Thursday, December 28, 2006

Tempted by a sweater

I got five balls of DB Cashmerino Aran in a beautiful teal colour for Christmas and have cast on 144 stitches to start my first sweater. I've decided to go with the simple Tempting from Knitty.

I only knit two Christmas gifts this year. A 2x2 rib scarf with a hole in it for my Mum and a toy for Moustache. The toy pattern comes from here and was a super simple knit.

It's not the cutest toy in the world, but Moustie seems to love it.

I also just finished a second cabled baby hat in blue for Lise's baby. I still like the pink one better, only because I LOVE the coral pink colour. But little boys don't wear pink, so Baby Blake will receive the blue one. The pink one still doesn't have a home. Aw.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Merry Merry!

Not much knitting has been going on in recent days, but I have managed to start another cabled baby hat for one of my friends' babies. I had knit the pink hat last month, but none of my friends are having little girls! So I bought some baby blue DB Baby Cashmerino and cast on a hat for baby Blake.

Since hubby and I are both musicians, we used to go to shows at least once a week when we lived in Moncton and Halifax, but bands rarely come through Yarmouth . . . That's why we were superexcited to go to the Wintersleep/Contrived/Ryan Cook show at Th'YARC Friday night. We showed up for soundcheck at 4 p.m., because hubby was invited to play one song with Wintersleep, and hung out with the boys until the show started at 8 p.m.

I don't want to bore anyone with a full review of the show, so I'll make this extremely brief. Ryan Cook took the stage first with his new country band. If I didn't know Ryan, I would have asked, "Who is this retard?" but I know the whole country act is kind-of-sort-of-not-the-most-serious-thing-in-the-world. Besides, he used to only listen to the most gory death metal.

Hubby joned Wintersleep for an encore performance that was amazing. I hadn't seen him on stage since 2004, I think. He was great. There he is, playing the bass.

In the words of Dr. Seuss in How The Grinch Stole Christmas, I just want to wish all the bloggers of the world a "Merry Merry!"

Friday, December 15, 2006

Holy Christman!

Years ago, when I first learned my ABCs, I labeled a box of Christmas ornaments "Christman." It cracks me up every time I see that box. Once I learned of my error, I xed out the offending "n" and replaced it with an "s." It's still cute as can be.

Here's a Christman, er Christmas, meme that I stole from My Fashionable Life

Egg nog or hot chocolate?
Is tea an option? Okay, I would have to say hot chocolate because I've never been a fan of egg nog, or as I like to call it, chicken milk (directly translated from "lait de poule").

Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
He wraps most of them, unless they're really big.

Coloured lights on tree/house or white?
I have white lights on the tree right now, but I have no objections to coloured lights. They're both lovely.

Do you hang mistletoe?
No. I've never even seen the real thing. Just the plastic mistletoe Mum has.

When do you put up your decorations?
As soon as I can without looking like a crazy person. Usually early December.

What's your favourite Christmas dish?
G-R-A-V-Y. 'Nuff said.

Favourite Christmas memory as a child?
I don't know how old I was, but I woke up to pee in the middle of the night before Christmas. I had to cross the hall to get to the bathroom and I snuck a glance toward the fireplace. I swear I saw Santa in the living room. So, I peed as quickly as possible and didn't flush because I didn't want to scare Santa.

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
Not sure, but I do remember being in the fifth grade when all of my classmates stopped believing in Santa. I told them the above story and convinced them ALL that Santa really did exist. Their parents must have loved me.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Sometimes. This year since we'll be traveling between hubby's family and mine, I think we'll open presents from each other on Christmas Eve. It'll just make Christmas Day a little less hectic.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
With all kinds of ornaments. The more, the better. The Hello Kitty ornaments are the best, though.

Snow! Love it or dread it?
Love it, but we don't usually have snow in Yarmouth on Christmas Day.

Can you ice skate?
Yes, but I'm no champion figure skater.

Do you remember your favourite gift?
Hmmmm, not really. I always like to get books though.

What's the most important thing about Christmas for you?
Being with family.

What's your favourite Christmas dessert?
Grand-mère's apple pie.

What's your favourite Christmas tradition?
Having lobster sandwiches with the French side of the family at suppertime. Everyone has already had a huge turkey dinner at lunch time, so we don't want anything more than a few sandwiches.

What tops your tree?
A small angel.

Which do you prefer: giving or receiving?
Ooohh! I love both so much!

What's your favourite Christmas song?
Can I pick two? Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Peace of Earth/Little Drummer Boy by David Bowie and Bing Crosby.

Candy canes?
Indeed millipede.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Calo-what?

The best kind of knitted garment is quick, easy and when it's finished, you love it. I give you, Calorimetry!


Pattern: Calorimetry by
Materials: some leftover Patons Decor in country blue and an extra button from my reporter's coat.
Needles: US 8 (5 mm) bamboo circulars
Started: December 12, 2006
Finished: December 13, 2006
Modifications: I didn't use the yarn the pattern called for, but besides that, I followed the pattern exactly.


This is a quick knit and it's cute as a button. I like so many things about this headband! My ears normally stick out a bit, so hats that are tight around my ears end up giving me a headache. This isn't tight, but it stays on really well and won't hurt my head. I especially like it when I wear pigtails. Supercute.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Fresh off the needles

Pattern: Thuja by Bobby Ziegler
Source: knitty
Materials: Artyarns Supermerino in colour #101
Needles: US 6 (4.25 mm) bamboo dpns
Started: December 2, 2006
Finished: December 9, 2006
Modifications: None, although I must have been extremely tense when knitting these because instead of fitting a man's size 9-11 foot, they fit my size 6 1/2 feet.

I am so in love with these socks. They're my favourite knitted object so far and I know I'll get a lot of use out of them. I'm wearing them right now and I can see myself wearing them all winter long around the house. I think I am officially addicted to knitting socks. Can't wait to cast on the next pair.

Friday, December 08, 2006

How'd he do it?

I had a question from Kate about the print hubby made of me. She was wondering how he did it. Being the good little reporter that I am, I asked him and he said he took a photo of me and put it into Flash, traced the photo, looked for light and dark spots and filled in the darks. He's done some others of some of our friends. You can check 'em out on his myspace.


Thursday, December 07, 2006

If the sock fits . . .

One sock is finished and the other is well on its way. But there is a slight problem. If you remember, these were supposed to be hubby socks. Well, I must have been extremely tense when knitting sock number one because instead of fitting hubby's size 11 feet, it fits my size 6 1/2 tootsies. Oh well, if the sock fits, I guess I'll have to wear it.

I really like the colourway and the yarn is so cooshy, smooshy and soft. Since they are pretty thick socks, I think they'll be what I like to call "house socks." My Mum asked if "house socks" are anything like slippers . . . I guess they are. I'll be wearing them while bumming around the house on a cool winter's day to keep my feet toasty. Can't wait to finish them so I can slip right into them.

I put up our teeny Christmas tree Sunday night. We usually put the three-footer on the floor, propped up by a wicker box, but this year we had to put it on top of the TV stand so Moustache isn't tempted to attack it. So far, so good.

I helped Mum put her tree up today and now I'm super excited for Christmas! I always get really excited at Christmastime, but usually not this early. I've had all my shopping done since early November and everything's been wrapped since then. I'm a tad bit of a keener.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Two matching mittens!

The mittens are done! Here they are in all their glory on the window sill.
Pattern: Text-messaging mittens by Heather Brack
Source: knitgrrl by Shannon Okey
Materials: (pink) Misti Alpaca worsted in colour #972 and (green) Mission Falls 1824 cotton in colour #805
Needles: US 7 (4.5 mm) bamboo dpns
Started: November 25, 2006
Finished: December 1, 2006

Modifications: The main one being that I didn't knit a hole in the thumbs for text-messaging purposes because I don't own any text-messaging doodads. I also used a different yarn (the pattern calls for Cascade 220) so it would match my beloved Kittyville hat.

I really like these mittens. Since they're made of alpaca yarn, they're supersoft and really warm in the cold weather. I had the chance to wear the matching set today since it SNOWED in Yarmouth! It's the first snow of the year! Yeah, I'm one of those people who loves snow.

Here's the scene from our living room window today. This is the intersection at Alma and Carleton streets. Isn't it lovely?

The socks (rather, sock) are coming along nicely. No photos yet, because they don't look like much, but I did manage to turn a heel and knit a gusset. Now the only challenge remaining is grafting the toe. I'm quite proud that I managed to figure out how to turn a heel. I ended up doing it twice because I screwed up the heel flap of all things! The sock seems small right now, but I hope they'll fit my hubby's wide feet!

Friday, December 01, 2006

New job?

Well, it seems as though I have a job. I had an interview at the art gallery two blocks from my house on Tuesday morning and yesterday at 5 p.m. I got a call saying the deputy minister of Tourism, Culture and Heritage just has to approve me and I'll be hired. It's not a reporting position, but it's definitely a super job to have until I can find something in my field. I will have a few journalism-y type tasks with this position like writing memos and communiques, which is great. Tomorrow I'm going over to the gallery to do some training.

Last night I cooked a chicken dinner and after I plated it up, I thought it looked pretty enough to be photographed. It was just as tasty as it looks


Moustache has a habit of hiding under this mat, but what he doens't realize is that he's bad at his own game. He's still cute as a button, though:

And here's the other end peeking out:

I'm halfway through finishing my second mitten. Next I get to cast on those socks for hubby!

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