bit thrown off their schedules, but there nonetheless.

Mae would pop her head in the room once in a while, to make sure I remembered she existed. She was the only one who decided that while it was nice Mom was up and all, she'd be fine in her comfy spot, thank you very much.

"It's not that I'm indifferent to fatigue. I just don't get why anyone would resist it."

You know, that old... whatever it is... she's resting on? Destined for the garbage once the strike is over. I put it there temporarily while I wait out the garbage strike. Meanwhile, she's grown attached to it...

The boys of course, stuck to me like white on rice. They thought it was awfully cool that I would speak into this funny neat-o toy attached to my head. They tried to talk into it a few times too, at least so they could see what the big deal was all about. When they decided it was kind of lame, they tried to chomp on the microphone. OK. Only Gandalf did. Duh.

Today, all is (somewhat) back to normal...

They lounge in the sun...

"I love being me."

"I love being me too!"

Gandalf also posed for pictures. And he was kind enough to sit still.

"Oooo, for me?! Nice! I really like it! Might be a bit big though... Just sayin'."

I had hoped that I would have had the steeks cut, and the arm and V-neck bands completed and a finished Windsor Waistcoat to show off...but. As you can see.

(I really must be tired, I suddenly had a vision of Gandalf in a dapper Fair Isle vest! Hee hee...)

Nevertheless - the body is done, shoulders are grafted, and what the hell, I may even cut open the v-neck tonight. Maybe. I'm still a little tired... *yawn*.

I know it's summer, but so far, I haven't had much of a chance to enjoy it. This weekend - I really want to get out on my bike and ENJOY some of it. Provided the weather holds up. Although you know? Unless it rains, I'll probably got out for a ride anyway.

Well, the worst of this mega-huge honkin' project at work is over, just some clean-up stuff left to do. And it's history! I just hope I won't be too tired from it all to savour the end of it.

Have a WONDERFUL week everyone!

"You listening?? Have a good week, dammit!"

Back to Business

Oh, it's certainly nice to get back to a routine. Change is always good (in this case - moving). But when it comes to a girl and her knitting, it really is nice to be back in business.

Yesterday, I picked up my Windsor Waistcoat, and couldn't believe I'd been away for so long! I missed my Fair Isle... (Those of you who have not yet joined the FI fold will probably shake your head. But worry not. We will bring you over. Oh yes. We will.) *sigh* It was so wonderful...

And! You know what I managed to do this past week? I actually finished something!

Now, this picture is a bit of a tease. In that you can't tell much from looking at it. I wasn't going to post it, because it is a stealth project. But, I decided to anyway because you can't tell a thing from looking at it. When I get it nicely blocked and figure out how to photograph deep red, I'll post it in Ravelry.

In the meantime...

"...picture sucks... You woke me up for this?? AND you're showing the wrong side..."

Heh.

I also have another stealth project going on! But - there will be no tease pictures. Instead - have a peek at my project page in Ravelry... All the sneaky details are there. But shhhhh! It is to be a surprise!

Instead, I'll show you a gratuitous picture of a Baby Atticus.

"Hi."

Hard to believe this is the same little baby Atticus!

Back in the present...

"Gandalf, what are we going to do with the squirrel if we actually manage to catch it? I mean, seriously."

What you can't get from this picture is Gandalf's tail swishing back and forth, as he tries to fit into the role of Tough Dude.

It must be a boy thing. Because Mae? Could not care less.

"I save up my energy to hunt for real prey, should the need arise. Boys are so dumb."

Mae has always been the "huntress". In the 11 years I've lived at this address, she has caught 2 mice. Not bad for a house built in the 1890's, with the original basement still unfinished in places.

As for the rest of the week that was... I officially finished unpacking all of my stuff. I do have 2 more pieces of furniture on the way, stuff my sister and SIL are giving to me before their move.

My intention is still to NOT dispose of my garbage in the temporary dumpsites opened by the City of Toronto for the duration of the city workers strike. And, after I saw how much has been piled up already...forget it. I will wait it out. I am not contributing to THAT mess. Oy... So, I'm being extra vigilant with what I do throw out. Good habits to keep for the long run, I guess.

Hey! I wonder what knitting surprises are in store for next week...?!!?

Just When You Thought It Was OK To Go Into The Water Again

Gandalf loves nothing more than to watch the squirrels. Given the chance, he probably wouldn't know what to do with them, but nevertheless - it's a hobby.

"Hi! Hey! I said hi! Wait! Don't run away! Hey! Hey! HEY! Come back!"

He has his Squirrel Patrol.

I have my knitting.

Windsor Waistcoat doesn't look much different from the last time?

Look again.

Those are steeks, my friends! Armhole AND front "V" steeks. From here on end, it's all good. And quick. Decreases mean...a shorter circular needle, and an end in site. I always marvel as I'm working on this vest how lovely the colours are together. But, when you look at it from "above", you notice the little differences that make it so special.

*sigh* I love Fair Isle...

"Hey Guys! Guess what?!"

"Mom's asking us a question."

"Why there's Atticus shmutz on the wall?"

"No. Dork. What Mom?"

We're gonna move after all!

Uh huh. That's right. Although I'd pretty much convinced myself that I should stay put (um, that would be last week's post), I decided otherwise after I'd spoken to my landlady.

Same rent I'm paying now. AND I get a say in who moves into this place. And, I'll have the whole month of June to move in slowly. Not like I'm going far...I won't even need to hire movers. It is larger - the kitchen alone dwarfs my little one here. I have the larger deck, a larger bedroom and bathroom, and a bay window in what will become my office/spare room. There will be some lovely french doors leading to the back deck, so a certain someone will be able to monitor squirrel and bird activity to his heart's content.

Of course, there will be the adjustment period for the guys. But, I think they'll be OK once they see they can tear through the kitchen all the way to the front door without banging into a wall or staircase - they'll be pretty happy. I hope. When I moved back into this place in 2006 after the renovations, Mae whined for 2 days straight. Atticus was fine though. Once he figured out where the litter box and his food was, he was good.

The apartment downstairs will be cleaned from top to bottom before I move in, so *hopefully* there will be no residual dog smell to freak them out. She hasn't been too bad with the upkeep below, so it's not like it's in bad shape. I just worry about what you can't see...

Anyway - not going to think about that now. I have to start packing things up soon. Fun. Then there's the unpacking though!

Back and forth, back and forth... Can't for a minute say that things are boring these days.

"Cool, huh Mae?! What do you think about moving downstairs?!"

"*clean clean clean* Lady, you gotta stop talking to me like that. People will think you're loopy."

Daylight "Savings"

My patootie. I feel like I've already run out of time to do the stuff I have to do this morning.

"Do you want me to file your taxes Mom? Or do the dishes? Oh, wait! Lemme just chase this squirrel for a sec...!! Eeeeheeheeheeheeeeeeheee! Hi Squirrel! Hi!!"

Windsor Waistcoat, I love you. I spent hours and hours yesterday working on you, and yet, I feel you haven't grown much... *sigh* When will you reach your armhole steeks? Soon? I hope so, because my wrist hurts. But, you're so pretty!

Must stop talking to my knitting. I did work on WW yesterday quite a bit; I probably managed around 20 rounds. Not bad, considering colour changes, cats and a really good episode of Law & Order I hadn't seen.

I'm maybe...7 or so rounds to the armhole steeks? Pretty good. And I'm on the last repeat of the front of my lovely Genevieve. Then, it's on to the sleeves, which are short. Wow, I'm amazed at how many people love it in Ravelry! Actually, no - I'm not. Fiddlesticks Knitting patterns...what can I say? She makes it easy. But, I'm amazed I actually had the chance to do any knitting this past week. Work has been quite...full, of late. I get in at 7:30am, and next thing I know, it's time to go home. There were days that I don't quite remember...

Anyway, I'll take the stress of work any day over the stress of a sick cat.

So! Despite it all, my plan to clear out some WIP's is working out well. Shhhhh...no jinxing though!

"I hear people wondered why I didn't pose for pictures last week. Well, there are days when a girl just doesn't want to be photographed, you know? I'm looking pretty content here though, don't you think? I call it my Greta "I vont to be alone" Garbo pose."

"I love you, man."

"Uh huh. You too, Gandalf."

"Sorry I lunged at you when you got back from the vet. I thought you were someone else. Hey! It's looking better now! Not so freakish."

"Whatev. It's not like I can see it. I thought you were going to go explore the world with Yoko?"

"Naw, I decided I'd be no good at fending for myself. Besides, she called me a Momma's Boy, because I asked her it Mom could come too. You know, to feed us and stuff. Hey, do you think we look fat from this angle?"

"Pffft. No! Fat. Please."

All is well with the boys now. Back to being the best of friends. Now to just get those stitches out of Atticus' back...

Where Did My Self-Discipline Go?

"Hi. Are you my big brother?"

People ask me all the time - was Mae really that cute a kitten?

What do you think? She was adorable (and of course, she still is). And she LOVED Atticus - she followed him everywhere, and just wanted to be around him.

"Must...reach...big...brother..."

These were taken on her first day in her new home. Did I ever mention - Atticus and Mae had the same Mom.

And yes, Atticus was much slimmer back then.

"I still rock."

As a little experiment, I picked up a "pet bed", and see how it would go over. I figured if the guys went for it (cats and change...you know...), I'd pick up some more.

"Oh yeah."

I'll be picking up some more. Right now, Mae has taken over the bed, and Gandalf is trying to muscle his way back in. Atticus, ever the Mama's boy, naps behind me, even though this room is a tad cool.

"I am NO Mama's boy. Go show your knittin' stuff, and get that camera out of my face. And vacuum this place, geez...mama's boy...pffft..."

Heh.

Apart from this lovely bit of fabric, I have been all over the place with my WIP's. Isn't she purty??! I am now about halfway to the underarms, and you can really get a sense from the picture above how it's going to look. I can't tell you how lovely it really is, and the picture really doesn't do it justice. The colours fit perfectly together, and the peeries and Fair Isle patterning flow so nicely... *sigh* I love her. Lorraine did such a great job in designing this vest.

But as for everything else...I wish I was as enthused. Actually, to say I'm not enthused is not a fair assessment. I'm just not able to concentrate on any one project. I'm all over the place - I want/need a pink scarf/wrap (which I may have started...); I need/want a flowy cardigan (which I may have started...); I want to use up this stash yarn; what's easy for TV knitting? And so on...

Then there's the whole mittens situation. I really want to make the Druid mittens - I have more than enough Shetland Spindrift in pink - but one strand of 2-ply just won't cut it. I have delicate girly hands, and they won't be warm enough. Yes, I could use a double strand, but they will end up way too big, and I don't know if I want to rewrite the pattern to decrease the stitch count. So, I'm on the hunt... Lorraine has these queued - actually, they're done now (damn those knitting monogamists...!) *sigh* I confuse myself. I'll have to hunt through my sock yarn/2 ply stash. I'm pretty sure I'd have something, somewhere.

And yes. I have other WIP's. I blame it on the time of year, you know? This weather makes me want to just knit everything I see.

Discipline? Who? Me?

Something New

Of course.

I've never been one to let something like a table full of WIP's get in the way of casting on something new. Especially when that something new is full of amazing colours meshing perfectly together.

Doesn't it just scream autumn?! Heh. I know the designer would love that description!

Any ideas?

It's Lorraine's lovely vest design - "Windsor Waistcoat". And it's the perfect time of year to make this, I think. I'm making the XS size, but using a 3.25mm as opposed to the 3mm called for in the pattern. XS is a bit too snug, where as the Small size would be a bit too big for my liking, so by my calculations, going up a needle size should have it come out to exactly my size.

Then again...I did fail Grade 10 math.

Thanks to everyone for your Laleli compliments! *blush* So, get this. I'm stopped at a red light, waiting to cross the street, when I see a woman on the other side of the street wearing this lovely cardigan (Ravelry link...).

"Hey! Nice Starmore sweater!", she says to me.

"Thanks! And I love your Philosopher's Wool Jacket!", I reply.

And this was said while crossing the street in the opposite direction from one and other.

So, what's scarier? That I recognized the Philosopher's Wool design? Or that she could recognize a Starmore design that quite frankly, is not one of VY's better pictures?

Of course, the fact that 2 knitters somehow know that it's cool to comment on a total stranger's outerwear without sounding loony is not scary at all.

Speaking of loony... Gandalf LOVES burying himself underneath his blanket. After dinner, he'll stand on it, waiting for me to come over and fold the blanket on top of him. Then he goes to sleep, and is happy as a clam.

Mae has her ratty ol' comforter, which will not be shared with ANYONE.

But Atticus knows to wait it out, because he gets the best spot of all, snuggled up next to me on the couch.

Oh! And yes, I'm feeling a whole lot better! Thanks to everyone for their good wishes.