Talitha's Knitting Blog

;)

2006-05-19T13:24:00.000-06:00

Sooooo... I got the job. I'm starting to feel like a real working actor and I haven't even graduated yet. It's so exciting. Just think of all the knitting I can get done in the vehicle on the way to wherever we're performing that day! Pretty frickin' much. Anyway, I thought I'd better put out the announcement so nobody's on the edge of their seat anymore :p. Yeah, I know, you love me, but not that much. Happy May Long to the Canadian's in the room. Happy trails.

Good Morning all

2006-05-16T09:21:00.000-06:00

Hi-yah everybody! I hope everyone's having a super morning. It's our first hot hot day of the spring here and I'm stuck inside a terribly air conditioned office all day long :(. So, I once again have no pictures since my knitting life has been rather boring. I have been doing more of it again, but it's been *gasp* dishclothes, *shock* Gryffindor scarf, *horror* second socky, *how could this be???* baby blanket. I know, I know, I need to give myself some inspiration to start something a bit more exciting, but I really need to get these things done.

I'm waiting to hear by Thursday on a job based out of a neighbouring town for the summer which would entail touring the province acting. How fun would that be? Totally tons, I'm tellin' ya. And it would also help the summer go by faster, which would be fab, because...

The new boy, James, left on Friday for Costa Rica. Big sad. I knew all along since we started seeing each other that he was leaving, but I didn't think it would make me so sad. The faster I get to July 27th the better.

Another reason for getting to the end of summer faster is for school to start again. I can't wait! We are doing two wonderful plays this year coming up, The Laramie Project and Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor. I'm totally excited, can you tell? Anyway, you guys know I'm always happier when I'm acting, even if it does mean I get to post less.

I am not, however, looking forward to the less warm weather that will come at the end of the summer, but I guess you can't have it all! Take care, m'ladies!

Oi... geez guys sorry.

2006-05-01T11:02:00.000-06:00

So, another production in the bag. For now that is. Got the part in Dr. DoLittle: A Canadian Adaptation. Rehearsed it, performed it, waiting for them to decide to remount it or not next year. It's nice to know that no matter how many times the university decides to remount this production, the role is mine as long as I want it. Pretty sweet if you ask me! So, things are slowly settling back to normal. I've picked my knitting needles back up (I couldn't even knit backstage on this one since I had a lead!) and am working pretty tough on finally finishing the Gryffindor scarf. Yipes. I haven't even had the time to be checking out all your blogs and feel pretty out of the loop. I promise that soon enough I'll be back in knitting champ shape. Anyway, I know some of you were a bit worried about me, so thanks, and I promise your ol' bloggy pal me will be back up and running soon!

Two mistresses is two too many!

2006-03-29T14:56:00.000-06:00

Knitting is a terrible mistress. She does not progress with less time spent in her presence. The theatre is a very jealous mistress, when she sees me spending more time with someone else than I am with her, she gives me more work.

These two are fighting a lot now and I'm stuck in a mean love triangle!

Add that to being super busy in every way possible and a few emergencies that fall in between major and minor and you've got my life right about now. I haven't the time to go on and on about it all, but let me tell you I miss blogging! I miss the feeling of yarn running through my fingers. Oh, for the softness, the sheen, the drape! (Can you tell I've been in Shakespeare land a bit too long?)

I have one of my cotton turning socks finished. Not sure if it'll work out, since I keep forgetting to take it to class with me. Other than that, I've got nothing. Learning lines, audition material and class work has become my portable project of late. My knitting bag hasn't left my house in far too long. I'm just waiting to see if knitting is agressive enough to kick theatre's butt in a nice b!tch fight. Let the hair pulling begin.

It's been a week, eh?

2006-03-20T14:21:00.000-06:00

Ack. Sorry. I don't really have anything to say. Or any excuse. Been seeing a new boy. He's pretty nifty -- ahhh I'm such a fickle, fickle youth. Some nice spring fever. Worked a bingo for the Humane Society on Wednesday night. Spending time preparing for my many auditions, assignments and show coming up. Spending some time knitting.

Knitting....

Working on socky number 2

Cast on for some cotton turning socks (you know, where they only cover your toes and then come up to your instep and stop) - not sure if they're gonna work... the cotton's not very elastic

Finished another granny square dishcloth (#8/12)

Have two people begging me to start scarves for them (guys, it's just about spring here, and they're still begging!)

That's about it. Still have yet to do anything for Project Spectrum. Will get there eventually. Can't speak in full sentences. There.

I got it!

2006-03-13T15:23:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to let you all know that I went to my callback on Friday, nailed it for a part I wasn't even considering at all, and got one of the two the lead roles! I'll be playing a little boy, but hell, this is the year of diversity for me and that's a long way from the last role I played of a rich, old, fat, mean landlady. I couldn't be happier anyway. Thanks for all the prayers and warm thoughts. I know they helped!

No SSS here!

2006-03-09T09:41:00.000-06:00

Last night I cast on for my second socky. I am absolutely in love with the elastic cast on described in my sock book. It's a version of long tail and I must say it is probably the most fun technique I have learned so far, not to mention quite amazing! I have a few rows of the ribbing done so far and can't wait to get home to work on it more. I also finished the plain ol' granny cloth pictured on the needles in my last post. Other than that I don't really have anything interesting to say. I have a callback audition tomorrow for a children's touring production of a brand new play called Dr. Doolittle. I have little hope that I will get cast, but a callback is a good sign! They want people off book for the beginning of April, so I would assume final casting will be done over the weekend. Hopefully I'll have some good news come Monday. It's a paying gig so that would be nice. Plus, it's for children and there aren't very many opportunities to do children's theatre in my area (read none). Anyway, we'll see how it goes.

Happy knittingness to you all!

Awww... I'm growing up!

2006-03-06T23:30:00.000-06:00

Those are the dishcloths I have finished for Tammy as of tonight. Aren't they beeeeeautiful? Obviously there are some granny cloths, two Baby Fern Cloths, and one Fir Cone Cloth (can't remember where I got the pattern from, sorry, but I can try to find it). I hope the colours are good for her, she said sage green and copper... I think that's pretty darn close.

AND --

It's my first finished socky! The REAL reason that I had to post at 11:30 PM. She is not without mistakes (i.e. being completely too tight around my foot), but I love her and soon enough she will have a nearly identical sister. I'm so proud of me!

P.S. Those ballet classes sure paid off for something!

TLC

2006-03-06T16:01:00.000-06:00

My blog is lookin' like it needs some. Outdated links in my blogpal sidebar, last FO very old, very few recent posts/pics... the list goes on and on. I haven't even been commenting very much on others' blogs. Agh. Sorry 'bout that gals. Truly sorry.

On a brighter note, I have been knitting my little heart away. Unfortunately I'm finding myself spread between so many projects that I'm unable to finish much, but I'm OK with that. That seems to be my catchphrase lately, "I'm OK with it." I don't think that's such a bad thing, seeing as I'm sooooooo self-critical. Yay me. I'm thinking I need to actually start on something for Project Spectrum. Tonight I will search for something and decide.

Now, a little thought/story:

When I first started reading blogs everyone was making Clapotis. I wanted one, but didn't know enough at the time to make myself one. Once I knew enough, I felt I had truly missed the boat and thought I could live without La Clappy. Every time I see other late-comers finish her off, I really really want one for myself again. Now, I'm really against bandwagonning to a fault, which is probably the real reason why I haven't just bitten the bullet and cast on for her, but I think sometime soon she will make an appearance on my needles. Don't hold me to it, but don't be surprised.

Speaking of needles... I've got a finished dishcloth in a totally new pattern to me! I'll post a pic for you once I take one. I also think I'm about ready to start the short row toe on my sock -- almost there! I don't even care about the second sock at this point, I just want to get one done and on my foot... that's assuming it's not too small :s. I've been trying it on as best I can and it's either gonna be perfect or a bit tight, but I don't care either way... say it with me now, "I'm OK with it." What else, as always I've been working on Jenn's Gryffindor scarf (YIKES). I've also been working on her baby blanket and am halfway through the second repeat of the interlocking hearts motif. It's not very easy to see since I did it in veregated, but I don't care. We'll know that they're there and that's enough cuz it's like we know that there's love in the blanket, but it's not super obvious. Kinda neat actually. Speaking of this baby, it's gonna be a boy! Wait, I think I said that already didn't I. Well, if I did, I did and if I didn't, now you know. It's kind of a good thing since I still have all the leftovers from Logan knitting. Oh, and I cast on for another granny cloth. I think I'm gonna stop mentioning when I start a dishcloth, I feel it is slightly boring, but I still need to finish a bunch for that girl at work. Well, that's all I've got for now. I'll try to take some pics tonight. Mwah!

The Play

2006-03-01T14:14:00.000-06:00

Seeing as so many people requested the details on how my play went I figure I can share with ya!

So, we did The Good Person of Szechwan by Bertold Brecht. Overall it was a great success, the director was happy, the cast was happy. That is not to say it was without it's speedbumps. I was so happy with my role since it was the one I wanted and very far outside of my normal casting parameters. My whole goal for this year was to do some really non-typecast roles and see if I could pull it off. So far, I think I've acheived that, which is good. Now, I have always had a mortal fear that I will not make it onstage during a scene ontime. Always, I mean to the point that when I was little I peed my pants waiting for my turn to come at a piano recital cuz I didn't wanna miss it. That bad. Well, the worst has happened (yes, somehow worse than peeing my pants in front of everyone). During the second last show I completely forgot that I was in a scene. I was sitting in the green room, picking my nose or something (lord knows what I was doing, really), even paying attention to the CC TV that was showing the play and still didn't clue in that I should be onstage. The assistant stage managers came running in saying, "You're missing your cue, you're missing your cue!" It was like a bad dream and sure didn't feel like it was really happening. In the end, the audience didn't notice a thing, thanks to the two very wonderful actors who were onstage, but the director sure noticed and I got a lashing. The worst part was that I disappointed myself, though. It was a complete fluke, but it was my worst fear coming true. At the time I was sure it would be career suicide, but, thankfully, I think I half redeemed myself in the closing performance. It was definitely the best I did in the entire run, so I'm proud of myself. I did my share of bawling over the subject so I think I can move on from here. Overall, it was a fabulous experience and I'm better for being in such a wonderful production.

In knitting news, nothing major to report. I've got a new dishcloth FO, picture to be posted at some time in the future. Oh, also I taught my lil' sis how to knit over the last week. She's already not satisfied with one project at a time, but they're both stockinette scarves. I told her she should make herself a blog, cuz she'd learn so much faster that way. Good ol' learning by osmosis. Alrighty, buds, I'm outta here for today. I hope all your days are going simply fabulously!

Back in the saddle Warning, very pic heavy

2006-02-24T13:38:00.000-06:00

Hello, all you happy people. The play has closed, I have recovered from the ensuing party, and all is well! I've also been doing some knitting (really?!!).

But first:
Here's the Nevermore yarn that I received weeks and weeks ago. Isn't it beeee-ooooooooo-tiful? And that little mini-skein, the colours are just fabulous! I already wound it into a little centrepull ball. I think it would be enough to use for Mrs. Beaton, for the one yarn in it anyway, but I guess I don't really know.

It's friggen sockapalooza in house o' Talitha...

That's Davin's first sock. It's grown a little since then, but it's still the same ol' grey boring sock. On the other hand, or should I say foot, here's MY first sock:

I turned the heel, but I'm not sure if I did it right as it kinda looks a bit wonky. It doesn't bug me too much, after all, a heel by any other name smells as feet -- I mean, sweet. Plus, I now have too many stitches on the heel needles, but I'll figure out a way for them to disappear if they don't do so on their own as I carry on in the pattern.

So, here I am finally able to unveil my Secret Pal packages. I have been truly spoiled so far, and I couldn't ask for anything more. Thanks again ever so much, Secret Pal. I hope you're feeling much better!
That Lorna's Laces is just too soft for words. Just, wow.

That's the whole Simple Stripes Sampler, plus some other absolutely great loot. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Here's some other new merino handpainted that I ordered from Great Britain. Signed, sealed, delivered for $12. Pretty darn good deal, if you ask me.
And a thank you present, that I totally didn't deserve, KAREN, but thank you very much, from Show Your FO Week.
Let's just say I'm gonna be knitting myself socks now until the end of days. Ok, do you figure I posted enough pics? Sorry to all you dial-up people.

I also started a new lace dishcloth pattern that's looking pretty neat. I'll save that for another day. Thanks to everyone for wondering where I was, it was much appreciated. I should be back to my normal bloggy splendor after this. Peace out!

Checkin' in

2006-02-15T14:56:00.000-06:00

So, I still can't post those pictures... what a DRAG. My play opens tonight, yippee!!! Hence why I've been MIA so much. But, it closes on Sunday, so after that I'll be around like old times.

I got another perfectly wonderful and way too kind Secret Pal package yesterday. Inside was a ton of yarn and other goodies. I am getting spoiled beyond belief by my Pal. There were 3 balls of Crayon in the purple colour, 2 balls of Parade in Gumballs, the Simple Stripes SAMPLER (the whole set people, like just WOW that's all I have to say!), a set of size 1 and 2 Takumi DPNs, and a wonderful simple socks book. And I still have yet to upload a pic of the first package! Argh, Blogger, argh! But, seriously, you gals, my pal has been so wonderful, she is always sending me lovely and encouraging words in the exact times that I need them, I couldn't be luckier. Thanks so much over and over, Secret Pal! (I wish I could upload a pic of my ear to ear smile, let me tell ya.)

My V-day was quiet, but I didn't feel quite as lonely as I thought I might so that was good. I cast on for a -- guess what-- DISHCLOTH! Yes, go figure, ha ha. It seems like that's all I have time to do these days. I've been working on all the other stuff, too, but I have a big audition on Saturday, so I haven't had much time. Oh, knitting, I can't wait to be your true lover again! Whoops, I guess I'm pretty darn goofy today, but it's a good day in Talitha-land. Every day seems to be lately. I guess I'm just a lucky girl. I figure it's really weird that I'm so OK and more than OK, just plain great after going through such a tumultuous time in my life, but I kind of feel like things are starting to fall into place. This gives me a chance to focus on my career and really get good at it. Someday, you all will see my name in lights and then you can tell silly stories about how I'm such a dork. In fact, please do, it'll keep me from getting too big of a head. :)

2006-02-07T10:05:00.000-06:00

Ok, I have been trying to post some lovely pictures for the last TWO days and they won't friggen post. I was able to upload one of them, but it disappears the second I start to type. So, my apologies, I again don't have the pictures that I NEED to show you all.

(Imagine picture here of my Secret Pal Package)

Here is my first package from my fabulous secret pal 7. In it she sent so many wonderful things and I couldn't be happier! There was some Paton's Classic Merino in bright pink and purple, a set of DPNs in size 6, the current issue of IK (yipee!), a pattern book with great quick patterns (I forget the exact title since I am without pictures right now and it's at home and I'm at work...), some purple Matrix yarn, a couple balls of mercarized cotton yarn for some dishcloths, 3 balls of some gorgeous lilac alpaca, lovely knitting notecards, and two skeins of Lorna's Laces in the Green Valley colourway. Lorna's Laces, even in superwash wool, is so soft! I think I love it. I think that was everything, but I might be forgetting something since there was so much! Thank you for everything Secret Pal, for the wonderful gifts, but mostly for being such a caring person with so many kind words for me whenever I need them. I hope you have a great day!

(Imagine picture here of some gorgeous handspun)

Here we have some Nevermore yarn from Amy's Etsy shop that I purchased for myself. It is called Betta Fish and is a gorgeous blend of various natural fibers with a nylon filament spun in for shimmer. It is a gorgeous blend of purples and blues and I can't wait to knit it up into a lovely scarf. It turned out that she lives in the same city as I do so that's extra cool! I paid her shipping cause I figured it was only fair since gas costs money too and I got a pretty little package hand delivered to my mailbox, but inside was a beautiful mini skein in pinks, greys, and purples to cover the extra money I paid. Definitely not expected or necessary! I would recommend her to anyone!

(Imagine picture here of about 3.5 inches of my very first SOCK!)

Yessiree, Bob, that's a sock! It's a nice big, thick hunting sock for Davin, since I promised him a pair since I started knitting. The cuff went rather quickly since it was ribbed, but now that I'm on the stockinette it's pretty tight knit, so it's going a bit slower. I'm using a generated pattern from the Sock-u-Lator, knit cuff down. I can't wait to get to the fun parts!

I've also been working on Jenn's baby blankie. I'm now on the second repeat and I've switched to the other colour. This is one bold and tacky blanket, but she'll love it. I guess it's not really too tacky, just wild. And, as always, I've been working on my dishcloths. I did finish one within Show Your FO week, but I'd already posted pics of an identical one, so I figured there was little point. Plus I was wallowing in a pool of self pity due to having little knitting time and wanting to cast on for something new (counterproductive, ain't I?).

I would like to thank all my great blog pals who have been so supportive to me lately. You are all endlessly kind.

Check, check, one, two, three...

2006-02-02T08:36:00.000-06:00

Ok, I totally know I dropped off the face of the planet. I've been sooooooooooooooo busy. I do want to say though that I received my first secret pal box two days ago and have pictures to share should I be able to find the time to upload them when I'm at home. Everything in the box was very lovely and I can't wait to show everyone. The colours came out a little off in the picture, I can tell already, but it was the best I could do seeing as the only times I am at home is when it's quite dark. Plus the lighting in my new room isn't quite as true as at Davin's house. Yes, I said Davin's house, not our house. Yup, we broke up. Reasons being many and varied. We are on really good terms though because we were brave enough to do it before things went sour. Neither one of us have ruled out a reconciliation, but for now I'm just trying to work out old issues that I hadn't dealt with before we got together. I'll be alright, in fact I'm doing rather well since I've been so busy. Anyway, I wanted to let all my bloggie pals know what's been up in my life the last little while. I love you all and have a wonderful day!

I'm cloth crazy!

2006-01-26T09:37:00.000-06:00

Here is the finished Baby Fern Dishcloth. I finished it awhile ago and it has just been sitting, waiting to be revealed. I noticed a problem with the pattern about 2/3 of the way through. there is a P1, K1, P1 border on either side of all the fern eyelet patterns on every one except the right hand side. So, if anyone ever makes this pattern, simply cast on an extra 3 stitches and before you K2 tog on the even rows do a P1, K1, P1. Simple. I've cast on already for a second one (5/12!) and have also completed another granny cloth and am more than halfway through another. I figure that's pretty good, seeing as I don't have much time on my hands right now. I'm STILL working on the Gryffindor scarf. You can all just assume as long as I don't send a giant newflash out that I've finished it, that I haven't. That's the last I say about that until I finish it.

Yesterday, I got home from a 3 hour ballet class to find this waiting for me:

I was expecting quite a few packages this week and this was the first to get to me. I sat and stared at the pretty package for awhile and then carefully cut a slit in the top to preserve its beauty. I expected one of the items inside, but certainly not anything else. Here is what greeted me:

All of this came from Lynda over at Knit Together... Wonderfully Made, just because. I expected the Knit Picks Shimmer, because we had arranged that it would come live with me since she wasn't really loving it (and I was!), but all the other wonderful things are just her being the fabulous woman that she is. I had to sneak the wonderful package back into this photo because it really brightened my day! So, we have there Knit Picks Shimmer in Stained Glass, a wonderful card and postcard, one of her buttons and a stitch marker/charm, yummy yummy lipgloss (*drool*), a Whitman's Chocolate sampler that makes me think of Alice in Wonderland (yes, I did just take one bite out of each, I wouldn't want to be too big or too small!), and some gorgeously scented hand cream (for my knitting callous of course!). Thank you so much again, Lynda, your kindness is most appreciated!

I've cast on for a nice spring scarf in the Shimmer, we'll see how it goes. I've been doing some secret online shopping for my SP and plan to go physically shopping for her on Saturday. I'm pretty excited about that. Well, its back to the grindstone for me!

P.S. Happy birthday, Mozart (don't people usually stop counting birthdays after they die, and if not should we be counting the years since he died instead of adding them on top of his living years? I mean like we could say, "Happy 35th Birthday and Happy 215th Anniversary of your Decomposition!" Just a thought.)!

My first scarf for ME!!!!

2006-01-19T13:55:00.000-06:00

Those wouldn't be gauge swatches, would they??? Heeeeeeck no! Do I look like the swatching type? Huh, do I??? That's what I've got done so far for my Noddy doll. The red bits are his body and the tan one is half of his head. We'll see how these dolls turn out since I'm not exactly using the right yarns. They are quite rolled up in the pic, so don't get too worried.

And, here is the finished My So Called Scarf in Manos del Uruguay colourway 113! Yipee! I haven't taken the thing off since I finished it. I'm so proud of it, I brag to everyone. I've said it before and I'll say it again, wow do I love working with this stuff. It itches me just a little tiny bit, but that's on my sensitive neck, and pretty much everything itches my neck, so I'm not concerned about it.
These lovelies are a selection from the dolls that my gramma "knit" for me. They're crocheted! Every last one of them! These have got to be at least 20 years old, because I can't actually remember if they were made specifically for me or if I stole them from her house. Aren't they great, though? A little bit creepy, but look at the detail! There are even darker pinks embroidered onto their tongues for definition. Oh, gramma... I can't wait until I'm finished your dolls to send to you.
And this wonderful stuff came to me in the mail this week. It's 100% alpaca yarn from Russia. Well, from Russia via Texas anyway. I must've been crazy when I ordered it, seeing as I thought I was getting worsted weight yarn. 10 balls for under $30? Of worsted weight 100% alpaca. Definitely not. The listing said sport weight, but it seems even lighter than that to me. It was originally to be a sweater for Davin, when I thought it would be a heavier yarn, but now it someday will be a garment for me. To the stash it goes.

I'm still really, really busy and it's not gonna let up for awhile, so here's my official on-the-record apology if I'm not as regular as usual. I'm gonna try really hard, but even work has been busy the last little while and I have a lot to do. Anyway, I *heart* you all and hope not to be too much of a stranger ;).

Awww... baby fern!

2006-01-16T14:26:00.000-06:00

Hi all! I've had so many compliments on the lacy dishcloth that I'm posting the link for anyone who desires to make their own. It is very easy and is my first "real" lace project.

Baby Fern Stitch Dishcloth

I've been busy, busy, busy, but have been plugging away at my WIPs in every spare moment. Nothing finished as of now. I have some stash enhancement to share, but I'll wait until I can upload the picture to show you. My Manos scarf is almost done, get yourselves pumped up!

I have been tagged by the oh so fabulous Lynda from Knit Together... Wonderfully Made for a Meme. Here it is!

Four Jobs You Have Had In Your Life:

1. My first job was at McDonalds, of course! I was soooo good at it and my records were forged to show I was a year older because they hired me and then found out I was too young to be working there ;). They just loved me too much to not have me there!

2. HMV (a very coveted job at a record store)

3. Aldo Shoes (another very coveted job at a high fasion shoe store)

4. Receptionist (currently)

Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over:

1. Finding Nemo

2. Cinderella (the cartoon)

3. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

4. I can't pick only one more so I'll say uhmmm... Van Wilder??? (Simply to prove I'm not 4 years old)

Four Places You Have Lived:

1. Saskatoon, SK

2. Winnipeg, MB

3. Regina Beach, SK

4. Regina, SK

Four TV Shows You Love To Watch:

1. Big Brother

2. Days of Our Lives (I grew up on it, they're like family!)

3. America's Next Top Model

4. Literally everything else reality TV.

Four Places You Have Been On Vacation:

1. Winnipeg, MB

2. Duck Mountain Provincial Park, SK/MB

3. Lipps Beach (our cabin), SK

4. Minot, ND (Whoopee!!!)

As you can tell, I'm vacation challenged.

Four Websites You Visit Daily:

1. Hotmail

2. People (yes, I'm a gossip monger)

3. All my wonderful Blog pals' blogs!

4. Go Fug Yourself

Four Of Your Favorite Foods:

1. Candy (mainly the sour stuff)

2. Greek (everything that doesn't have flour)

3. Nachos

4. Blackberry flavour mousse yoghurt

Four Places You Would Rather Be Right Now:

1. At school

2. At home

3. Anywhere tropical

4. Shopping mall/LYS

Four Bloggers You Are Tagging:

I hereby tag (unless you've done it already):

1. Cerrella

2. Karen

3. K.

4. Becky

Alrighty, that's all I've got for now, aside from a giant headache. Buh bye!

Dishcloths!

2006-01-10T22:40:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Talitha's Dishcloth Boutique, now featuring natural light!

For real, the snowman was my January Dishcloth KAL cloth and the granny one is 1/12 of the commissioned dishcloths. The lovely lace one is 2/12. Isn't it so pretty. I love that I have to make up my own way of knitting into the YOs on account of the English knitting. If I knit into them like normal they disappear (as discovered doing my feather and fan Christmas dishtowel). Anyway, it's late and I just got home for the day. I'm going straight to the vino.

No good title comes to mind...

2006-01-10T15:52:00.000-06:00

Ok, so, as promised I have a few pics to share. I don't have the ones of my dishcloths because I tried to email them to myself so I could post them while I was at work, but the email never happened for some unknown reason, so I'll post them at another later time.

First of all, I was tagged by FiberGirl at Frida Knits for the Knitting Space Meme, so I better pay up ;).

It's definitely nothing exciting and I most definitely didn't have the time to get artistic with it so you're getting to see it as I last left it. I sit with that pillow behind me for back support and that lovely blanket is my penguin/fur covered fleece blankey made for me by my MIL. You will also see my Knitting Pattern a Day Calendar, underneath which are all my knitting books and magazines, the orange is my airy scarf and yarn, the speckled blue is the Pooch scarf and yarn, the whiteish giant ball is dishcloth cotton, two of my dishcloths are sitting on top of it all finished and ready to go, that lovely skein of red wool that I wound by hand on a paper towel roll (I did a very good job!), and finally my sewing box. Drake usually falls asleep either beside me on the couch or in the corner where the two couches intersect. He likes to have a pillow and blankey though if he's gonna be on the floor ;). On the far left of the picture, you'll see the corner of my crabs' aquarium. Gee, all I had to do was throw in an Xbox controller and you would see my whole family's favorite places to be and things to do, he he.

I think I'm probably just about the last person to get tagged by this, so I'm gonna cop out and tag everyone who hasn't taken advantage of this meme yet. And, yes, I know how lame that is.

This here is all the yarn (minus the light blue for Noddy's shorts) I need to make these lovely dolls. My grampa used to read me Noddy Goes to Toyland as a child and my gramma used to knit me dolls like Ernie and Bert and even a Lambchop puppet. So, I'm making these and sending them to their house. I went straight to my LYS rather than my typical WalMart or Michaels. Don't worry, I didn't buy any of the really good stuff. Only paid $5 a skein for the red, blue, yellow and white. She pulled the little brown bit and the greyish teal out of her stash ends (for free I think!) and the flesh colour I did have to get from Michaels. The embroidery floss is also from Michaels to do the facial details. I justified buying the majority of it from my LYS because I'm not going to use very much of each colour and I don't really want to get stuck with that much really cheap acrylic in colours I don't really love. I also picked myself up some Lavender Eucalan, yippee!!! Now, I just have to find some light blue for Noddy's shorts. I ordered this pattern off of Ebay from England. I'm so excited to see them all finished!

Hmmm... what's next? Ahhh, yes. My very first sock yarn and DPNs especially purchased for socks.

My plan is to add a couple stripes in the other colours I purchased near the top and they will be quite handsome if I do say so myself. This yarn has some nylon spun with the wool so they shouldn't wear out too fast. They're for when Davin goes hunting/ice fishing/tobogganing and they were a special request (supposed to be before Christmas, but my goal is now for his birthday Feb 1... oh that's soon, maybe Valentine's day). And I did wind that ball all by myself, too. I'm so proud of me, can ya tell? Oooh, that's some nice dog hair on my couch.

And, finally, so my Ghetto status cannot be questionned due to the LYS trip detailed above, the beginnings of a baby blanket for Jenn being made out of 2 of those giant balls of Red Heart that they sell in the bins at WalMart. I really do like the colours. And you just can't beat the durability or washability. The Inox circs are for when I start the interior pattern of the blanket, because I didn't have the right size in my possession. Oh, and the yarn was from my stash. Three cheers for using stash yarn! This colour will be alternated every pattern repeat (about 25 rows I think) with a veregated red/orange/yellow.

Alright, I'm gonna get some things done around here before the end of the day. Ciao!

Secret Pal Seven Questionnaire!

2006-01-09T14:51:00.000-06:00

Ok, I already did this, but Blogger ate it. Excellent!!!

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand?
- I'm a ghetto knitter, so I cannot be a yarn snob. I knit with stuff from Michaels or WalMart most of the time. Of course, I'd rather knit with higher quality, but what can ya do? I use Red Heart, but Lion Brand is mondo expensive in Canada.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
- I don't do either. I was taught how to crochet when I was little, but I forget how to now. I hope to reteach myself sometime here so I can use it to compliment some of my knitting projects.

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
- I got a cute little fabric roll for my needles from WalMart. The fabric looks vintage French and it has doggies on it. I do like those felted needle vases though.

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
- I would say I'm an enthusiastic beginner and/or intermediate. I never look at a pattern and say that's too hard and if there's a new technique I need to learn, then all the better! That's what I love about knitting: nothing is out of reach.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I have a wishlist on Knitpicks. I can tell you what email it's under if you'd like. I don't have an Amazon list though.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
- I really like things like orchid, lily, light musk, berries, etc. The only things I really stay away from are really strong florals and spicy scents such as sandalwood or cinnamon.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
- I absolutely have a sweet tooth! I have to be careful though because I have Celiac disease, which means that I can't have any wheat flour, oats, or barley. It sounds simple, but it's hidden in a lot of things so I always have to read the ingredients to make sure. My favorite candy is anything sour, but particularly sour soothers and Super Sour Dweebs (I don't know if these still exist, but they're made by Wonka, I can't get them here anyway).

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
- I like to handmake anything that can be handmade. I like to make decorations, gift tags/cards, craft painting, etc. I'm just generally crafty.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
- I like all kinds of music for the most part. In any given day I will listen to pop, rock, country, rap, classical, dance, and jazz. I'm just a big music fan in general. And my computer as well as my truck can play MP3s.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
- I prefer cool colours with my favorites being purple, blue and pink. I am also starting to favor lighter greens such as sage. I really can't pull off browns or reds.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
- My family's situation is that they're all stark raving mad!!! He he, I live with my fiance, our English Springer Spaniel named Drake, and 3 hermit crabs (Kozmo, Hudini, and Tiny).

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
- It gets cold in these parts so I wear a lot of scarves, hats and mittens. I don't own any ponchos because I prefer a shawl or stole as they're more versatile and dramatic.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
- My favorite so far is Luxury Alpaca Silk (70% alpaca, 30% silk). It is so soft that it feels like it's softening your hands as you knit. I'm also really enjoying Manos del Uruguay because of the variations in colour and thickness. I'm really happy with anything alpaca.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
- I can't handle really scratchy wool as it itches my skin and really stiff acrylic sucks.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
- Knitting for babies since I have so many popping up around me. I also like to do really nice scarves. I'm starting to really enjoy lace, but not frogging it.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
- Absolutely everything that's not boring. I love adventure!

17. What are you knitting right now?
- Are you ready? I mean, truly ready? Ok, a Gryffindor scarf, a baby blanket, a Noddy and a Big Ears stuffed toy, an airy scarf in a mohair blend, a Patons Pooch scarf, a "My So Called Scarf" in Manos, at least one dishcloth, a yoga mat bag, and I think that may be it.

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
- Of course I do, but I also like to receive the supplies to make things myself.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
- It depends on the project, but it it's something that doesn't need to be done in the round or that isn't huge like a blanket, I use straight needles since I knit English and it's nice to rest the one needle while I wrap the stitch.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
- I don't have any plastic, but I use both bamboo and aluminum depending on the material I'm knitting with.

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
- Here's my ball winding process: I stretch the skein out with one end on each of my feet and then roll it Nostepinne-style on a paper towel roll. So, no I don't have a yarn winder or swift and yes, that's an emphatic wish for them.

22. How did you learn to knit?
- I decided I wanted to learn so I searched and searched on the internet (in all the wrong places apparently) for how to do it and when I couldn't find anything satisfactory, I went to WalMart and bought a little book/pamphlet that taught me.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
- About 4 months old I think. It's a yoga mat bag that got ditched in favor of Christmas and baby knitting.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
- I love Disney cartoons, especially Nemo and the Princess ones. My absolute favorite is Cinderella! I love all animals, but especially dogs, cats, and horses.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
- Christmas, by far and hands down.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
- Not really. I do have an extensive collection of lip gloss and shiny lipsticks in a light rose colour.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
- Creative Knitting and I think I have Knit One coming, too.

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?
- For books, I'd like Stitch 'N' Bitch (the first one, cuz I have SnBNation already) and a good sock book, for yarns, anything nice, needles, I'd like to try Lantern Moon (I can always use extra size US 7s and 8s in 10") as well as Addi Turbos for Magic Loop, and for patterns, I've been looking for a really nice shawl or stole that's not too grammaish.

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
- Absolutely! I want to learn how to do Magic Loop for socks, cables, and Fair Isle.

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
- I will be soon! I just went out and bought my first sock yarn a sock sized DPNs for a pair for Davin. My feet are between a size 5 and 6 and are just a smidge over 8 inches long.
31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
- June 18th (same day as Sir Paul!).

Ok, lets hope this works this time cuz I do NOT want to fill it out for a 3rd time!

Hell Week Watch - One down, Seven more to go!

2006-01-09T14:09:00.000-06:00

Sorry about the whole non-postingness of me last week. I really wanted to post, but was just never home to do so (and when I was I was knitting/sleeping). Last week was my first week of rehearsals for The Good Person of Setzuan. It's going well and I'm very excited to see the finished product of my character. She is very mean and enterprising, but sometimes funny.

In the knitting department, I've cast on and finished a snowman dishcloth for my KAL, CO and finished a granny dishcloth for the 12 that were commissioned by a gal at work (oh, I didn't tell you about that, by the way, I need to knit 12 dishcloths for a gal at work), CO a lacey dishcloth for the 12, CO and finished one body piece for the Noddy and Bigears stuffed dolls that I'm making, stash enhanced a bit, and cast on for Jenn's baby blanket. Phew. I've continued on the Gryffindor scarf (argh, when will I finish) and I'm on stripe 10/19. Whoever said this was a quick knit must've been lightning fast. I'm still working on my Manos scarf and can't wait until I finish it. I've also frogged the Pooch scarf to begin again in simple garter stitch and have a couple of inches of that done.

I will elaborate on all of this as well as post some pics, but I'm not at home currently, so it'll have to be later. I have all my Secret Pal info too, that's super duper exciting, but I have a feeling I'm going to need to be very sneaky!

Ok, I love you, buh bye! (Didn't anyone ever watch Tiny Toons?)

First Post of 2006

2006-01-02T18:33:00.000-06:00

Merry '06, everyone! Here's to a year that will eclipse every other yet in greatness... hopefully ;P.

I wanted to put down my New Year's Resolution where I can't back out of it (not that I would). I am normally not a resolution type person, more of a "hey, let's try and live the good life every year" kind of gal. But...

I will learn and become successful at knitting socks on various sized needles and various gauged yarns.

It's really got nothing to do with making me try socks, really just so I can justify the stash expansion ;).

I have some new pattern books, well not new at all, but new to me. Davin's aunt had bought them all for his gramma this summer for 50 cents. There are many different ones, as you can see, ranging from the 1940s to the 1990s. Most of them are baby patterns, which will come in very handy for me, as my regular readers will note. The coolest book is without a cover, but provided complete with this message (excuse the glare):

These here booties were made by a modification of one of the patterns in a Patons Woolcraft book. If you'll notice, they match Logan's hat in stitch pattern.

They're really, really huge. I made them to replace the SnB Nation ones that were way too small. These ones took forever, since I had to knit them on such small needles and, again, with that ball of really cheap acrylic.

Speaking of knits from hell... luckily you can't see what a gimp this blankey is, but here it is FINISHED and sent away to Nova Scotia never to be seen again by my eyes. The whole thing is simply knit in the Trinity stitch, which has many other names. It's not square, or even straight. But, it's so strategically draped that you'll never have proof! Sucka!!!

Now, rather than a progress shot, here is a detail of the wonderful stitch pattern of my "My So Called Scarf" in Manos del Uruguay. It's a little over half done now, I think.

And, finally, some cuteness. Drake had pulled the tin pie plate out of the garbage bag after I'd finished it off. I imagine he was saying, in a very nice Brit accent (as his mother is from across the pond), "Please, sir, I'd like some more."

Logan's Post

2005-12-30T09:23:00.000-06:00

I had a dream last night that I'd been given my Secret Pal, but I just checked and I haven't. I hate it when dreams lie. :P

So, I thought I'd unveil my very first nephew, Logan.

I picked this photo to share because I think it shows a lot of what he will look like in future times. Plus, if you'll notice, he's in a Christmas stocking. Sheer brilliance, I tell you! I still have yet to meet this wonderful bundle and I can't wait!

As far as knitting, I'm now on stripe 7/19 on the Gryffindor scarf. This thing has a mind of its own and just doesn't want to get finished! I can't wait till I'm at least halfway there. Hopefully, once this weekend is over I will be at least halfway.

I've also picked back up Logan's Trinity Stitch Baby Afghan and speaking of cursed projects with minds of their own. This thing was the second project I ever started. I hate it. Mistake #1: my tension is all over the place. From the cast on and up about 6 inches is a good 3 inches wider than the rest of the blanket. Mistake #2: Knitting it in sportweight yarn on size 5 needles. This thing is taking forever, but I just didn't know any better. Mistake #3: The stitch pattern is a 4 row repeat. At one point I repeated after 2 rows. Everything took a nice hop to the side. It honestly looks like a did a poor job of grafting in the middle of the blanket. Anyway, I have about 4 more inches to go until it's square, but it's getting sent on January 2nd no matter where it's at and I'm definitely OK with that. I'd bind off and send it now, frankly, I don't want to look at it anymore. I want this testament to the fact that I was ever a newbie across the country as soon as possible. Oh well, at least it was knit with love.

Also this weekend, I need to start yet another pair of booties. Bigger ones this time. I WILL get it right.

I started my Manos scarf and it's coming along swimmingly. So, so pretty. I just spend too much time admiring and not enough time knitting. Who cares. I have pictures of my progress, but they're at home. I'll post them later.

And now, my friends, a gifteeeeeeeee (for those who have never been to this site):

http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/oversikt_en.php?side=1&fra=0&sort=drops

Sigh

2005-12-26T17:31:00.000-06:00

Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I'm glad mine is over, cuz it was just really stressful and busy. It was nice, but still busy. Oooh, I just remembered I have pumpkin pie in my fridge. I made it yesterday for Davin's family dinner. It made 3 small pies as well as 6 tarts. I took 3 of the pies with me to a dinner of about 20 people and came home with 2 pies (I was able to send half of the third with Davin's sister). Now, I'm a really good baker so it puzzled me that nobody would eat my pie. Oh well, more for me. I froze one and the other is sitting in my fridge.

I got some pretty nice stuff for Christmas. A few things were: a lighted makeup mirror with a built in jewellry box, 2 skeins of Manos del Uruguay in Colourway 113 (the exact colour of "My So Called Scarf") to make myself my own MSCS, Loop D Loop, A Knitting Pattern a Day Calendar, tickets to go see Cinderella the musical at the local theatre, a Toronto Maple Leafs bear ornament, and that's all I can think of for now. Also gifted to me by Santa were 4 FOs (and a Partridge in a pear tree)!!!

FO #1: Kandi's Brazillian Panta (in Paton's Decor)

Now, forgiveness please, it was not meant for me to wear and thus does not look great on me. On my sister, with her dreads, it looks just plain cool. Also, ignore the giant zits on my chin. I figure it's a side effect of the Christmas goodies.

FO #2: Jill's Poncho (in Moonlight Mohair)

FINALLY fringed. It took awhile until I got the hang of pulling the fringe through the work and through it's own loop in one semi-smooth movement.

D'ya like my model pose???

FO #3: Jill's Skinny Scarf/Belt (in Matrix)

I don't really have a whole lot to say about this one other than that the needles I used to knit it really sucked and made it take forever.

Excuse me for the flash glare. Everyone thought it was beaded from far away so I was happy.

FO #4: Logan's Hat (ahem, in the cheapest damn acrylic I could get my grubby little paws on)

I just knit this as a went along, trying to copy the semi-basketweave pattern of the sweater that my MIL had bought for Logan. As modelled by Davin:

Well, my dearies, I have to go clean my disgusting powder room. I leave you with some wonderful yarn porn.

The Little Saint Nick

2005-12-23T08:43:00.000-06:00

Run, run, reindeeeeer!

Did you notice that the word "Blogger" on the log-in page is wearing a Santa hat? I appreciate the little things like that. ;)

So, I don't really have anything to post, it's been a long and busy week. I mainly just want to say "Thank you" to all the wonderfully compassionate people who have become my blog friends. You all have given me such kind words through a bit of a tough time in my life and I truly do appreciate it very much. Now, onward and upward. Mwah!

Knitting:

Not much to say here. Today I need to finish my sister's Panta, Jill's poncho and her skinny scarf. Definitely doable. Yay for doable goals!!! Hip hip hooray!

I sent off my mom's button hole welted rib scarf without blocking it. I was really too lazy and had my doubts as to whether or not I would even be able to block it much. I knit it with some truly horrid Solo (I think Bernat?) that I got on clearance from WalMart when I first started knitting. I wasn't aware at the time that it's hard to successfully block acrylic. She'll still like it and I'll tell her that she can lay it out flat on a towel and put pins in it and squirt it if she wants it to lay more flat. I'm such a cheater.

Anyway, if I don't get to posting before the big day, Merry Christmas everyone, and thanks for everything!

P.S. As a Knitting Blogger's community we should really declare a Blog Pal day in the new year. We could even set up a seperate blog where people can share stories about extra special blog pals. What do you think?

Sunday, Sunday

2005-12-18T21:06:00.000-06:00

I didn't get much knitting done this weekend. We got a call around 3:30 PM Friday afternoon that they were calling all the family in to say goodbye to Davin's grampa. So, we were there most of the night Friday and then we had to be in a town about 45 minutes away from here for a Christmas party. We stayed overnight there and then drove back Saturday and spent more time with family as Grampa passed early Sat. afternoon. The rest of my time was spent with family and doing some Christmas shopping. It is sad to see Grampa go, but he lived a wonderful life and imparted so much love, skill, wisdom and laughter on us all, so I can't really begrudge his death. He was a wonderful man and I'm happy I was able to spend the 3 years with him that I did.

Anyway, I started a Brazillian Panta headband for my sister's Christmas present (as pointed out by the lovely gal at Unravelled blog). Here is the progress shot so far, it's about 1/3 done. It's not that red, but actually a really dark burgundy. While doing this I decided to revert back to my original method of purling, even though it means wrapping the stitch the wrong way. In the end, everything looks far prettier.

In other news, Jenn's scarf is still no where near being finished. I present Exhibit A:

For real.

Here is a progress shot of the baby hat that I'm making to go with the booties (which I think I have to remake again, he came out 21 inches long!) that I knit and the sweater that my MIL bought for Logan. Oh yeah, the baby was finally born on the 14th. His name is Logan and he's definitely a man. Without a doubt. I'm happy, but very anxious to meet him, which probably won't happen until summer seeing as they live halfway across the country from us.

I purchased two new knitting mags in the midst of my Christmas shopping this weekend, the January issue of Creative Knitting and the inaugural issue of Vogue Knitting's Knit Simple. My review of Knit Simple is that it has some neat patterns and ideas in it, some of which were really impractical like the fake bear skin rugs made out of like 32 balls of fun fur (I think I can get a real bear pelt for cheaper). I would buy this magazine again, but it is far too pricey for what you end up getting ($7.99 CAD). Here is a pic of the cover with my Creative Knitting behind it

Well, that's that for now. I bid thee adieu, as does Drake in his best sleepy crocogator pose.

Neckwarmer Pattern

2005-12-17T15:21:00.000-06:00

Hi, all! I hope Christmas preparations are going well.

I've had a request for the pattern for my neckwarmer so here's some info on how to make one yourself:

Materials:

- Size US 9 needles
- About 150 yards of DK or worsted weight yarn (make sure you pick something soft!).
- One button

Directions:

- Knitting with two strands of yarn at the same time, CO 27 stitches.

- Odd rows work K3, P3 times 4, then K3.
- Even rows works P3, K3 times 4, then P3.

- Once the piece measures anywhere between 17 and 18 inches (43-46 cms), ending with an even row (with purl stitches at the beginning and end), on the next row (which will be an odd row), K2, YO, K1 for the first rib and then continue as normal on an odd row.
- When you get back to the section where you have the extra stitch from the yarn over, P1, P2 tog, P1.

- Bind off and weave in ends. Attach a button on the opposite end of the neckwarmer on the wrong side of the piece (whichever side you want that to be).

My finished neckwarmer is just under 19 inches or 48 cms, which ends up a bit long for me so if I were to make another I would do the YO at 17 inches instead of 18, but I have a skinny lizard neck, hence the lee-way I've accounted for in the pattern. When all else fails, wrap your work around your own neck to see how long you want it. If anyone has any questions please let me know. It is very easy and I tend to write over-complicated instructions. Feel free to use a bulkier yarn instead of running two strands together, but the two strands allows the flexibility to knit with two colours if desired. Merry knitting!

And now I leave you with a picture I took looking outside my front window (snow, snow, snow):

Pho-TOES!!! (aka Jingle Drake)

2005-12-12T17:58:00.000-06:00

There's my little baby-waby. I bought him a Christmas "collar" and it has jingle bells on it. He loves it. So now I go around the house singing "Jingle Bells", but singing "Jingle Drake" instead. He was a very good boy today, not only did I not have to fight with him to get him to go into his kennel, he voluntarily did it twice today (even when I didn't need him to!). He will be duly rewarded.

Ok, so here is the promised pic of my neck warmer. It was improvisational knitting inspired by the Neckwarmer on KPixie.

And here's my Charlie Brown tree:

And, finally, the cutest pic ever of Drake getting a piggy back. I mean a Davin back. He always wants to be worn like a fur stole, Davin didn't want to wear fur. Hence the piggy back position.

Om Dishcloth Pattern (aka, why are all the patterns I write yoga related?)

2005-12-12T11:37:00.000-06:00

Ok, ladies and gents, the pattern you've all been waiting for (yeah right, but I have to fluff myself up a bit here :P )............................ Om Dishcloth!!!!

Om Dishcloth by Talitha (www.talithascrazyknittingbag.blogspot.com)

Materials:
- One small ball of cotton yarn worsted weight. I used Bernat Handicrafter in Natural, it seemed un-yoga-like to use a coloured yarn, but I mean, I'm crazy.
- Size ummmm 7 or 8 needles (shorties work best for dishcloths).

Directions:

CO 41 stitches.

Knit 5 rows.

Row 6: K4, P33, K4.
Row 7 and all odd rows hereafter: Knit across.
Row8: K4, P12, K1, P20, K4.
Row 10: K4, P7, K2, P2, K2, P20, K4.
Row 12: K4, P7, K2, P2, K2, P20, K4.
Row 14: K4, P11, K2, P20, K4.
Row 16: K4, P7, K5, P2, K6, P13, K4.
Row 18: K4, P6, K5, P2, K9, P11, K4.
Row 20: K4, P12, K2, P5, K4, P10, K4.
Row 22: K4, P11, K2, P8, K3, P9, K4.
Row 24: K4, P11, K2, P20, K4.
Row 26: K4, P12, K2, P19, K4.
Row 28: K4, P6, K4, P3, K2, P18, K4.
Row 30: K4, P5, K1, P4, K1, P3, K5, P14, K4.
Row 32: K4, P4, K1, P6, K1, P1, K1, P2, K3, P14, K4.
Row 34: K4, P4, K1, P7, K1, P1, K4, P15, K4.
Row 36: K4, P5, K1, P7, K2, P18, K4.
Row 38: K4, P6, K2, P4, K2, P19, K4.
Row 40: K4, P11, K2, P20, K4.
Row 42: K4, P10, K2, P21, K4.
Row 44: K4, P9, K2, P13, K4, P5, K4.
Row 46: K4, P9, K2, P12, K4, P6, K4.
Row 48: K4, P9, K3, P10, K4, P7, K4.
Row 50: K4, P10, K3, P8, K4, P8, K4.
Row 52: K4, P11, K3, P6, K4, P9, K4.
Row 54: K4, P12, K3, P4, K4, P10, K4.
Row 56: K4, P13, K8, P12, K4.
Row 58: K4, P14, K6, P13, K4.
Row 59: Knit across.
Row 60: K4, P33, K4.
Rows 61-65: Knit across.

Bind off and weave in ends.

The universe in me salutes the universe in you (my own loose translation). Remember, if there seems to be a problem with this pattern, maybe you should chant "Om" a bit before contacting me. The universe in me thanks the universe in you.

In other knitting news, I have finished my neck warmer out of half of that Alpaca Silk. That is so exciting because it means approx. 150 metres of that gorgeousness will remain in my stash. Davin specifically stated that he would only purchase me the yarn if I was going to make something for myself out of it right away. I took my time knitting it, but couldn't put it down, it was like butter through my fingers. It felt like it was magically making my hands softer as it ran through. I could easily knit with ONLY this yarn for the rest of my life and be quite happy. Anyway, seeing as I'm at work right now, that picture will follow along with photos of my pup and Davin and my Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It's pretty bad. I have it anchored to the windowpane (with yarn) to keep it straight. We had to buy a new tree holder cuz it was too small to fit in our old one. So, cutting down a tree from the farm to save money was soooo not worth it.

From Ghetto to Luxury

2005-12-09T20:20:00.000-06:00

Mmmmmmmm...

Upon realizing just how much of a ghetto knitter I am, I made a visit to one of my LYS's. Bought 300 metres of Luxury Alpaca Silk. Sooooooooo soft. I'm in love with alpaca. I literally just stood in the corner with all the cashmere, alpaca, and angora and just pet things for about a half hour. Anywho, here is the loveliness:

How much do you love my Christmas village/table? I love it. Oh, I guess I should've shown it lit up. Whoops, my bad.

The yarn wasn't ALL that expensive. I think it was $6.50 CAD per ball. Cheap enough for me. Now what should I make. I was going to make like a neck warmer or a scarf I think. It definitely needs to be something close to my neck cuz mmmmmmmmm soooo soft.

Here are the pics of my pear cloth (www.knittingknonsense.com) and my Om cloth. I'm just looking at my Om pattern. I'm not 100% happy with the cloth as I made it. It's kinda gibbled. Anyway, I am going to work on the pattern this weekend and post it before Monday, just in case anyone needs it for Christmas presents. Anyway, here are pictures of my pear cloth as well as the warped Om cloth.

Okidoki, well, that's all I've got for now. Other than that while I was blogging, Drake ran off with a ball of my new yarn! Why does this dog have such damn good taste?!!! Luckily I don't think he chewed through it, although he did unravel and tangle it up like a GOOD LITTLE DOG!!!

Fa la la la la, la la la la

2005-12-07T14:18:00.000-06:00

It's almost Christmas! I am finally starting to really get into the Christmas spirit. I even turned my radio to the station that plays Christmas carols all day long during the season. Exciting! I haven't been taking time to blog at all while I'm at home, hence no pics or patterns as promised. Maybe tonight. Jenn's also in town now which also leaves me with less time. I will make up for it somehow, someday. See, I do most of my blogging from work during the day when I'm bored, which is often. The joys of being a receptionist. Oh, I know exactly how I'll make up for the lack of pictures... he he just wait, just you wait.

Hmmm... I seem to remember I had something specific to blog about... OH I remember:

Talitha's Christmas Knitting List:

Numbers in < > are the chances of them getting finished in time

Mom: Red Welted rib, button hole scarf (finished) <100%>
Dad: Toque and matching scarf (not even yarn bought for them) <15%>
Sister: Lacey beanie and scarf <10%>
Jill: Skinny scarf (in progress) <90%> and poncho (just need to fringe it) <90%>
Moses: Striped scarf (last minute add on) <1%>
Jenn: Gryffindor scarf (stripe 4/19) <75%>
Baby: Trinity stitch "afghan" <90%>, antique pattern bib (finished) <100%>, Baby Uggs Booties (finito) <100%>, white acrylic commissioned booties (finised) <100%> Yes I know it's redundant to put finished and 100% chance of finishing, but dammit it's not on there very often and it feels good ok???
MIL: White Welted rib, button hole scarf <60%>

In addition to all this I have to sew my dog a fleece blankie, finish making everyone a Christmas ornament, make a painted wooden wreath for my door, paint a resin dog like Drake, and I think that's it for now. Honestly, to get all this finished I would need to work non-stop, everyday, all day until Christmas. Davin says the second I get stressed out about my knitting he is prying my little needles out of my hands and not giving them back until after Christmas (almost his exact words, he definitely did say "prying"). Lucky for me he missed my episode when I WAS stressed out about my holiday knitting. Ahh, the wonders of having blog friends to vent to.

So here is my plan of attack. For the remainder of this week, I will only work on the big projects a little bit and will get finished or started as the case may be on the smaller projects to give myself some momentum going into this weekend and the beginning of next week. Jenn leaves next Thursday so I will still need to be working hard on that scarf, but I will also need to touch other things, which I haven't been doing the last few days. Anyway, happy knitting and whatnot, I'm gonna go do some actual work. Shock, horror, I know.

Here we go!

2005-12-05T13:50:00.000-06:00

So, I've pulled my first knitting all-nighter. Yay me. I had to finish the dishcloths for my profs before class today. All weekend I was trading between knitting/designing the dishcloths and preparing for my final presentations/examinations. But, in the end, all went off practically hitchlessly. Everyone loved the cloths, and my one prof even said it was too pretty to use and he pinned it up on his wall in his office. My dance solo that I choreographed went fabulously and I felt great after I was done, which doesn't happen very often, being the prefectionist/OCDer that I am. My poem went alright, even though I didn't put as much work into it as I should've. Too much time knitting and dancing I suppose. So now the Christmas knitting begins in TRUE force. Not that I haven't been knitting like crazy already for two months, but now is when the marathon starts. I'll post some pics later of my two FOs from today (the cloths) and also the pattern for the Om cloth. Feel free to use the pattern as you please. I hope everyone is having a good Monday and happy knitting, as usual.

P.S. My knitting callous is killing me. I literally have knit for at least 10 hours in the last 24. Yikes!

My knitting is getting to me!

2005-11-29T15:43:00.000-06:00

So, I just went to touch my lip with my fingertip and it felt really really rough and hard. So I feel my fingertip with my thumbtip and then my thumbnail pressed into it -- it's a callous! A KNITTING callous. Wow. I guess that means I'm officially a knitter now. I kinda feel special (and that's not sarcasm either!). He he.

Last night I cast on another little project as I need to knit a cloth for each of my two professors. The one prof gave us a writing exercise where we had to write something about a pear so I'm knitting him a pear dishcloth. The other prof was not as easy to "shop" for so I used an online program to create an "Om" graph pattern that will soon be a dish/washcloth as well. I figure I'll wrap the cloths around a votive or soap bar and wrap a nice little bow around and that'll be good. The only reason I'm even giving them anything is because I found the pear pattern and thought it was too perfect to pass up and seeing as it's a small faculty if I give one prof a Christmas gift and not the other there will be hell to pay. Beware the wrath of a male actor/dancer/choreographer/yogi!!! Today's been slow and boring. One hour and ten minutes left in the work day and then I have to do some running around and go to yoga class. Sometimes I think that having a scheduled yoga class goes against the whole yogic way of life. Something about fitting scheduled relaxation and meditation into an already jam packed schedule seems ummm just not right. I dunno, I could be wrong, cuz really if it wasn't scheduled I'd never go instead of only going half the time. Schmeh.

A little help from my friends.

2005-11-28T15:45:00.000-06:00

I uh... have a little question. Has anyone ever managed to ummm knit whilst you know like ummmm stationary biking or on a recumbant? I just thought it might be fun, but am rather frightened to walk into the university gym and whip out my knitting. Really, projects get washed before being worn or gifted in the first place, so what's a little sweat, right? I'm just thinking about how much knitting I could get done and how much distance I could burn on the bike without even noticing! It was just a little brain wave I had just now. I think it would be funny if I could teach my friends to knit along with me and then we could go to the gym together and knit. We'd be quite the posse, time might even slow and theme music play as we walk -- rather-- blow through the doors of that place. The funny part is that it's not the knitting in the gym that will prevent me from making this happen... it's the actually going to the gym part that I have issues with. It's a side-effect of being a lazy lump. I do believe we've been over this before.

I need help/suggestions with convincing Davin to buy me yarn off of my wishlist for Christmas. He says he doesn't want to buy me a Christmas present that I may use to give to someone else. I say just knitting with some nice yarn is enough of a gift. He disagrees. Really, I wonder if he would remember which yarn was which even if I did use it for a project for someone else. Hmmm....

Bah doo dah doo dah doo dah

2005-11-27T21:25:00.000-06:00

I have a magic new FO!!! My MIL bought Davin's brother's soon-to-be-born baby a handknit sweater and needed some booties to match. She also has commissioned a hat, which I have yet to start. Anywho, the good news is the booties are finished and the bad news is the sweater was pure acrylic which means so are the booties. I am beginning to understand yarn-snob ways. Acrylic just doesn't have as much give and makes my hands sore! Anyway, the pattern is the One Hour Baby Booties from SnBN, without the crochet strap across the top. I figure the baby's gonna be a wiggly little boy so it won't stay still long enough to do the strap up.

Sooooo... here's the progress shot on Jenn's Gryffindor scarf ------->

Look! It's flying in the wind!!!

So, I got very little knitting done again this weekend, yay me, but we did get our new truck so next week I might be able to get to the chiropractor and actually be able to make it through the week! Sweeeeet. I have all my final presentations for my classes this week so I won't have a whole lot of time to knit this week, but I've decided to send the baby afghan with Davin's parents when they go down to meet the baby at the end of the month, so that's one less monkey on my back. However, that scarf really needs to grow some. Oh, speaking of scarves, I've had two commissioned for after Christmas! I'm excited about that. A couple of guys in my classes yet. They all see me knitting, but I guess they assume I suck at it like I suck at everything in life and I don't, ya see? Ha. I also picked up the new Knit1 mag. I bought it for the men's projects, but also for the gorgeous giant cowl neck sweater with the 3/4 sleeves... mmmm so easy and so cute! It will be my first sweater. It's a bit annoying how all they use in Knit1 is Lion Brand. To me anyway. Although it means that the real yarn for the project is a lot more easily accessible for me here in Canada than most yarns used in other mags, books, etc. Well, I think I need to go get some more knitting done before bed. Blog at ya l8r. Geez... I'm just plain cheesy.

Helloooooooooo???

2005-11-25T14:37:00.000-06:00

Hey all, just wanted to confirm that I am still around I've just been busy and exhausted and knitting. I got news this week that my best friend will be here on the 3rd of December and I am currently on the third stripe of 19 on her Gryffindor scarf. Yipes. Hence why I haven't been blogging because I was on stripe one when I found that out. Not much progress, I know, but I've been otherwise busy as well. It's not that I have to have the Gryffindor scarf all the way finished before she gets here, but she leaves on the 15th and I will be with her quite often which will leave me with no time to work on it while she's here. Also, I still have to finish the baby afghan and send it SOON. Like, as in, this weekend. Must FO. Must. Must. MUST!!! I have pictures I need to post and this is yet another reason why I haven't been blogging in earnest this week. Anyway, I'm incredibly sorry to be so boring, but ummmm ONE MONTH TILL CHRISTMAS. Sorry for the frantic quality of this post. I really am. Ok, I love you, buh bye! (And, yes, I am so far off the deep end I am swimming currently in the Mariana Trench).

Another weekend toasted.

2005-11-20T22:49:00.000-06:00

Boooooooo... where are my weekends going??? All I got done was dust my house, vacuum some of it and a teensy tiny little bit of knitting. I have no real progress to show there. Just little bits of growth here and there (Gryffindor scarf, KAL dishcloth, yup that's it all weekend :( ). I did however buy myself a cute little knitting bag as they were on sale at Zellers. I got it for $15, I think that's a pretty good deal. At first I wasn't sure what the little snappy loops on the side were for and then like a lightbulb I realize, "Damn, those would be handy for my yarn to feed through." Brilliant!!! I am now very glad I invested in a real knitting bag instead of just buying a bag for my knitting. Yay me. Drake was also quite impressed with my decision.

Anyway, I was beginning to get excited about doing some knitting for myself (other than a few scarves which are still on the needles) and then, BLAM, someone else close to me is pregnant. So no ME knitting and more baby knitting. I anticipate another set of Uggs booties, another bib, and another afghan at least. Maybe I'll attempt the baby bunting bag this time too. Thank God I bought too much of all the baby yarn and, thus, will not have to buy any more. Ahhhhh... now THAT feels good. Don't get me wrong, I am excited, especially since this person lives in the same city as I do instead of on the other side of the country like Lizzy. I'm just gettin' the baby crazies.

This morning I woke up with a swollen eye. No, nobody had beat me up in the night. Yesterday, Davin was holding Drake up and Drake elbowed me smack in the eye, TWICE. It hurts a lot. See, I am a wimp (read MEGA WIMP SUCKAAAAA) and have never been in a fight, let alone gotten a black eye so this is new turf for me. Needless to say, I have been getting my whine time out of the situation. You betcha ;). And now, I leave you with a picture of my current KAL dishcloth:
And, yes it is gimped, that's not just the picture. It keeps shrinking widthwise as I knit. Also, simply looking at this cloth does not do the pattern justice, it is a pretty complicated one. I just can't seem to see why such a complicated pattern can yield something so normal looking. Oh well, it is just a dishcloth.

20 Things

2005-11-15T11:25:00.000-06:00

Well, I don't know what "meme" means (is it ME-ME!!! or it could be french for same... ahhh since people have to do the same thing....), ok maybe I have a slight clue given to me by my marvelous powers of deduction (which almost always are so far off the mark due to my crazy imagination), and I haven't even been tagged by anyone (don't think I'm sad about this because I'm not, I hate pressure!), but I'm going to list 20 things about me. Just because I feel it's time for people to know about my life other than my knitting. I feel I have posted enough knitting related posts to warrant this.

1. I moved around a lot growing up. I think by the time I was in Grade 9 I had lived in over ten different houses and the longest I had ever stayed in one house was under 2 years.

2. Due to number (1) I have a mean two year itch when it comes to anything. It is a testiment to our *true love* that Davin and I have made it past that mark. ;)

3. I am a hardcore Disney fan, my favorites being Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Bambi and Dumbo. I'm not a huge fan of their newer non-fairy tale movies... :(.

4. Due to number (3) I AM A PRINCESS!!!

5. I love to go to the ballet more than the theatre. Wrong, I know since I have been a theatre major for going on 3 years of my life, but here's the logic behind it: I have no grace = I cannot be a ballerina. My ballet teachers from when I was 5 can vouch for me. So I guess I decided if it's the only way I can be on stage, I'll act.

6. Although I love to act, I want a family, which is why I'm going to switch to Traditional Chinese Medicine. This way I can make my own schedule, which will allow me to spend more time with children. Also, constantly having to audition in order to maintain work and never knowing if you'll be getting paid next month is a bit too stressful for me.

7. I don't deal with stress well.

8. I fully intend to be an amazing actor from time to time when the urge strikes me.

9. I hate acting for film or TV.

10. This is why I could never make money acting.

11. I'm bad at keeping up friendships. I am a lazy person and hate calling people, also assuming they are too busy to talk to me or that I am too busy (read lazy) to talk to them.

12. I am also to lazy to e-mail.

13. Strangely, reading other people's wonderful blogs inspires me to make myself a wonderful blog, therein bypassing my laziness.

14. Knitting and yoga are my two favorite activities because they allow me to revel in my hate-physical-activity-and-doing-anything state and yet actually be productive.

15. I want another pet even though I'm currently too busy to take proper care of the 4 I have. I try to get past this guilt by telling myself a new pet would not be MINE, but rather Drake's (my dog). Is that wrong? By the way, he really wants a kitten.

16. I love my birthday, but never truly celebrate it.

17. I cannot decide if I am a dog person or a cat person.

18. I hate it when... I now don't remember what I was going to write. I hate that. It happens to me all the time. For this reason I often have to interrupt people in order to say what I need to say before it escapes me.

19. I am the queen of extreme pet peeves. I hate it when people chew loudly so much that it almost sends me into a fitful rage, I hate how asking someone how they are and them saying "Good" no matter how they truly are has become a standard greeting, and I hate that I now remember what I was going to write for number (18).

Additional 18: I hate it when men stare at me, but I love the feeling of leaving my house knowing that they should be. It's a vicious cycle I tell you. LMAO!!!

20. I have always gotten along better with people a few years older than me. I think it is a side effect of the fact that my parent's friends all only had children my sister's age so I had the choice of hanging out with noisy dirty little kids 5 1/2 years younger than me or with the adults. I always chose the adults.

And 21 because it just came to me: I think the Jem doll (circa 1987 I'm pretty sure) had grotesquely large feet and they honestly scared me as a small child. I had a secret fantasy of chopping those things off.

Weird how when I got to the end of 20, Blogger automatically changed my font back to normal. Really weird.

Craft Expo

2005-11-14T15:44:00.000-06:00

So, there was a craft expo in town this weekend. It's one of the larger annual type deals. I like to go to as many expo's as I can around here because it is often the only time you can access certain products. Anyway, I'm walking around thinking, "Man, someone could really clean up with a yarn booth." Literally, the only yarn there was in the place was some homemade mohair (one ball each of a few different colours in a very small basket) and some thrumming kits (rather cheap). All I can say is schmeh to that. Like really. There weren't even many booths with handknit products and even then it was old lady type stuff, not hip stuff like all we knitting bloggers turn out. In the end I picked up some human grade homemade doggie treats for Drake, a doggie pattern apron for when I bake, some shoulder protectors to use in place of a receiving blanket to send to Lizzy (actually quite a very good idea they are a bit smaller for where they rest on the top of your shoulder and then flare out a bit to the front and back of you), some extremely cheap doggie booties for Drake to wear in the snow, hmmm I think that was everything. There was a younger gal selling the coolest homemade jewellery. It was all really funky and she had just a ton of the stuff. It was a bit overpriced so I could tell she was probably making a killing as she was constantly taking payment for one item or another. There were lots of handmade soap booths, etc., but it just didn't scratch my crafty bone for some reason. Maybe because rather than part-time craftsters like me, everyone was really trying to do this as a full-time business. Like I found a lot of the people were so stressed out they came across as rude business people rather than the kindred spirits I suppose they were deep down somewhere. At any rate, Drake got quite the haul of stuff.

I'm getting excited for Christmas. I have decided to take some weight off my shoulders and not stress about giving everyone on my list a handknit item. Enough said there. Last night at my rehearsal for an alumni event I have to perform at tonight I was knitting in between the parts I needed to be involved in and everyone was laughing at me... typical me though.

Well, goal NOT accomplished

2005-11-13T19:25:00.000-06:00

So, here we see some additions to my stash i.e. my Russian yarn and shiny mohair. I think that the Russian alpaca wants to be run alongside the mostly fake mohair pictured with it and made into a stole for me. They are both so soft and I know some of the more yarn snobbish people will find this oh so wrong, but soft is soft, dammit! Also pictured is my progress report on the baby afghan which I did NOT finish... argh. I'm getting there though... I figure another 4 inches will be sufficient. It's not a good picture as far as progress reports go, but I was in the middle of a row when the urge to blog overtook me. Notice the little Drake nose in both of the yarn stash pictures? Mhmm... he loves it. The other pic is us on the couch last night watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). I was asleep and he was trying to fit. Have I mentioned that he's convinced he's a cat? Yeah, he was definitely up on the back of the couch today sleeping. This dog is 21 kgs!

Now a question: I don't know how to spread my pictures out at different spots in my post. I swear I've tried everything. Do I have to go into the Edit HTML option to do it?

A couple things...

2005-11-10T15:59:00.000-06:00

Ok, so first of all I need to commit to something and that is that over this long weekend I will finish the baby afghan if it kills me. I absolutely will. This thing needs to be done before the baby gets here which is supposed to be December 15th but Lizzy is huuuuuuuuuge from what I hear so it really could be anytime. Do they ever TRULY know? Plus it needs time to get from here (Saskatchewan) to Nova Scotia which could be like a good couple weeks who knows. I think the standard is 7-10 working days. So really it needs to get sent off like now. Ok, I'm starting to sound bossy and grumpy to myself, but I'm not, I swear, self.

Second, I need suggestions on a good knitting mag to ask for a subscription to for Christmas. I like Creative Knitting so I think I'll ask for that, but I'm just wondering if there is something out there that I might enjoy and I just don't know about yet. I like the type of stuff that's in Knitty and SnB Nation is chock full of projects I need to knit. Any suggestions are welcome.

P.S. I will post some photos in my next post I swear. I know, I hate boring non-pictured posts too. But, I just don't have my camera when I'm at work and that's when I do most of my posting. Excuses, excuses....

Just some thoughts

2005-11-10T11:31:00.000-06:00

I like the colour purple, don't you? So I was sitting here thinking and thought of something I wanted to blog about... but now I've forgotten. Think, think, think (like Pooh Bear). Oh, I know. It's about my tension when I'm knitting on my DPNs. I have like headmistress tight tension on those puppies. It drives me crazy! I think it's because I pull it soooo tight so I don't end up with a ladder and then because I'm all tensed up over that the next stitches stay that tight. I know how I can fix it it's just annoying me. I'm getting better about not taking it out on the following stitches, lol.

I think I am wanting to make the Log Cabin Afghan. I have been looking for a nice afghan pattern to work on and I think I like this one. Especially if I do it sort of one colour tones on two sides and a different colour tones on two sides. That makes no sense the way I wrote it, but it looks pretty anyway. I cannot wait until I can cuddle up in my own special creation. After Christmas I'll start and hopefully finish before I don't need it again for the year! I like the idea of it because in a sense it's like a patchwork quilt. It'd be nice to use some stash ends, but I wonder how it would turn out if I use varoius weights and substances. Probably not as hot as if I did it all in the same yarn, different colours. Oh I wish the yarn fairy would visit me!

On that note, a certain kind of yarn fairy has brought some new yarn to live at my house. I received the Russian yarn I'd ordered off E-Bay. Ohhhhh... it is so soft. It's a very nice alpaca, synthetic, wool blend in just a natural beige colour. Also in there was a bit of some white mohair with a shiny silver ladder run alongside it. Not sure what I'm going to make yet. I can't remember how much mohair it is, but it isn't much and in the alpaca I have 600 meters worsted weight. Oh I wish I was at home right now snuggling into it. I think maybe a sweater of some sort. I'm rather small so that may be enough? Probably not. Maybe I could make myself a wrap then or like one of those fake cowls to wear around my neck. I'll wait until it learns enough english in my house so that it can tell me what it wants to be. See it's like that with me and my yarn. If I buy it specifically for a project I don't have to worry about it, but if I buy it because I WANT it I just sit, knit and wait for it to say, "Ok, Talitha, it's time. I'm ready to be a ______." I hope it decides sooner rather than later.

Post, post, post, post...

2005-11-08T09:16:00.000-06:00

I guess you can't hear it, but in my head was the "charge" song thing. You know what I'm talking about. Dah, dah, dah, dah dah dah -- POST! Anyway, I figured I better post if my head was telling me to.

You know you're an obsessive knitter when:

- Upon considering auditioning for the next play at school the first thing that came into my head was, "Oh no, will I still have time to finish my Christmas knitting?"

Sick.

Oh and did I mention sick? I actually had all but decided against it when some glorious soul assured me and my knitting that rehearsals won't really get started until AFTER Christmas. Sigh. So I can have both my loves... excellent. You see, they don't look too well on not being in the productions when you're a PERFORMANCE major. Lol.

Major snowstorm here in Skatch. Luckily where I am isn't getting most of it, only 2-4 inches oh sorry for all you metric people 7-10 cm I think. I hope the coming of snow will spur me on to finish many more projects. Davin's already begun asking when I'm putting up the Christmas decorations and yes that's my fiance, not a child.

Speaking of finishing projects, I cannot express to myself or anyone how proud of myself I am over this last weekend. Not only did I finish 3 projects (small ones, but still), but I taught myself how to use DPNs. Not a small feat, I tell ya. So, of course I'm sitting last night thinking hmmm I only have like 4 projects on the needles, that's sooooo not enough. Lol. So I cast on for a Crisscross scarf pattern that I found somewhere in blogland I think. I realized as I picked up the pattern however that it does not say how many to cast on. Sooooo... I could not be bothered to NOT start this scarf so I look down and see that the gauge should be 24 stitches in patt. should = 4". And the scarf is supposed to be a finished 4 inches wide! Oh my brilliant powers of deduction I laud thee. Anyway, did a couple repeats of the pattern and it's looking pretty good. Not perfect, but it's in a mohair so really it's not that big of a deal if it's not completely perfect. Plus the stitches that you cross over are huge so it's hard to get them exactly right. Oh excuses... it really looks fine anyway. Plus I think I paid 3 dollars for the yarn so who really cares.

At this point I would like to talk about a couple of my FOs, in case you've forgotten. The Christmas hanging towel is my Frankenstein. I took the "feather and fan" (although my YOs were lost in translation) pattern off the yarn band and the pattern for the hanging part of it off a pattern database. I like the finished product although the whole incident with using the second ball of yarn backwards produced an unsightley pattern in the towel. One morning I woke up and this once UFO told me it wanted to hang from the oven so it could smell all my wonderful Christmas baking and what could I do but acquiesce? The snowflake button on it is sparkly which just makes the project, let me tell you. I love sparkles. Tom was my very first KAL project off the Monthly Dishcloth KAL. It turned out quite well, even if it is a month late for my turkey day ;). And the bib is for my soon to be neice or nephew. It hurt my hands to knit because the needles were so small and pokey. Enough about all that though. I think my urge to post has been sated.

Eureka!!!

2005-11-06T21:59:00.000-06:00

Well, it ain't gold, but almost as good... my USB cord! Huhzah!!! Ok, so many many pictures to follow. I am the FO princess of the day. Here are my antique pattern baby bib, my first KAL dishcloth (it's a turkey!), my Christmas hanging towel, the beginning of a scarf for ME and the arghness and alrightness of the beginning of Gryffindor scarf. Also, the WIP of Jill's skinny scarf. Wow. Oh and by arghness and alrightness I mean my first try at DPNs. A bit unruly. More written info on pics to follow.

Note:

2005-11-03T10:53:00.000-06:00

Is it weird that I've made up my own knitting method? Like I knit mostly English, but there are certain things I do that I've discovered through trial and error (my main error being that I wrap the purl stitch the wrong way around) that make everything work and look proper. So if everything is still ok, is it still wrong? I mean I'll feel bad ever teaching anyone cuz they'll have to go through the tribulations I have, but really if it works for me, why should I change? Just a thought.

Argh

2005-11-03T08:53:00.000-06:00

So, I have so many pictures to post, but alas, my roomate unplugged my USB cord from the computer for unknown reasons and when I was cleaning up in a mad rage at 6 o'clock in the morning when he brought people over for drinks (aaaaaagggggggghhhhhhhhh) I put it somewhere very unknown to me. So, well I put off posting until I found it, but it just ain't happenin. So, I'm finished the antique patterned baby bib with a little tweaking by me. I still have yet to put the damn fringe on the damn poncho... gawd what an FO loser I am. I've been working on a skinny scarf using Matrix for Jill as well and wow does Matrix tick me off. It's near impossible for me to actually knit into both halves of it. So something that just be knit up in like an hour because it's so skinny and on such big needles is taking a jillion years. I've started the monthly dishcloth knitalong which I must say is a barrel of monkeys. I get so excited for the next day's part of the pattern when I'm finished for the day. And my idea of what it may be seems to change with the wind. Other than that, I've just been working on my various UFO's: baby afghan that may kill me, Christmas cloth/towel/thingee (which I think will be one of those hanging tab towels in my kitchen), and yoga bag (pretty much on hold now until after the dreaded C-day).

Davin left yesterday for some training all the way in Toronto. I have put in a request for some MAC cosmetics (mmm makeup) and some nice yarn. The thing about the yarn is though, that boys don't really understand that you need more than one ball/skein of the same one and if I was able to make him understand this he would probably come home with a number far too large, so I just leave things the way they are. In order to console myself and make me less lonely I went knitting book/magazine shopping. I was unable to find any suitable magazines so I bought Stitch n Bitch Nation. Wow, I will have fun working my way through that book once Christmas is over. They didn't have Last Minute Gifts, much to my chagrine I really wanted that one. The had Handmade Christmas, but on second look it didn't seem as exciting as I had first thought so I didn't buy it. In the end, I only got my ten rows of Knit-Along fun done and leafed the rest of the night through SnB Nation. He he... whoops. AND I stayed up too late musing over it. Oh wait, I lied, I did work a bit on the skinny scarf. I think it's just about time to start another project I feel my fingers itching for it, but which one to start? I'm sure my stash will tell me.

Sooooooooo...

2005-10-27T08:27:00.000-06:00

Ok, so yesterday I'm reading blogs and OH MY apparently there's not much time until Christmas. I knew this and have known this for quite awhile now as I started my Christmas projects in September (not full force, mind you). I became gradually more and more worried as these more seasoned knitters than I were very troubled that there are only about 60 days left until Christmas. Seems like a long enough time to me seeing as all I do when I'm home is knit. I have many, many projects on the go (let's see... official list is yoga bag, Christmas towel, baby afghan, baby bib, Jill's skinny scarf, still to block Mom's scarf and still to put the fringe on Jill's poncho although it is seamed together finally) and yet many more to begin, but I'm more excited about so many projects being finished at some point in time than I am distressed. I blame it on the naivete of a pseudo-new knitter.
So, yes, I've cast on two new projects in the last week and finished oh yeah, none. I'm ok with it though as I find my hands get sore from using the same size needle for too long at a time, so when I need a break I just switch projects. On Saturday, I cast on for an antique pattern baby bib in cotton in a green and natural veregated. I'm on the straps now as it works rather quickly although my fingertips get sore because it's done on size 2 needles. Yup, almost too small for the cotton to even wrap around. Last night I decided I need to start something else that was actually a Christmas present for someone so I started Jill's skinny scarf which I plan on her using as that or as a belt. It's in Matrix in the Natural colourway. That stuff is so hard to knit with! I keep knitting into only half of the damn stuff. Oh well. It's a fast enough project. I think I have some pictures sitting on my computer at home that I need to post, oh no I don't, but I'll have to take some of progress to post. Later gators.

Some more pictures while I'm at it

2005-10-20T19:17:00.000-06:00

Here's the oh-so-lovely drape of what will soon be Jill's poncho. Just need to do the seam and fringe. And yes I have been saying that's ALL I need to do for a week or so. I may sound redundant even. Also, here is the progress report for the baby afghan knit in trinity stitch. Yeah, not very big is it.... :'( It's just being knit in an acrylic baby sport weight baby blue and baby pink veregated.

Yeah baby....

2005-10-20T19:10:00.000-06:00

Yes, that would be my first Christmas themed project this year. It's supposed to be a feather and fan dishcloth. Me and veregated yarn never seem to get along well enough. Mah well... what can you do. I think I'll just end up keeping this one as a decorative towel or something. Little project, what would you like to be when you grow up? Where would you like to travel and live? Hmm... no answer, eh. Maybe once you're finished.

Try another day

2005-10-19T16:49:00.000-06:00

So, I just realized that I've been spending so much of my time at work reading knitting blogs, I haven't updated mine in awhile. I feel bad there aren't many pictures, but I have tried to add more, but it said something about needing a host (which was different than last time) and I didn't feel like figuring everything out so I forgot about it. Maybe tonight I will venture to upload some pictures.
I started another object. A Christmas veregated feather and fan dishcloth! It's not turning out very much like it's supposed to (a wonderful side effect of throwing instead of picking in a mostly picked world). My yarn overs are being knit into so the holes aren't really there, but the shaping is and it looks neat so that's all I care about. I can just tell everyone it was a creative choice on my part. ;) The pattern said it only took 1 ball of yarn, but that gave me a very short cloth so I'm extending it to 2 balls. I have this habit of looking for yarn labels with all different patterns on them when I'm picking out my yarn and it got me into some trouble. I was so worried about it I forgot to check dyelot. Oh yay me. Luckily when I went back I was able to find matching dyelots to the two different ones I had purchased and knit one of already. Now the dishcloth is getting rather long so it may end up as a decorative hand towel in my bathroom... who knows. Also, I took painstaking efforts to ensure that nobody would be able to tell I had tied on a new ball by cutting the yarn to the exact point where the other one ended off and then (oh I love myself!) brilliantly decided to pull the yarn out the opposite way from the ball. My fiance claims it gives it a cool effect, but I am a lover of symmetry so I'm not so sure, but I'm too lazy to fix it. Even though I noticed in the first row I started knitting of the second ball I was STILL too lazy. Yay me.
I have a wonderful plan to finish Jill's Christmas poncho this weekend (the fringe and one seam) since Davin's away all weekend coaching a hockey camp. I'll have nobody looking at me like I'm crazy when I knit for 48 hours straight. Sleep? Nah. Not when I can get so much done!

Another thing finished... sort of

2005-10-12T14:24:00.000-06:00

So, last night I finished another project. Well it's not finished yet as I still have to put the fringe on. It sure gave me an appreciation for how long the Harry Potter scarf I'm making will be. Anyway, the thing I'm almost finished is a poncho in Moonlight Mohair. It's very nice I think Davin's sister will very much enjoy it. Anyway, so I'm knitting my friend a Gryffindor scarf for Christmas. I even ordered a patch with the crest on it... oh yes, I am that hardcore. So the poncho was 45 inches long knit on huge needles and the Harry Potter scarf is supposed to be over 70 inches long knit on small needles :s. I'm a bit scared but it'll be easy so oh well. If I don't finish it before Christmas there's always her birthday, anniversary, hell, next Christmas if need be. Hopefully it won't be that bad, ha ha. I think it will soon be time to start another project, but I think it will just be a repeat of one I've already done, just in a different colour. I don't have a pic up here yet of what I'm talking about because I haven't blocked it yet, but it's a welted rib buttonhole scarf. Very nice and easy and good for a take along project. Yes, I think I will. Cheers.

Pictures

2005-10-06T12:17:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I finally harvested the pictures from my digital camera (it just never seems necessary when you have a giant memory card like mine :) ). Ok so here is a pic of the finished scarf (my very first project) that I knitted for Davin along with the wonderful booties I finished. Oh how I love them.

Unknown

2005-09-27T10:17:00.000-06:00

La de dah...

So, yesterday I went to the Naturopath and apparently I have an overgrowth of yeast in my body as well as adrenal gland issues so now I have to start a new diet to get rid of the yeast. Ugh... as if there wasn't enough that I can't eat (I have celiac, so I can't have any gluten :( ). Anyway, that leaves more time for my knitting as I won't be snacking as much.

I started my oh so exciting yoga mat bag project. So far, all is well. I managed to knit the strap into the body of the bag, which was rather important to me for strength purposes. I made myself a tentative pattern to work off of and make corrections on for reproduction's sake. Up till now, I haven't had to make many corrections, which is nice. It means I thought through the project well enough! Yay!!! I made holes at the top for the drawstring to go through and did that in stockinette so it will be stretchier since it's the opening of the bag. Then, to save myself some time and effort, I started the body in garter stitch, which not only is a nice look for a bag, but stretches lengthwise down the bag so I won't have to make as many rows. The strap I'm knitting in stockinette stitch so that it won't stretch lengthwise and be too long and saggy.

I wanted the bag to be a simple look, which is why I chose such beginner stitches. They are working well for my overall vision. It is a bit boring, but I'm excited for the final product (as I am currently using a foldup chair bag for my mat) so I'm sort of abandoning other projects in the meantime. The skein of Banana Moon recycled sari silk that I bought had a break in the middle, but oh well. I'm not super picky about having to tie on more yarn. I've discovered ways to make it almost unnoticable ;). My gramma would kill me if she knew that I actually will tie knots in my work!

I think that's all I have for news. I'm hoping to get the pictures off my camera and on to the computer sometime soon.

Correction

2005-09-22T11:53:00.000-06:00

Ok, my URL is now different cuz apparently I could've had about any of the 50 URLs I tried. It just said for some reason I couldn't have them, but it still created them. So, I've changed my URL to the one I liked the best instead of the weird backwards one. Oh, and I've deleted all the other ones that I didn't want to create. Argh.

First Entry

2005-09-22T11:38:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I thought since I created this site I'd better write a little something so I'm going to start with my current projects.

The first thing I knitted after teaching myself how was a scarf for my boyfriend. I simply did a knit one, purl one combination in every row, which turned out nice enough. Originally I cast on far too many stitches and my tension was all over the place so eventually I got frustrated (as I am a perfectionist) and unravelled it to start anew. It was taking forever and was almost twice as wide as I needed it. Once I started again the project came along quite quickly and I finally finished it about a month ago. I did it in a brown boucle and I think it will look quite nice with his black wool jacket that he wears to work.

After that, I expanded everything about my knitting practice. Davin bought me a knitting book so I could learn some new stitches from something other than the Net. I bought many nice yarns and then needed some nice patterns and ideas. I looked online and found many patterns that were easy enough for me to do and some that took a bit more research in order for me to learn some new techniques.

We are soon going to be the proud Aunt and Uncle of a little baby (boy I think) so that gave me some inspiration to knit some baby things. I decided to start a baby afghan, which I am doing in Bramble stitch in a nice baby blue and pink veregated sport weight yarn. We don't know for sure the sex of the baby so he/she has been getting many presents in the colour yellow so it was nice for me to find a unisex yarn that wasn't just yellow or green. I am knitting this on a circular needle and it is going well, but I am noticing does not grow very fast. Lucky for me I have until late December to finish it!

Also for the baby, I started to knit some baby booties that look like Uggs Shearling boots. They are so cute! At this point, I am finished knitting both of the booties and have yet to sew some trim on one and then stitch them both together to finish. Picture to follow I'm sure. They look like they'll be rather big (supposed to fit 3-6 months) so hopefully the baby will be able to fit them while there's still snow on the ground (my fingers are crossed :s).

While in the process of knitting these booties I had a mini crisis. I was looking at a knitting technique online and noticed that they did it differently than I did. Immediately, I paniced and thought, "How could I be doing this wrong? Everything looks OK!" Upon further research, I realized that I had taught myself the English method of knitting (which is fine because my gramma is English, so I can justify that). I can now rest safe in the fact that I don't have to unravel every project I've done so far and start over because I have been doing it "wrong". It does make it a bit awkward sometimes when reading patterns, but I'm learning to adapt from trial and error. Like, for instance, in the bootie pattern I had to yarn over and then in the next row it said to knit into the back of the yarn over stitch and I thought, "Don't I always do that?" So I just knit into it as usual and ended up with a hole instead of it forming into the shape of the boot and closing up the hole, but I think it will still be OK. I'll know for next time.

Also, I found a nice pattern for a welted rib scarf with a button hole to feed the one end of the scarf through. The welted rib stitch is so lovely, but I've discovered that a person is best off to use a solid colour of yarn. I found some red and black veregated on clearance at Wal-Mart and decided to use it with this pattern for my mom's Christmas present and it's turning out nice enough, but it's hard to see the purl stitches in between the ribs. Lesson learned. I plan to use this same pattern with a fancy white yarn I also got on clearance at Wal-Mart a different time for my mother-in-law's Christmas present.

*Note: Wal-Mart puts new yarns on clearance quite often, so check that rack before even venturing into the normal yarn aisle. That's my tip for the day.

Oi, this entry's getting rather lengthy, sorry about that. I have one more project to gush about and that's an original idea of mine. I have this wonderful plan to knit myself a yoga mat bag. I wanted to knit the body of the bag out of hemp and the strap out of that recycled sari silk yarn. So, yesterday I went to buy my supplies. The only place in the city that sells pure hemp anything only had twine, but I thought I'd try it. Lesson learned. I could probably knit the body out of that, but because it's so overtwisted and rough it would be long and painful, so after I had cast on 20 stitches too many for the size and knitted about 5 rows, I gave up and decided I would settle for the hemp/wool blend yarn that they have at another store in the city. So, today after work I think I will go purchase that. I'm going to make a nice little zippered pocket to sew on the outside of the bag for my keys and whatnot out of a silk or silk-look fabric and use gold fabric paint to paint on the "Om" symbol. I think it will be a work of art and am very excited, but since my projects have a tendency to never look as good in real life as they do in my imagination we shall see. Pictures to follow of various steps, I promise. Ok, I guess that's enough for today. Happy knitting!

*Note: In case you are wondering, my URL is just talithalovestoknitandpurl backwards... I think that's what I ended up using after trying about 50 different options and finding out they weren't available. Argh.

SP7 Questionnaire

2005-01-09T14:09:00.000-06:00

Hi, Secret Pal! This one's for you:

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural
fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same
to you?
- I am a ghetto knitter so I will knit with Wal-Mart and craft store yarns, but I definitely appreciate good fibers. My favorite fiber to knit with is Alpaca.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
- I don't spin, but am hoping to re-teach myself how to crochet sometime in the next year or so.

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
- I have a cute little fabric needle case that looks vintage with doggies on it for my needles. It still has some room, but I do like those felted needle vases. I think they're cute!

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
- I would be an adventurous beginner to intermediate. All of my projects are pretty much on the blog here so that should tell ya ;).

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
- I have a wishlist on Knit Picks. I can e-mail it to you if you'd like. I can also make an Amazon one sometime, but as yet, I don't have one up and running.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
- I have so many favorite scents, but to name a few: orchid, raspberry, some vanilla, ocean scented, light musk, ummm there are so many. Basically I don't like anything spicy scented, like cinnamon or sandalwood, or really strong florals. I have like 15 different kinds of perfume that I wear day-to-day.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
- Do I ever! But, like I said, I have to be careful what I buy and make sure there's no flour or oats or anything in it. My favorite candy is anything sour. Sour soothers are the best and you used to be able to buy these candies called Super Sour Dweebs (like Nerds), but not any more :(.
8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
- I like to make decorations and prefer to handmake things that can be handmade.

9.What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if
your buddy wants to make you a CD)
- I like every kind of music. Any given day I will listen to classical, jazz, rap, rock, country, world and pop, all of them.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a
color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't
stand?
- I definitely favour cool colours. I can't really pull off browns or reds. I really like purple, blue, and pink. I'm starting to be more of a fan of lighter greens too like sage.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
- My family's situation is that they're all stark raving mad!!! Ha ha. Well, I live with my fiance, our dog, Drake, who is an English Springer Spaniel and loves treats, and 3 hermit crabs.

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
- It gets darn cold here so yes, I wear scarves, hats and mittens. I don't own any ponchos because I'd rather wear a scarf or a stole. It's more dramatic ;).

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
- My favorite that I have ever knitted with is Luxury Silk Alpaca (30% silk, 70% alpaca) because it feels like it's actually softening my hands as I'm knitting. I'm also really enjoying Manos del Uruguay because of the colour and thickness variations.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
- I don't like really scratchy wool or really stiff acrylic. I have never really used Fun Fur yet, but I'm sure I will someday for a specific project.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
- Well, it's an obsession forced upon me, but knitting for babies, because I have one nephew who was just born and my best friend is also pregnant. Other than that, I have a goal in the New Year to learn how to knit socks. I also have been knitting a lot of dishcloths, but just because I'm in the dishcloth KAL.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
- I'm not sure about this, how about everything?

17. What are you knitting right now?
- Ha ha, are you ready for this, I mean really truly ready? Ok, a Gryffindor scarf, an airy cross-crossy scarf out of mohair, a yoga mat bag, a baby blanket, a Patons Pooch scarf, My So Called Scarf, a bunch of dishcloths, two stuffed toys (Noddy and Bigears), and I think that's it for now that's on my needles.

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
- Sure I do, but I also like to get the stuff to make them myself.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
- Well, hmmm... probably straight because I knit English style so it's a bit awkward to not be able to rest the end of the circ against something every now and again when I'm wrapping the stitch. And if it's a case of whether I prefer DPNs or circs for projects in the round, it depends on the project.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
- I don't think I own any plastic. It depends on the type of yarn I'm using. I use both bamboo and aluminum.

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
- Here is my method for winding balls: I stretch the skein in between my feet and then wind it on a paper towel roll. So, that would be a no (and an emphatic wish for them).

22. How did you learn to knit?
- I looked and searched for good instructions on the internet and couldn't find many, since I didn't know where to look and then bought a tiny little pamphlet of a book from WalMart and taught myself.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
- About 4 months old I think. It's my yoga mat bag, which got put on stitch holders when I started up on my Christmas knitting in September.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
- I love Nemo and the Disney princesses, such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, etc. I love most animals, but really love dogs, cats and horses.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
- Christmas, hands down.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
- The closest thing to a collection that I have is lipglosses and shiny lipsticks. I have so many different kinds of the shade of like goldey rose and also lots of clear ones. I even have lipglosses with the Disney princesses on the label!

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
- Creative Knitting.

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?
- For books: Stitch n' Bitch (I have the second one) and a really good sock knitting book. For yarns: anything pretty much from those online stores, it's all so gorgeous! For needles: I'd like to try the Lantern Moon kind, they look so pretty, and also Addi Turbos (to try Magic Loop). As far as patterns go, I'd like to find a really nice stole/shawl pattern for myself. You know, not too old ladyish.

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
- Yes! I'd like to learn Magic Loop for socks, as well as Fair Isle knitting.

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
- I am soon to be a sock knitter. I've bought my first sock yarn and DPNs to make a pair for Davin. My feel are just a smidge over 8 inches long and I usually wear a size 5-6 shoe.

31. When is your birthday?
- June 18 (same as Sir Paul).

Add on Question from the old Questionnaire: Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
- Well, neither of these are allergies, but I can't have any gluten, which is in wheat, oats, and barley and scratchy wool bothers me. I can seem to wear soft wool and wool blends alright though. With the gluten thing, I have to read labels to make sure there isn't any flour in anything, because it's in just about everything.

I'm very excited to try this out!