I'm a winner!

A lovely prize arrived in my mailbox yesterday! Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. Ooooh!

I won the book in a contest on the the craft blog, Make+Do. Austen is doing regular giveaways, so you'd be smart to subscribe to her blog and try your luck at winning a crafty book too.

Seriously, this book is incredible. It's got a wide variety of patterns (not just your regular placemat, handbag, napkin, remote control holder and tissue box cover) and I kind of want to make everything in here. Sherrie had her heart set on winning this book, so I've agreed to share custody. :)

I seems that I won't have a whole lot of time to craft over the next 34 days. A provincial election was called today, so I'll be managing a campaign and working my butt off! Sherrie: the book is yours for a month!

Thanks again, Austen, for the lovely book!

FO: Ishbel

All the cool kids were doing it, so I jumped on the bandwagon.

Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda Teague
Materials: 1 entire skein of Handmaiden Double Sea Silk in Midnight (?) plus a little tiny bit of Fleece Artist Nova Sock in a similar colourway to bind off
Needles: US 6/4mm
Started: April 3, 2009
Finished: April 7, 2009
Raveled here

Verdict: Love it. First, the yarn is really, really beautiful. It's soft, silky and has a lovely drape. It's ideal for a shawl/scarf/neckerchief/whatever Ishbel is supposed to be. The pattern is easy and well-written and the finished object is classy. I love everything about it.

Now that Blogless Annie (who, incidentally, now has a blog) has moved to Brooklyn, NY, I've lost my old blocking space! I used to block shawls in her attic because the old wood floor was the ideal spot to quietly leave a damp handknit where no kitties or husbands could disturb it. I decided to pin Ishbel down on the linoleum kitchen floor by the patio door in hopes that no one would step on it/wrestle it away from the pins and it was a success! Moustache didn't even look at it.

I ran out of yarn just before casting off, so I hauled out some bits of Fleece Artist Nova Sock in a similar colouway (leftover from this cowl) and bound off. It's blends pretty well and is hardly noticeable. It's actually kind of satisfying to use an entire skein on a project and not have any bits leftover.

Foray into a new craft

This thing of beauty showed up in my living room one evening after I went to knitting group. A guild member who says she hasn't touched her spinning wheel in months offered to loan me her lonely wheel for a bit. I, of course, jumped at the chance of being able to spin in the comfort of my own home.

I fiddled around with the wheel a bit to familiarize myself with it and then jumped right into spinning with both feet. I got this braid of 3.7 ounces of merino combed top in "Lunamoth" from Freckle Face Fibers, drafted it a bit and started making some yarn.

And I came up with this gorgeous skein of handspun.

Sure, it's not perfect, but I love it. It's approximately 166 yards and 100 grams of worsted weight yarn in shades of purple, brown and grey. I have no idea what I'm going to knit with it yet, but I've got enough for some mitts or a cowl or a beret.

Right now I'm happy wearing the lone skein on my head. Fashionable, no?

Porom for Mum

Mum asked me to knit her a tam or a beret, so I went to Ravelry right away to show her some patterns. At my insistence, she chose Porom. She wanted it in green, so I was excited to pick out some new yarn. I went to the Loop last weekend and found a gorgeous skein of Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label yarn -- a light worsted merino dyed in a semi-solid green. Perfect.

Pattern: Porom by Jared Flood
Materials: 1 skein Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label in Moss
Needles: US 6/4mm and US 8/5mm needles
Started: January 26, 2009
Finished: January 28, 2009
Raveled here

I didn't do any modifications -- the pattern is perfect the way it is. I did, however, run out of yarn on the last row and had to use less than one yard of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in a similar colour to finish off. It's not noticeable at all. In fact, even when I pointed it out to Dad he couldn't see it.

Mum loves her Porom and it looks even better on her than it does on me!

Like cozying up in a basket of Fleece Artist

Remember way back when Lolly was visiting and I bought that to-die-for Fleece Artist kit? It wasn't long before I cast on and started creating my very own Lady of the Lake cardigan (rav). But then I lost the pattern. And then the kind ladies at Fleece Artist sent me the pattern. You'd think that would mean that I could finish the cardigan, but no. Then all that Christmas knitting happened and the ol' Lady fell by the wayside.

But after Christmas, I promised to pick up that ol' Lady again and finish her. It didn't take long once I got started again.

Pattern: Lady Of The Lake
Materials: 1 skein Fleece Artist Curly Locks and 2 skeins Fleece Artist Kid Aran
Needles: 7mm circular
Started: sometime during the summer of 2008
Finished: January 21, 2009
Raveled here

I didn't make any modifications. The cardigan looked kind of short when I finished piecing it together, but I wasn't worried because according to Ravelry, a good blocking does wonders. And it did.

I am so happy with this cardigan. It's incredibly cozy, not itchy at all, and wearing it is like cozying up in a basket of Fleece Artist yarn. Jealous?

All of this FO talk got me thinking that I forgot to blog about a couple of hats that I've knit in 2009. Remember Jesse's Hubby hat? Well, before Christmas he told me it wasn't quite long enough to cover his ears completely and he wondered if I could pick up some stitches along the brim to extend it a bit. Sure. Then he showed me the hat. He had felted it! Sure, it was superwash yarn, but that doesn't mean you can put it in the dryer! I agreed to make him a new hubby hat out of leftover bits and bobs of Mission Falls 1824 wool, but only after I gave him a stern warning about washing handknits!

And this little guy wasn't knit for anyone in particular, I just had that mini-skein of Koigu KPM burning a hole in my stash and needed to knit with it. I still have enough for some booties or baby socks.

Comfort Week: Image

I'm a little late with this post -- I was on the road all day Friday and in Halifax yesterday (both days spent without my laptop! Oh the horror!) and I forgot to post first thing Friday morning. Better late than never?

I took this self-portrait in July and it just screams comfort to me (despite the puzzled look on my face, I was feeling quite serene). It was a warm day and the grass in our backyard was dry. I just plunked myself down there with some Noro Kureyon sock and knit for the afternoon. Bliss.

For more comfort, mosey on over here. And a big thanks to Sherrie for hosting this!

Comfort Week: Habit

My favourite ritual is the 45 or so minutes I spend every morning with the paper and a nice, big cup of tea.

For more comfort, mosey on over here.

Comfort Week: Place

Yeah, it's corny, but this is my most comfortable place.

For more comfort, mosey on over here.

Comfort Week: Home

Day 2 of comfort week is devoted to the most comfortable thing in your house. Mine is the recliner I got for free (!) from my Mum's best friend when she got a new recliner. I spend every Sunday morning sitting here, doing the crossword whilst listening to The Sunday Edition.

For more comfort, mosey on over here.

Comfort Week: Food

Sherrie's hosting Comfort Week on her blog, so I'm bringing you a "comforting" photo each day this week.

Today's photo is about comforting food. I made leek and potato soup. It doesn't get more comforting than that.

For more comfort, mosey on over here.

Colour Week: Stripes

It's the last day of colour week!

Happy Friday!

Colour Week: Pink

The curtains in our bedroom are pink.

Colour Week: Yellow

I'm continuing with the dishes theme.

The little box behind the glass is filled with little yellow coasters that my Gramie gave me.

Colour Week: Purple

There's no shortage of purple in my kitchen.

The new purple mug was a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law. It's the perfect shade of aubergine.

Colour week!

Leya is hosting another colour week. Today is blue.

I love our blue dishes. We got them as a wedding present and I don't think we've broken one yet!

30 finished knits!

Wow! I had no idea I finished 30 knits in 2008! Looks pretty impressive when they're all together in a pretty mosaic.

Have a safe and happy New Year!

More Christmas knits

Now that the holidays are over, I can expose the rest of my secret Christmas knits. My cousin, Andrea, has two Guinea pigs that she loves more than anyone could ever love a rodent, so I scoured the Internet for a decent Guinea Pig pattern. Not an easy task. Most patterns are too cartoon-y and cutesy. When I was just about to give up, I came across this pattern on etsy. I bought the most disgusting yarn known to mankind and whipped this up at the eleventh hour.

Isn't she just the cutest thing in the world? My uncle said she stole the show on Christmas morning!
Raveled.

My fourth and last Gloria Cowl went to my sister-in-law, Hannah. She loved it! But really, can you blame her? It's knit from beautiful Fleece Artist Nova Socks yarn. Mmmm.

Raveled.

And, surprise, surprise! Mum got a Forest Canopy Shawl too! She knew about Gramie's shawl and Gramie knew about Mum's shawl, but neither of them knew they were getting their very own shawl! Heh heh.

The colour is just perfect on her. It's knit from Black Lamb City Silk.
Raveled.

Dad is an avid birdwatcher. Well, I guess avid might be kind of an understatement. He's not one of those guys who'll drive 500 kms to see a rare bird, but he will devote several months each year to monitoring certain species of birds. If you want to know more, check out his Web site.

I found this blue jay pattern on Ravelry and couldn't pass it up -- it's just way too flippin' cute. I didn't really expect it to turn out as well as the pattern picture, but it did. It's just perfect!
Raveled.

My brother, Nigel, couldn't be left out. He casually mentioned that he wanted a knit gecko after I gave him Myrtle for his birthday. So, again, I scoured the Internet for the perfect pattern. Who knew Fiber Trends carried an adorable gecko pattern? The only hitch is that it cost me $15USD to get the pattern mailed to me. Ouch.

I knit the gecko and needle felted some markings to make it look like his late pet, Zia. I think he was pretty darn happy with her!

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have a fantastic 2009!

Lots and lots of Christmas knitting

Sigh. I've almost finished all my Christmas knitting. I wish I could show you everything I've knit right now, but too many of those FOs are still top secret. However, a few recipients don't read my blog or have already received their handknit gifts, so here's a quick round up of all the not-so-secret knits.

I knit this tam for my friend, Sarah. She lost her beloved tam while back, so I whipped this up for her. It's a Drops pattern knit with one skein of Drops Alpaca. Raveled here.

Since Gramie isn't Internet savvy, I can blog about her top secret gift. It's the Forest Canopy Shawl in beautiful Fleece Artist Somoko. I almost want to keep it for myself, but I know she's going to love it so I guess I'll part with it. I will, however, have to knit myself one of these in the future. Raveled here.

I've knit a number of cowls over the past few weeks, mainly Gloria Cowls. It's a quick, easy and elegant pattern and doesn't bore me. The recipient of this one is still top secret, just in case she happens upon my blog. Raveled here.

Sherrie and I exchanged gifts the other evening, so I can reveal her handknits. She asked for some charcoal coloured fingerless mitts in a "heavy" type of yarn. If you know Sherrie at all, you know that she's quite particular about what she likes, so I spent a great deal of time picking out the right yarn and pattern. I chose Drops Silke Tweed because the silk gives it that "heaviness" Sherrie wanted and the colour was spot on. Plus, I know that she likes tweed. (Who doesn't?) I found the pattern on Ravelry and fell in love with that cable. Sherrie seemed to like it too! Raveled here.

She also asked for a matchy-matchy cowl and since I had some yarn left, I whipped up yet another Gloria Cowl. Raveled here.

And just in case the recipient of these slippers reads my blog without telling me, I'll keep her identity a secret. These are the Yoga Slippers from Erika Knight's Classic Knits At Home. I had planned to sew on some suede soles, but I tried to do it by hand and on the sewing machine and it just looked sloppy. They're still pretty sturdy without the soles and if someday they get holey, I'll darn them. Raveled here.

Come back after Christmas and I'll show you the rest of the top secret knits!

my Socktoberfest socks are a little late to the party

Well, I guess I was a little late getting ready to go to the party. I didn't think I was going to take part in Socktoberfest this year because I was so busy with Christmas knits, but I saw Kelly's Interlocking Leaves socks on Knitty and I had this Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn that I bought in Montreal calling out to me. They seemed like a really good match so I cast on for some Socktoberfest socks on October 23.

Pattern: Interlocking Leaves by Kelly Porpiglia (rav)
Materials: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino in Java
Needles: 2.5 mm addi turbos
Started: October 23, 2008
Finished: November 16, 2008
Raveled here

I really couldn't be happier with these socks. The pattern is just beautiful and so perfect for fall. It reminds me of crunchy brown leaves -- something I haven't seen much with the wet weather we've had. All that's left are soggy leaves and I don't really want to knit anything that evokes that image.

The socks aren't for me. They're a Christmas present for someone who is totally oblivious! Heh heh.

Pimp my bird

I signed up for the Holiday Ornament Swap hosted by freshly{blended} and cake & pie last week. I thought I would sew some kind of Christmas tree with a nice star-shaped button at the top, but I changed my mind when I saw this ornament in Martha's special Handmade Christmas magazine at Sherrie's house on Saturday. Sherrie told me that Wal-Mart carries Martha's glitter, so I took a rare trip out to Wal-Mart and filled my basket with glittery goodness.


And then I got to work. I made the cinnamon dough and cut out 18 cardinals from Martha's template. Once the birds were dry, I sketched out an outline of each coloured section with a blue chalk pencil (you can still see some of the blue on the bird below) and started gluing and glittery and gluing and glittering.

It took me two days to finish them all, mostly because I had to wait so long in between each glittery colour, but I'm so happy with them. I made way more than I'll need for the swap because I want to keep a few and give some away as Christmas gifts.