join together

I've wanted for a while to join a club. A yarn club. In the knitting world, one can join any number of clubs in which you pay a fee and receive a skein or two of yarn and some other little goodies on a regular basis. So yeah, I'm a knitting geek. Anyway, I've really wanted to join one because I like the idea of the surprise arriving in the mailbox. A lot of these clubs are yearly things that start in January, but I couldn't wait until then. So I did some research and found the Yarn Pirate. She makes gorgeous, hand-dyed sock yarn so I decided to join The Booty Club. I signed up for two of her offers, the regular club and the semi-solid club. My first shipment arrived while I was at the cottage. With these clubs you never know what you are going to get so I was very excited to open the package. And I was not disappointed.

The colourway is called Serenity.

Here's the semi-solid version.

This gives you a much better idea of the colours involved. Should make for some funky socks.

In addition to the two skeins of yarn and as a new member, I received two circular needles and an excellent Yarn Pirate button.


I love the button.


Arrr, matey!

it ain't over yet...

I'm notorious for starting knitting projects and either not finishing them or taking forever to finish them. I hate this about my knitting habit so I'm making a concerted effort to finish the projects I currently have on the go. It's hard to do because I just don't get a lot of knitting time in. I used to knit on the commute to and from work, at least 2 hours a day. Now I'm lucky if I get 20 minutes a week in. Really, I just need to organize my time better and make the most of the time I get for myself when the little dude sleeps. I'm working on that.

In the meantime, the drive to the cottage was a big factor in helping me finish my first Claptois. It's an absolutely stunning shawl. Most knitters know this pattern, it's a very popular one and I've been wanting to knit it for ages. I honestly thought I was the last knitter on earth who hadn't made one but it turns out that a few of the ladies in my knitting group haven't made it either. If you knit, I highly recommend this pattern. It's easy, fast and incredibly rewarding. I could see myself doing this one again. Once I finish my other projects, of course.

steppin' out

Last weekend was an unusually social one for me since having the little one. I'll tell you about it in a couple of parts, starting with the Knitter's Frolic. I headed to Toronto with a couple of friends from my knitting group to check out this event. What's that you say, knitting group? Why yes. Almost a year ago, shortly after I joined Ravelry (an online community for knitters) I started hanging out with this awesome bunch of ladies. We get together every two weeks at a local cafe to talk, laugh, eat and knit. It's funny how a group of strangers who meet online can bond in such a way but we truly have. I always look forward to our gatherings.

Anyway, I realized after, that it was actually my first time ever attending a big knitting event even though I've been knitting for quite a while. And for my first knitting event, it was a pretty good one. It was held at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto. My only major complaint is that it was stinking hot in there! Part of the venue was air conditioned, but it seemed that the other part was not. By the time we got out of there I was boiling! But that didn't stop me from shopping.


This inky blue loveliness is Malabrigo Sock Yarn. One day, hopefully soon, I will turn it into this.



I have no idea what I will be making from this Manos del Uruguay Wool Classica but I seem to have no self control when it comes to this yarn. I see it, I buy it. I bought some in the fall that became...


...a very warm and cozy little cowl. Or snood if you prefer.


Uh, wtf? Have I lost my mind? Apparently yes, because I purchased this drop spindle and some roving. With this simple device I am actually going to make yarn. Well, theoretically anyway.

So there you have it. Confessions of a knitting geek.

rainy days and mondays...

So today was neither rainy, nor a Monday but it was overcast (it's now snowing) and it might as well have been a Monday because I have felt like crap all day. The baby decided to kick my ass today. I've had some lovely "morning sickness". Thankfully, I'm feeling better now and well enough to head out to the Great Big Sea concert at Hamilton Place. I can't guarantee that I will make it through the whole show, but since we do have front row tickets, we have to show up, at least for part of it.

Luckily, today wasn't a total loss. Once the nausea wore off enough so that I could sit up without feeling horrible, I was able to finish a few knitting projects.


I started knitting this blanket for myself, but it's going to be a Christmas present for my dad instead. It's very soft and will be a cozy couch blanket for him.


This is my first attempt at the famous (among us knitting geeks anyway) Baby Surprise Jacket. And it turned out really well. It will be mailed to Boston this weekend, to friends of our who just welcomed a new daughter.


These don't look like much, but they are going to very useful once Em arrives. They're burp cloths. The colourful one is actually a bit short, but I was using leftover yarn and didn't have enough of the colour. So I'll likely use it as a washcloth instead.

It feels good to know today wasn't a total waste.

all in time

Once again, I've been a very bad blogger. There are two main reasons for this. Knitting and sleeping. I've been doing a pretty serious amount of knitting lately. I can't seem to finish a project, but I sure start a whole bunch of them and get about 95% done before I drop one and move on to something else. Other than that, I've been spending most of my free time sleeping. This baby is kicking my ass, sucking all of my energy. People keep telling me to get ready for the sleep deprivation that inevitably occurs when the baby arrives. No need to worry. I am so there.

With November around the corner, I've been thinking of trying NaBloPoMo again. I think I might be insane just for considering it, but it might be the kick in the ass I need to get back into blogging again. So this week is a test run. If I can blog daily for most of this week, then I will participate in NaBloPoMo this year. If not, I will at least try to blog more often than I have been.

Do we have a deal?

winter wonderland

ahhh...snow day...



After a spell of rather tropical weather (for Canada that is) we were hit with a snow storm today. I have a bit of an addiction to The Weather Network so after consulting the website on Thursday afternoon and reading the weather warnings, I decided to plan accordingly. When I announced to my boss and assistant that I would take some work home just in case I could not make the commute in due to the storm they both looked at me as if I had three heads. At that moment it was a spring-like afternoon in Toronto. Sunny, warm, gorgeous. All of the snow from our previous storm had long since melted away. Obviously, they hadn't heard the latest forecast. I was relieved to wake up to a fresh blanket of snow. Now they would know I wasn't just gunning for a free day off. I checked the forecast and traffic report and it didn't look good. I decided not to attempt the commute, even though the GO trains appeared to be operating on schedule. I was confident that I could get to work in good time but afraid of a 5-hour trip home. When I received the email shortly after 9:30am stating that the university would close at 11am, I was very happy to have not made the trek into Toronto. And since we were closing, I felt no need to dig into the knapsack full of work that I had brought home. So what did I do? First, I finished the birthday blanket that I had been knitting for my mother-in-law. And I think it turned out pretty well.


This is the Glowing Colours Afghan made from Lion Brand Jiffy yarn. I only recently began attempting patterns that call for sewing pieces together. My sewing skills are rather limited. But I picked up a fantastic book that has given me the confidence to attempt some knitting patterns that have scared the hell out of me in the past. Check it out! I sewed three separate pieces together and you can't even see the seams!


After that was done, Steve and I ventured outside to clear the snow from the driveway. Thankfully, one of our kind neighbours had plowed the sidewalk with his snowblower, giving us a clear path to start from. It didn't take us long to dig out, but I did think back to our December storm when Samantha and Corey were visiting from Regina. That storm had delayed their trip home by more than a day. We were happy to have our guests stay for an extra day, as we don't see them very often. And as it turns out, Samantha is a fantastic snow-shoveler. Corey and I had no problem staying inside the warm house while Steve and Samantha braved the cold to clear out the driveway.


Sam, you rock! You can come back anytime. You can even bring Corey with you!

It's now late Friday night and the snow is still falling albeit slowly. There is a fresh blanket on the ground that will need clearing in the morning but that's fine by me. Winter is one of the things I love about Canada. There is something magical about this season that I can't quite put into words. But I love it!

cover me

For some reason, I had this crazy idea that instead of buying gifts this year, I would knit them. My goal was to knit blankets. 3 in total. One for my mother in law, one for my father in law and one for my brother & sister in law. As of 11pm on December 25, 2 of the 3 blankets were completed. We exchanged gifts this afternoon, on December 26. Luckily, we thought of a good alternate gift for my mother in law, since I haven't actually started her blanket yet. I don't feel too guilty, since her birthday is late in January and I should have her blanket done by then. Right?

In the meantime, here are the ones that I did manage to complete.


This one doesn't look like much. It's pretty basic, just a whole lot of knit stitches. The beauty of this blanket is the yarn. Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick. It is thick and has a great weight to it. Perfect for a cuddly, warm blanket. The pattern is called Plush Throw and is available for free on the Lion Brand website. (You need to set up an account to access the free patterns, but believe me, it's worth it.)

Same blankie. Folded and ready for the gift bag.

This one I am really proud of. (Ignore the unfinished-ness of it. I finished weaving in the ends before we gave it to them.)


The Cable Comfort Throw, also from Lion Brand, looks complicated, but the pattern is quite easy to knit. New knitters are terrified of cables. But they are so easy! Just follow the instructions. The first time I knit cables I thought, "That's it? What are people so freaked out about?" For me the challenge with this one was sewing the 5 panels together. I generally avoid patterns that require seaming. I'm just bad at it. But this one wasn't horrible. After this experience, I may even feel brave enough to knit a sweater!

A close up of those scary cables.

The recipients of these blankets were genuinely appreciative. It's nice to be able to give practical, homemade gifts. Now if I just had more time for knitting...

wrapped up in you...

My knitting has been sporadic lately but I did just finish a new scarf for my husband.


The Reversible Cabled Scarf is made from Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick & Quick. It's 80% acrylic and 20% wool. Very soft and cozy. The pattern is available for free at the Lion Brand website. You do have to create a login to access the free patterns. It knits up very quickly, perfect for my short attention span.


My favourite thing about this pattern is that it is reversible, as the name suggests. So it doesn't matter how you wrap it around your neck, both sides are the front! Scarves that are not reversible kind of drive me nuts. I guess it's the Virgo in me demanding balance and order.

Steve models his new scarf.

cover me

Another baby blanket completed.

Once again I used Lion Brand Homespun yarn. This was my first experience sewing squares together. I did o.k. My biggest screw up was messing up the configuration of the colours. I totally mixed up the order of the squares. Of course I didn't realize this until I was completely done. I didn't want to damage the squares so I left it as is. The new owner of this blanket was born just a couple of weeks ago. I hope she's enjoying it!

wrap it up

I recently completed a couple of projects. They actually turned out pretty well, so I thought I would share them with you.

I am particularly proud of this one, as it is my first successful crochet attempt. This baby blanket will be heading out to Regina, Saskatchewan to welcome the newest addition to our friends Corey and Samantha's family. This blanket is made from Lion Brand Cotton-Ease and consists of three strands of yarn, in three different colours, held together. It's a fast and easy pattern, that makes a great, summer-weight baby blanket.


I am totally addicted to Lion Brand Homespun yarn, I decided to try the 6-hour Throw from the Lion Brand website. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have an incredibly short attention span, so any pattern that takes just a few hours makes me very happy. And this one turned out to be a very cozy couch blanket. Perfect for our freezing cold family room in the basement!

under a blanket of blue

A little over a year ago, I really got into knitting. I taught myself how to knit back in high school and really enjoyed it but I just got too busy with other things. I'm really glad that I picked up the needles again. It's become a huge stress relief outlet for me. And it's been really fun to knit stuff for other people. I'm giddy whenever I hear "did you make this?!?" after presenting a knitted gift to someone. I love that people still appreciate something that is made by hand. And I totally dig the "tis better to give than to receive" vibe. Of course, I love receiving gifts, who doesn't? But that warm fuzzy feeling you get when someone truly appreciates the effort and thought that went into the gift you gave them, whether homemade or not, is truly magical.

Everyone I know seems to be having a baby these days, so I've been knitting baby blankets like mad. Here's the latest one.


The pattern, made from soft and cozy Lion Brand Homespun yarn (one of my favourites) is dead simple and super fast to knit. It fits my knitting pattern criteria perfectly. I must be able to knit while enjoying red wine. If the pattern is so complicated that my imbibing could cause a major knitting catastrophe, it's no good to me. Also, it must be a fast project. I have a short attention span. If I can't finish it in a reasonable amount of time (dependent on the size of the item of course), I simply lose interest. Case in point, this cozy blanket that took me over a year to make. Whenever I got tired of it, I started another project, or two, or three...


My patient husband Steve was promised this blanket before Christmas 2005. He finally got it about a week ago. It's far from perfect - I made a lot of mistakes on this one while learning techniques that I had never attempted before. But hopefully, it was worth the wait.