Monday, March 14, 2011

Simple Pleasures

As I write this, I am experiencing my day.  These sentences, born in a black Moleskine, have been toted around Sudbury and recorded as I feel the whim.  Soon they will leave the structure of these lined pages and swirl into the abyss of the internet, for you all to read.

In this cafe, I wait for my partner in crime.  I watch as this local business begins to fill up--not as full as one would expect for a friday lunchtime--and the breakfast sandwich I am eating is warm and delicious.  Here I revel in the fact that a simple idea can turn into a place that can make or break someones day.

And along comes the friend.  We chat as he wipes the fog from his over-sized glasses (purely cosmetic, of course) and our conversation is scored by the howling blizzard outside.  My high hopes for march break were dashed as I read about the foot and a half of snow expected in this crater of a town.  With no handknit to keep me warm, outside I wandered, loudly voicing my complaints to my compadre and anyone else who would listen.  Our destination is finally reached, after multiple stops, and I head off to work.

And those, my dears, are simple pleasures.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

So many shenanigans...

So in the span of the last few weeks, I have been knitting away.  I have now finished up my Selbu Modern hat and am loving it.  I whipped it up in Berocco Ultra Alpaca Fine in the dark purple and light gray, and I have plenty left to make, well, another hat.
here it is, pictured in Sweet Yarns, the LYS
















Let me just state now, once and for all: colourwork is not that challenging.  It is just about holding your yarns correctly and not sweating it if you make a mistake.  Duplicate stitches are your friends, kids, take heed.

Also, in my spinning escapades, I have plied my first yarn! It is a DK/Sport weight Blue Faced Leicester.
















I have more projects on my needles and more skeins on my spindle, so I will definitely be back soon to keep you posted.  Count on it, because if I am not blatantly feeding my ego, it is a day wasted.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Sabbaticals and Selbus...

So despite the fact that I have only two classes this semester, making my day finished at 11, I have been completely neglecting this blog.  I have been busier these past couple of weeks that I have ever been, between the gym, work and my new haven, Sweet Yarns.  This store has not only been a drain on my wallet (blame the intoxicating wool fumes), but a constant support system for my knitting escapades.  Always makes a day a little easier, to say the least.

So the first significant yarn related thing that I have accomplished is learning to spin.  My Louet drop spindle kit came in just before my exams and I was hooked.  Immediately.  I spun up some Blue Faced Leicester, Merino Silk, some Mohair and I mixed a Merino and a Mohair to see what I got.  The results were bulky weight, cushy singles that I completely love and cherish.  Future goals? Get faster, Learn to ply.

My lovely Merino Silk, still on the spindle.

I also decided to knit up a Selbu Modern hat in gray and purple, which is beautifully cushy and in Berocco's Ultra Alpaca Fine.  The colour work is just beautiful and hypnotizing, and despite the small needles I feel that it is coming along quite quickly, and will probably be finished by the end of the day today.

I also greatly apologize for the lack of pictures in this post, I can't seem to get them onto my computer, so I will have to try again when I get home.  Once I manage to get pictures onto this post, I will edit out this paragraph to avoid any confusion.
My yarns, attached to my selbu

And my laborious colourwork, close-up

Sunday, November 21, 2010

The posts have resurfaced...

No, I have not been neglecting my knitting, on the contrary, I've been knitting up a storm (after all, Christmas is coming).  However, I have not taken a single picture of my knitting prowess in many weeks, and I don't like to post without pictures.

This is another example of me posting without pictures.

I feel bad these sorts of posts, but to make up for it, I am hoping to have a relatively picture heavy post up and readable in the next little while.


Sound good?

Also, some of the projects I've been working on are as follows:

Colourwork Mittens
Boyfriend Hat
Cabled Blanket
Knee High Socks

And the TO-DO list (which is much longer)
Thrummed skating socks
Matching thrummed mittens
Balaclava for the Pater
Thrummed Mittens for Stepmater
Link hat for my favourite friend
"His" socks to match the "her" socks


And many more.

Monday, September 27, 2010

My Priorities.

As a student applying for university very soon, I have some very obvious priorities.  My friends and I are frequently seen hunched over our books in the library.  Working in almost complete silence.  

However, I also have Christmas gifts to finish.  So sometimes I have to bust out my knitting to keep up with my schedule.  

However, that has not stopped me from knitting me up a pair of Susie's Reading Mitts, knit with Bernat Satin yarn in Camel.  I like this yarn because it is cheap, I can get it near my school and it really holds its shape, unlike my silk bamboo.  I'll learn eventually.  Check out the free pattern on Ravelry.

It is a simple knit with ages of stockinette, and allowing for much multitasking in school meetings, such as Prom Committee, Music Executive and Yearbook. 

They also keep my hands toasty whilst I knit other projects.  



Now, I shall go battle my cold, do homework, knit and watch Gossip Girl.

-A

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Cafe Au Lait...

I do not take my coffee with milk.  I noted this when I started a fingerless mitt pattern entitled Cafe Au Lait with a beautiful silk bamboo blend by patons.  No, I didn't swatch.

The gorgeous drape I so admired of the yarn proved to make my mittens horrible.  They quickly stretched out of shape and fell off of my mitts.

So I'm frogging the horrible pattern.

The whole thing.

And redoing it on Bernat Satin yarn.

-sigh-

Monday, September 20, 2010

First Post

Throughout the halls of my highschool, one can see a lot of things. From Yu-Gi-Oh, straight from the early 2000's, to the diligent but forgetful scholars, desperately doing homework before class starts, to just general rowdiness.  Although I have never taken part in the first activity, one can frequently see me doing the second and third activities in front of my locker. 

But I have a secret.

The thing that someone will most likely see when they see me in the hallways of my high school is me, in front of my locker, knitting. 

Knitting. 

I started knitting when I was seven years old, in a town cuddled up next to James Bay.  My grandmother taught me the basics, and I fell in love immediately.  My seven year old hands were knitting as many dishcloths and scarves as there were stars in the sky, but after a year or so of this behaviour, I got bored, and took a hiatus.

This hiatus may have lasted about 3 years.  Give or take.

If I remember correctly, it was my sister who wanted to knit something for christmas that allowed me to pick up my needles again, and I learned a little bit more as the time went on.  She learned how to cast on, knit, purl, yarn over and knit two together, and I learned things like ribbing, and was able to progress to hats.

Cue hiatus number two.

I was 14, and I saw one of my favourite teachers knitting a mitten.  Just a simple newfie mitten, and I was amazed.  All those needles!! Is she using TWO colours??  So I got the pattern, and with much struggling, there I was, ready to go.

It's been since this time that my knitting has been quite relentless, and I will blog about my stories and my projects for those who would like to read along.  Here and there, I might post about a really good band I'm listening to, or about an occurrence in my life, but let me assure you, this blog is primarily knitting.