Out with the old and in with the new!

The Tree of Life socks are coming along well.



I don't particularly like the heel gussets,

if I were to do these socks again I would do "normal" gussets since I don't have feet shaped like high heels. But otherwise I love these socks and I love the pattern! 1 sock down, 1 to go!!!

We got some new furniture so things were a bit hectic with getting rid of old furniture and bringin in new stuff and generally shifting things around. Luckily a friend's son is moving out on his own so we were able to easily get rid of some furniture that way. Having three households worth of furniture (our old stuff, our new stuff and Tiny's brother's stuff) would have been a bit excessive! So now we have almost all new furniture and almost all "good" stuff! I was so happy to find furniture in a colour I (we) liked and a fabric I don't hate. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find furniture that is not microfibre, leather, or faux leather that cost less than 5 grand? I hate leather, it's cold, uncomfortable, and sticks to your skin. I don't like the way microfibre looks and I think it always looks kind of dirty and dusty. Finding this couch and loveseat set was a huge big deal!

I love the new furniture and the cats are under the impression that we bought it just for them.


I don't think they understand that they aren't actually humans...

Distractions

So...I started knitting non-craft show, non-Tiny Sweater stuff...
I am knitting a pair of worsted weight socks in a very bright green and black variegated yarn for a co-worker of Tiny's...he has size 11W feet...meh...but then I got distracted by the February Lady Sweater and I knit that for a while in a beautiful rich red-red. I almost finshed the raglan increases by the second day..but on Christmas Eve I picked up another skein of Starry (this totals 3) to go with the Black Pearl Starry I already have slated for the Tree of Life Socks. This sat in the basket for a full day before I had to cast them on...Christmas day evening I cast them on and started knitting away. I am trying out a 9" Hiya Hiya circular for this project. I love DPN's and I generally don't ahve any problems with tension with stranded knitting except at the bridges between DPN's. The circular was HORRIBLE for the first 3 rows...and all of a sudden SHAZZAM! It started working so quickly and easily. I love it! Except for having to use a stitch marker-that's really annoying. My tension is better, my knitting is faster. And the yarn is truly wonderful. After knitting Tiny's sweater in a scratchy icelandic yarn and all the other not buttery soft yarns I have been using-this yarn is almost innappropriate feeling on my hands, it's soft and squishy and yummy.

I LOVE THESE SOCKS!

Finished...ish

So I cast of Tiny's Sweater today. I was about to weave in the ends and block it when I thought I should get him to try it on...especially since it's a sweater I designed and not from a pattern. Now before you think the worst, don't worry-it fit him fine and looked really good...except for the neck. The neck is HORRIBLE. It...doesn't work...I can't describe it...I don't want to think about it...
I drop kicked it across the room. I'm not even saying that for blog amusement-I actually drop kicked the sweater...
So now I have to pick out the cast-off and rip back the neck and find a new neck strategy. I am going to sift through a bunch of patterns until I find one that seems right...later...not now...sometime in the future...only God knows when...

Obviously I don't have time for blogging...

This is what I have been doing...

It's obvious I don't have time for blogging...I have a goal to finish it tomorrow...

I don't know what came over me...

Something happened. I couldn't handle it anymore. I wasn't feeling festive. Christmas was 5 days away, and I lost my everloving mind. I went on a baking rampage...
I baked 3 types of shortbread-1 plain, 1 with jam, and 1 with chocolate. I made diabetic friendly butter tarts. I made diabetic unfriendly butter tarts. I made mincemeat tarts-the mincemeat was made from scratch. I spent 4 and a half hours making delicious smelling goodies. I baked so much I hurt my back. I ended up with something like 10 dozen goodies. (I'm eating a butter tart right now). I downloaded a whole whack of Christmas songs and listened to them all day. I wrapped christmas presents. I didn't knit all day. I was generally insanely festive.
Now I have a billion cookies and tarts and nothing to do with them but EAT them! I am not going t0o any Christmas parties or family events. I made a vow not to do the general cookie give away this year because people were taking that for granted.
So now I get to spend the few days before Christmas stuffing my face and knitting...actually...now that I type it out...it doesn't sound that bad...

Call Me Ishmael

Tiny's sweater has become my great white whale...
I have been kntiting it since September, and designing it since...time immemorial. I seem to have some kind of subconscious block in connection with it. There are always other projects I need to work on. Last week I decided to sit down and slog away at it until it is finished.
Slogging is an excellent word...I finished knitting it to the point where I can justify starting work on the sleeves. I almost faltered at this point, but yea verily, fate swung her fickle locks and threw me a curve ball...I made myself a secret deal that when I finished one sleeve I could cast on a sweater for myself, and maybe start knitting some thick wooly socks for my husband's coworker...I was just about ready to sneak off and start knitting something else, when upon review of the patterns I realized that everything used the same size needles! Curses!!! Foiled again!! I can be a pretty fickle knitter but even I can't justify pulling needles from a project that I promised myself I would finish sometime this century to start other projects.
So here I am knitting away at Tiny's Sweater-which isn't so Tiny-I am going to have to find some truly triumphant music for the completion of this garment. Maybe even throw a party. I'll invite a whole bunch of people over, cook lots of food to warm up the kitchen, turn the thermostat on as high as it will go, and then make him wear the sweater all damn night...yeah...that will make me feel better...

Matchy Matchy

This was the big weekend of the Craft Fair. I did really well and had a goo dtime. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo until the end of the 1st day, so I don't have a photo of the table before selling a whole bunch of stuff!

I also picked up a few items at the craft Fair, and I had to work some serious willpower not to spend all the money I had made! Mackenzie helped out quite a bit and earned herself enough money to buy her Dad a Christmas present. She was super excited about having earned the moeny herself!
I bought a few pottery items. In the past few years I have developed a love of pottery. I wasn't keen on it for much of my life because I grew up in a place where it was pretty much shoved down my throat-that's not a reflection of my younger homelife but of our geographic location...
But in Kamloops I have discovered a potter who I admire greatly both as an artist and as a person. She is my favourite local artist, and that's saying something considering how many artists I get exposed to as the President of the Kamloops Arts Council. She is a truly talented potter and an incredible painter. I can't afford her paintings, so I buy her pottery-which she seriously underprices! It would cost me more to buy a nice serving bowl at Winners/Homesense than to buy a handthrown serving bowl from her. I have been getting her pieces through various means for just over a year now-commision, silent auction, purchase, trade and gift. I now have quite a nice set of matchy matchy local pottery and I am in love with it!!

I also have purchased a couple pieces by other potters that are not matchy but coordinate. I will continue to get more because I love it, it's functional, and durable!! (and within my price range!)

As previously promised I am throwing in a picture of the rabbit:

see that crooked ear? It's like that all the time and is way too cute. We've been having some adjustment difficulties and some minor health problems, but things seem to be settling in. She is such a nice bunny, very friendly and affectionate. She likes to pick up her brush and throw it at me- a good way to let me know it's brushing time! She got renamed completely by accident. I call her Bunny-wei, they yelled "bunny-wei!" in the Stargate movie a lot and it just kinda stuck.

Tiny decorated the Christmas tree this year. This was a big deal since he always leaves the tree decorating up to me. But last year, right after Christmas, he received some Maple Leaf ornaments as a gift and at some point her decided we had to have a Maple Leaf themed tree. It turned out really well! And next year I get a Coca Cola tree!!

Mackenzie has been kitting and getting quite good. The improvement in herfirst project from beginning to end is very cool to see. She is getting quick and confident and is now a faster knttier than some adult non-novie knitters I have met! She is on Ravelry. It`s nice to spread the disease....

so...

I know I haven't blogged much lately, but here's my inventory for the craft show this weekend...


7 pairs fingerless mitts
7 hats
2 pairs thrummed mittens
2 pairs mittens made with handspun
7 scarves
6 baby hats
6 pairs of booties
1 pair socks
1 sweater
30 skeins handspun
8 dozen custom glass pins.

It's like some kind of demented knitting Christmas song. But this is the final count. Keep in mind that on top of making all this there is labelling it all and doing the display.
I will have photos out after the weekend to show it off all together. None of it is pastel, and none of it is acrylic-which I think makes it pretty unique in the craft show world.

Now I have to finish the rick socks and Tiny's sweater...and maybe a green pair of socks-hopefully all before christmas. I have this insane dream where I actually get to knit something for myself. I have a plan...I am going to knit the February lady sweater. I have been procrastinating on it, because EVERYBODY has knit it. I mean EVERYONE. It wouldn't surprise me if my husband secretly knit it at some point (OK that would actually surprise the hell out of me, but you get my point) but I can't let that prevent me from knitting a pattern I really like. I mean, I am not going to stop wearing jeans simply because EVERYBODY is wearing them, that would just be silly...and I wouldn't have any pants to wear, so it would be impractical as well...and cold...and embarassing.
I am going to knit it in RED. I have this fantastic brilliant ruby red yarn sititng in my stash-there's enough of it to knit the February lady and I am going to do it.
...after...the rick socks...tiny's sweater...and maybe some green socks...

Slograt

when a person makes a comment on this and most other blogspot accounts, there is a word verification box to prevent spam and automated comments. I absolutely LOVE the word verification words. They aren't real words but combinations that are fantastic! I wonder if there is a word generator or if there is a committee of people whose job is to come up with the word verification combination! Wouldn't that be a fantastic job!
I often laugh at these words. The latest one was "slograt" isn't that fantastically science fiction? Something from Star Wars or maybe the Elder Scrolls video games.
I'd like to suggest that anyone making comments also mention their word verification word if they are so inclined and if the word is interesting. Maybe include a possible definition?

Twitter Went Crazy

Hi all
I have no idea what happend with my Twitter updates on the blog. My actual Twitter is fine and nobody seems to have hacked it, I think it might be a glitch with the application. I am having trouble finding another Twitter application that works, I keep getting error messages. In the meantime I will have no Twitter updates on my blgo until it's all worked...so it wasn't me talking about NASA, sore Lats, etc. I'm really not that interesting...

Happy December!

Wow, December already! I am doing a the Christmas at the Courthouse craft fair on Dec. 11 and 12th at the Old Courthouse in Kamloops and looking forward to it...I am trying not to get my hopes up because I haven't had much luck with sales at craft fairs, but I think I have some really fantastic items that people will want, so really it's all a matter of how many people actually go to the craft fair.
Today I came up with a list of what I have I already knit and what, ideally, I would like to knit before the 11th.

I have knit:
7 pairs of fingerless mitts
1 pair thrummed mittens
1 pair regular mittens
7 adult hats
1 scarf
4.5 pairs of baby booties
2 baby hats
1 pair socks
1 sweater

I will also have my handspun yarn available

I would like to knit before the 11th
1 pair thrummed mittens
2.5 pairs baby booties
3 baby hats
1 pair socks
1 pair regular mittens

Everything after that is gravy. I think this would be a very respectable inventory. I estimate it will take me about 8 days to knit what's left if I don't get distracted. This is very difficult because I have a bunch of things I want to finish up...liket he Pretty Thing, the other Rick Sock and Tiny's Sweater. I also got the Enchanted Sole and would like to knit something from there for myself. i am seriously jonesing for some selfknitting. After all the work I have done on kntiting for the craft fair I plan on knitting on one of my WIP's at the Craft show and maybe actually getting something fun finished.

I have managed to work out a system where I can scan photos for work while doing a little bit of knitting, but I can't do it too much or I start feeling seriously ADD...