Lookie what I did (or am doing)

My first sock. Can I just say that I'm loving this. I was worried, it look so complicated. But I gamely cast on and started the 2x2 rib on size 8 dpns (this is my first project on dpns). When I got to the heel, I just followed the directions. 3 rows in and I started to worry. The garter stich was on the outside and most socks that I have see show stockinette...hmm. So last night, I'm sitting at the dining room table wondering what I should do when G said "Maybe you are working it inside out and it'll flip at the toe, like when you sew". Hot damn, he was on to something. Now I knew the pattern did not call for any flipping, but, what if I'm just working this thing inside-out? So I flipped 'er inside-out and sure enough, looks great. Hell-of-a-lot-better than ripping the heel back (which I was starting to consider). After that was all straightened out, I turned my first heel. And proceed to show G. Then I did the gusset, and was going to show G but he had fallen asleep on the couch with Zoe. So I woke them up and we went up to bed...where I tried on my sock for the first time, and showed G. I'm so fucking excited about this, it seems silly. Now if only I can manage the toe...

Pinchin' Monkey Toes

Yeah....I've no idea where the title came from, but it's staying.
I attempted something new on Sunday thanks to all the lovely J's I've seen around blogland lately (well forever...). And because of her comment the other day. See....

The pink/orange has already been introduced. It is the "Cowl". Now the Orange/Brown on the right...well, that is the very beginnings of this,

That is my first ever attempt at a sock. The pattern is a "Basic Sock" from the Knitting for Dummies book. Size 8 dpn (Boye) and Red Heart SuperSaver in Tiger Camouflage. Please excuse the quality of the pic. This picture was another first, taken by this,

The sock is seen languishing on my desk at work. This is 3 days of knitting, but it stays at work as my lunchtime knitting. And can I tell ya...also the first real attempt on dpns. Man, I'm full of firsts.
Also on Sunday there was some progress on the Cowl,

Someone helped supervise.

I guess both projects will carry over nicely into March as they do include Orange and/or Yellow Gold.

Not Much New

I have not had to many opportunities to knit lately, but I'm hoping that this trend will not continue. G has to work the HomeShow this weekend (well today through Sunday) so that means lots of time to myself because he will be there until 9pm or so. This sucks but I hope that they generate more business by being at this show. I think I get a Vendors pass so that I can come and go....maybe I should bring my knitting and work in the booth?

Some Red and Pink for Project Spectrum.

Red & Pink

Project Spectrum shots...


Red Peppers, Pink Toys

Red Gumball Machine, Purses

G's Painting, Our Truck

Our Bedroom (currently being redone,previous owners pink pick), My Gloves,

Bath Products, My Homemade Soap

Nail Polish

Happy St. Patty's Day

Why yes I am wearing green. No, it is not knitted. Ah well.
I noticed a meme floating around and I thought I might join in.

A-Age: 25
B-Bed size: Queen
C-Chore you hate: Cleaning the bathrooms
D-Dessert you love: What dessert do I not love?
E-Essential start your day item: A glass of water
F-Favorite actor: Hugh Jackman
G-Gold or Silver: Yes
H-Height: 5'7
I-Instruments you play: Alto Sax
J-Job title: Law Clerk
K-Keeping track of your day: Daytimer with lists
L-Living arrangements: G, Zoe and I
M-Mom's name: Paulette
N-Not liking right now: Winter...I am ready for it to leave (but I AM in Canada)
O-Overnight hospital stay other than birth: nope
P-Place you were born: Ottawa, Ontario
Q-Quote you like: "This body is under new management" not sure where I heard that first.
R-Right or left handed: Right
S-Siblings: 1 younger brother who had a birthday on the 12th
T-Time you woke up today: 5:20 am
U-Unique habit: I must always have a book in progress. As soon as I finish a book, I must start another right away, even if it is only reading the back cover, I have to be committed to another book. I also reread books. If I liked it, I will return to it time and again. I cannot get rid of books.

V-Vegetable you hate: Fiddleheads
W-Worst habit: Pack-rat
X-X-rays you've had: dental, knee, chest...I'm sure there are more
Y-Yummy food you can make: Spaghetti, desserts
Z-Zodiac sign: Libra

Green Baby Blanket done for one of the girls at work (completed last August).

Sick Day

Yup...I still got it. My illness that is. It feels like a mix of a cold and a flu. I have the body aches and temp changes of a flu and the dry throat, runny nose, head stuffies of a cold. So I called in sick today. I did not even pick up the needles this weekend, let alone finish the back of the Cowl. Maybe this afternoon if Zoe is napping. I have a few episodes of Bones and CSI on the PVR...

I get the whole day with my Mommy....time for cuddles.

Blech

Yeah, I think I'm getting sick. The only good news is that means I may be able to knit this weekend. I hope to have a back completed and a front started by the end of this weekend. We shall see....

Pink!

So, in the spirit of Project Spectrum, may I present...

The "Cowl" portion of the Cowl and Howl Set from Debbie Stoller's Stitch n' Bitch. This is being knit in Bernat's Softee Chunky #40729 Carnival on US size 11 Boye needles. So far it is a quick knitand I am enjoying it. I am knitting this sweater mainly for practice. I have never done a sweater and I would like to see what is involved in the process. I know it will not fit...I didn't even check the gauge but the pattern's X-Large has a bust measurement of 37.5". *sigh* Anyone with that measurement is not a X-Large. Ah well...this is definately a process knit. I'm not sure I would wear it even if it did fit (well I would, but, you know, it's gonna be too small). I love the pinks and oranges together and I think G's oldest niece may fit into it shortly. We shall see.

Cute Quiz...

You Are Rowlf the Dog

Mellow and serious, you enjoy time alone cultivating your talents. You're a cool dog, and you always present a relaxed vibe. A talented pianist, you can play almost anything - especially songs by Beethoven. "My bark is worse than my bite, and my piano playing beats 'em both."

The Muppet Personality Test

Behold

I got it!!


Even after injury an a potential yarn shortage, I managed to finish a blanket for my little one in 8 days. While I am disappointed that I could not compete as I had originally planned, I am happy that I was able to come up with a Plan B and still participate and finish.
Congrats to all Knitters who participated in focused, Olympic knitting.

The Beginning of a New Phase

So what will everyone do now that the Olympics are over? (As an aside, can I just say that I was really confused with the whole Ricky Martin thing. Why was he there? Why did they let him lip synch? I just don't get it. Anyhow...). Well there is Project Spectrum on the horizon...Red and/or Pink huh? Hmmmm....I'm thinking of some Gauntlets. I have 2 balls of Red Heart Soft Touch in a Rose colour which I think might go well. I'm just not sure how far 2 balls will go. Eh...I may give'r a whirl anyhow.

Puppy shot....



I make this futon look good.

It's Finished!!

Observe...

This is the "Simply Ridges" pattern from Leisure Arts "Our Best Knit Baby Afghans". I used 2 balls of Red Heart Casual Cot'n Blend in Colour 3937 Grand Canyon. It is not as big as the original design but I only had 2 balls and it is big enough for my baby.

I am quite pleased with the finished project, and Zoe loves nothing more than to drag blankies and pillows around the house. Actually her real favourites are a Sens toque and one of G's old Hot Paws gloves. She freaks when she comes across them.
Now I get to start thinking about my next project which will take the colours Red (again) and Pink in mind because I am involved in Project Spectrum. I'm thinking pink...maybe my first pair of socks, or a pillow for Zoe (I have the pillow form), or a Doggie sweater...hmmm. I'll have to browse and see what I have in the stash so that I can continue to use up my acrylics :o)

Changes

Well I tried to change the layout a little. Actually I did change the layout, but I lost most of my sidebar, so...it's a work in progress. To be tweaked after the Olympics. Yes, it's coming along. No, no pics yet. But I have passed the half-way mark so I am still hopeful. I only have 2 balls of yarn for this blanket so it will be a little smaller than I orignally thought, but I knit the first ball increasing the whole way and now that I'm on the second ball, I'm decreasing. Pretty straight forward, the yarn will tell me when to stop. I hope it is soon.


I'm here to distract you from your knitting....why won't you play with me??

*Edited at 8:16pm. This is where I am...

Olympic Knitting

Alright, there is finally some knitting getting done around here. I had attempted to start the Basket Weave Baby Afghan late last week, but it really wasn't turning out too well. My switch between the knit and purl stitches is really loose right now, so it just looked terrible. So I changed the pattern. It is still a Baby Afghan, but it is a Simple Ridge Baby Afghan. I figured if I wanted to do any knitting during the Olympics, I'd need to pick a simpler pattern in order to have any hopes of finishing with my thumb still working. So I'm not sure if changing projects is allowed in the Olympics, but in light of my "injury" it was either change the project or pull out and go home with an injury (like Hasek). I'm not willing to admit defeat, yet. And the blankie is needed for someone so I started it last night while we were watching the Blue Collar Comedy Tour Movie...hilarious. This is where I ended up.

I'm using 6mm circular needles (Unique from the H.A. Kidd Company...purchased from Zellers) and some Red Heart Casual Cot'n Blend in colour #3937 - Grand Canyon. Hey, I'm using the stash. G has promised me a trip to the LYS once I use up some of the stash. So we shall see if I can manage to knit this wee blankie in the span of a *gulp* week. The good news is that Daytona is on today which means the start of the new Nascar season, which means prime knitting time. Here's crossing my fingers and hoping that my thumb stays limber.

It Gets Better

Not.
After my visit to the Doctor's, I received a prescription for some anti-inflammatories along with strict instructions not to knit for 4-10 days. I arrived home a placed the prescription sheet and my lipstick on the nightstand. Can you see where this is going? I went downstairs to xheck for messages (G was in the shower) and by time I came back up, said items were no more. Someone decided she liked the taste of paper. And lipstick. So now I'm taking Advil because I don't really want to show up at the Doctor's saying my dog ate my homework/prescription. He's gonna think I'm a Druggie or something. BTW I'm still a little bitter about the lipstick too. I was a discountinued shade. *sigh*

Not Good

I have just returned from the Doctor's Office with strict instructions not to knit for 4 to 10 days. It seems as though I have tendonitis. Damn it. Just in time for the Olympics. So I will be on a strict diet of anti-inflammatories and no knitting until Friday. Then I guess I will just have to play it by ear. But unfortunately this means that the Canadian bench has one "athlete" nursing injuries, and the Games haven't even begun.

Since there will be no knitting content until Friday I'll leave you with this:


WHITES are motivated by PEACE, seek independence
and require kindness. They resist
confrontation at all costs. (Feeling good is
more important than being good.) They are
typically quiet by nature, they process
things very deeply and objectively, and they
are by far the best listeners of all the
colors. They respect people who are kind, but
recoil from perceived hostility or verbal
battle.
WHITES need their quiet independence and refuse to
be controlled by others. WHITES want to do
things their own way, in their own time. They
ask little of others, and resent others
demanding much of them. WHITES are much
stronger than people think because they dont
reveal their feelings. WHITES are kind,
non-discriminate, patient and can be
indecisive, timid, and silently stubborn.
When you deal with a WHITE, be kind, accept
(and support) their individuality, and look
for nonverbal clues to their feelings.

What Color Are You?
brought to you by
Quizilla

Sigh...lost post

Ggrrrrrrrrr...

Just lost my post. Thankfully it was not overly long.

As I tried to say, Clappy is looking similar to her last pic with a few extra repeats. I am hoping to get to Section 4 soon as I am starting to tire of her mid-section. I have my fingers crossed that this may be accomplished today because I am at home sick *cough*.

And now for a puggie pic....


Pouncing for snow cookies....

Pics

Okay...so here are the promised Clapotis pics. I have the daylight, but I'm still figuring out this camera, so...excuses.
Anyhow, I continue to be pleasantly surprised by this pattern. It knits up fairly quickly and dropping those stitches is actually quite fun. I did have an "aww sh!t" moment Thursday night while watching the Sens beat the Habs. Zoe was in my lap while I was holding my circs, and bright ol' me decided to throw a ball for her. So she took off, and so did one end of the circs. I ended up dropping 20 some odd stitches. And let me just confess that I have ripped more projects because of dropped stitches than I care to admit. Why? Because I do not pick up stitches well. I am certainly getting practice though!
So after my nausea left I got to work and tried to salvage poor Clappy. G just kept looking at me out of the corner of his eye, trying not to miss the game, but fearful of the trip to the frog pond. I am proud to say I managed. There was the initial pick-up and realization that some fell further than one row (this is where I have the problems. I can do the 1 row drop, but if it goes further, not so much luck).
So I thought I got it and continued knitting. Then I saw it. The missed stitch. So close to the ladder of the pattern, I thought I may get away with it. Ummm...no. It was one over, the twisted stitch. Damn it! So in essence I guess I created a new stitch while I was picking them up, because my number was right. I knit on, thinking all the while of how to fix it once I get there. And I did. I dropped the created stitch and somehow (incorrectly) picked-up the live stitch. It wasn't pretty, and G was worried, but held on to Zoe and I mustered my way through it and I think all is a-ok.
It still has the mistake but I'm going to leave it. I'll probably regret this when I drop the stitch in that area, but for now I remain blissfully unaware. After all, I am still a relatively new knitter. This is quite the adventurous pattern for cautious me.
Knock on wood.
Louder.
Thank you.

No pics

Well things have been coasting. We had some wicked weather on Saturaday and of course, I had quite the drive to do. And someone attempted to steal our truck (or its contents). Sigh...not what I wanted to deal with. Well, for G to deal with. Oh well, nothing was taken, they didn't even get in, but I think it may have happened in our driveway. Grrr.
There was much sport watching the last few days (Football, Hockey, Election), and I'm glad to see that our Sens keep beating the Leafs :o) Consiquently, this means there was knitting time infront of the TV, so Clappy is moving right along. I do not have any pics yet because the lighting was so poor, but I hope to rectify that soon.
I also did some training for the Olympics so I think I'll be good to go. I am getting kinda excited which is probably why Clappy is growing at a fast (for me) rate. Hmmm...maybe I need some pressure in order to get certain projects out the door. I guess I would consider myself a process knitter because, clearly, I'm not in any kind of a hurry to finish most projects.
I guess I should wrap it up. I am at work but I have f*ck all to do, AGAIN! This is getting to be ridiculous. I need a vacation.

Causing problems

Here is Zoe, using Daddy's beer to help train for the Olympics.

So once again my Libra tendancies have reared their head. I have just left the poor Harlot a comment asking her to update my Olympic project to a Baby Afghan. While I would like to jump on the bandwagon and knit a Clapotis (finally), I think that this project should be next in line. The added bonus: I may actually finish it in time for the baby shower as opposed to after the wee one is born. So I think I will attempt a Basket Weave Afghan. The real challenge in this will be actually finishing it, not necessarily the pattern itself (I hope). In the few years the I have been knitting (off and on) I have really only started to seriously knit since we bought our first house. Even then, my projects have predominantly been scarves. I have done one baby afghan (It took forever. I was able to give it as a gift when the Mother came in to work to show him off for the first time). I have attempted my one sweater, but it has been languishing for years. The only real shaping I have done was for Zoe's first sweater. It flares a bit where I picked up the stitches, but Camo tutus are in right? Right?

Mixed Bag

So yes, I am kicking around. Once again I've been busy or without a camera. I'm still getting used to the idea of blogging (and frequently), so you'll (I'll?) have to forgive me for the infrequent updates.

I have been knitting. This is a blanket I made for Zoe...probably the quickest knit I've ever done. It's made from LB Jiffy Thick & Quick in Catskills on US 17 needles. Just a basic Garter stitch border and stockinette. As you can see, she loves to chew on it...maybe I should add some fringe..lol.
I've also been working quite a bit on the burgundy afghan I've had as a WIP for 3 years or so...I'll post a pic of that next time.
And I've finally decided to see what all the fuss was about. This may become a Clapotis. Now I've yet to invest in a good quality fibre for it....yet. I'm going to call this a dry run since it involves some stitches I have not done before. But so far I think I'll be able to manage, and then I'll invest in the real stuff. I just think that once I knit with "good stuff" I'll become spoiled, and I am looking forward to it, but I'd like to use up some of my stash first. Here is a view of last night's progress...the third time 'round.

Below is a meme I've seen floating around the blogs which I thought I'd fill out, just to see where I'm at right now.

Four Jobs You Have Had In Your Life:
1. Ranch Hand 2. Burger King Assitant Manager 3. Chapters Gift Merchandiser 4. Maintenance Fee Clerk at a Patent & Trademark Firm (current)
Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over:
1. X-Men (1 & 2) 2. Lord of the Rings (all) 3. Star Wars (all) 4. Sabrina
Four Places You Have Lived:
1. Marathon Village, ON 2. Kanata, ON 3. Downtown Ottawa, ON 4. Kanata, ON (again)
Four TV Shows You Love To Watch:
1. Bones 2. Survivorman 3. Family Guy 4. CSI: Las Vegas
Four Places You Have Been On Vacation:
1. PEI 2. Toronto, ON 3. Jaypeak, VT 4. Montreal, QC
4 Websites You Visit Daily:
1. CIPO 2. Bloglines 3. FitDay 4. MSN.ca
Four Of Your Favorite Foods:
1. Chocolate 2. Poutine 3. Spaghetti 4. Ice Cream
Four Places You Would Rather Be Right Now:
1. Home 2. An Island (South) 3. With my folks 4. Actually...I'm okay

Well okay is all relative, but hey...for once I'm not complaining.

***New comment (January 18, 2006). The above Clapotis has become a swatch...I just did something very brave/stupid. I signed up for the Olympics!!!! Canadian Clapotis team, here I come. What have I done??