This Took Forever

Last summer, in a fit of unprecedented generosity, I agreed to knit a baby sweater for my hairstylist's niece's baby. I must have been drunk or delusional because doing so goes against one of my only two rules of knitting:

1. Never knit with yarn that makes my teeth hurt (anything 100% synthetic).
2. I only knit for people I am
       a. Related to by blood
       b. Related to by marriage
       c. Absolutely adore
       d.  Sharing a bed with (which includes, at this time, my husband and my son)

Now, I do absolutely adore my hairstylist, but I don't know her niece from Adam. It could have been that this was the kiss of death for this project, but alas, that was not the only reason this project was cursed.

Little did I know, that when I cast on the project, I was just barely pregnant. Pregnant at 38 with a 3 year old at home. Which, if you have prior experience with pregnant women, you will understand, brings on about three months of vigorous napping, extremely early bedtimes and brain fog.

So, I cast on Roo, the absolutely GORGEOUS baby sweater as designed by the extremely talented and lovely Kate Gilbert. And within the first bit of instructions, I was certain that this pattern had been brought to me by some evil villain bent on discrediting me as an experienced knitter.

 

 Here are the things I learned while working on this sweater:

1. It pays to have two paper copies of a pattern - one for writing in all the chart notes and the other for balling up and throwing at the wall in frustration.
2. Never make assumptions.
3. Always write shaping instructions on your charts, event if you are a confident knitter who "knows what she's doing" hint: hubris is a bitch.
4. Always hold the fronts of a cardigan up to the back to ensure you didn't miss, oh, a full chart of knitting on both fronts. Hint: you should do this before stitching everything together and knitting the hood.
5. Never agree to knit something with a deadline when you are pregnant.

All that being said, this is still a beautiful pattern. It was a series of unfortunate stupidity that dragged out the process of knitting it. It definitely pays to look up how to Kitchener stitch various kinds of stitches together (garter, purl, knit) as the join in the hood looked so much better when I did this... You know, the second time around.

Would I knit it again? Well, considering the number of things i ripped and reknit, i swear, it feels like i did knit this sweater twice!

As for actually making a second sweater, well, I'm not sure. I really love the final result, but I fear the frustration I felt knitting  it the first time might not dissipate even with time.

I would like to publicly apologize for all the private cursing of Kate Gilbert's name I did while working on this project. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this pattern that not being a dumbass while knitting it wouldn't have fixed.

Yarn: cascade 220 Heathers
Details: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/stephvw/roo

Still hanging in here

I just realized that it's been ages since I posted. This is the start of my third week of "leave" - officially, I'm on vacation right now - and it's amazing to me how quickly the time has gone.

I must say that I am relieved that I finished work when I did. My ankles and feet swell up if I'm on my feet or if I'm sitting with my feet down for very long. My doctor has told me to keep them up as much as possible. I was attempting to do that at the office, but it was very hard.

I find that sitting with my feet up is quite frustrating. I'm so accustomed to being able to do anything and everything on my own, so this stage of waddling, struggling to sit up and cursing every time I drop something on the floor, is definitely NOT my favourite. I knelt down to get something the other day and wasn't sure if I was going to get back up. I thought Mr. Happy was going to come home and find me on the floor! Luckily, I managed to pull myself up.

I've been keeping myself quite busy with knitting! I have to say, if it weren't for knitting, I would have to take up some sort of illicit drug use. How on earth do women who DON'T knit stand going on bed rest? I remember my great aunt Jean telling me about how, when she was on bed rest after surgery, her MIL came to her bedside and taught her how to tat. Aunt Jean knew how to knit, but it was too heavy for her, so if it weren't for the tatting, I think she would have gone stir crazy!


Here are the projects I've been working on:

Gryffindor the Second:

Back when I was optimistic about such things, I bought enough of Brown Sheep Nature Spun to knit TWO Gryffindor scarves. My intent was to knit two scarves for my two nephews for Christmas one year. I finished one.

Cruising through my stash, this winter, I came across the remaining yarn and decided to knit up another - my coworker's daughter is a big HP fan - so I said I'd do it for her, if he wouldn't mind paying for the yarn. He agreed - YAY! Now the yarn can stop taunting me from my stash. I just need to embroider her initials in the scarf and attached the fringe and I'm done!

I took the scarf to KOL last week and was asked if it was a sweater for a snake - the entire scarf is knit in a tube. It seems it also resembles a very long stocking cap:

Soakers:
I've started making soakers (we're going with cloth diapers - woo hoo)

These are made with Peace Fleece that came from a swap. I had about 10 inches left over when I was done.

Once those were done, I started another pair:

This is Custom woolen mills yarn. I'm quite pleased with the amount of yarn in this skein. I'm using a contrasting yarn (Mr. Happy is only a little horrified that it's a coral colour) for the waistband and the cuffs on the legs, but I could have made the entire soaker with the one skein.

I may have to track down more of this yarn as it is affordable and has a nice amount on the skein.

Bib:
After I made the denim pants for the Mogrunt, I had lots of leftover yarn. I used the leftover to make a bib using the instructions in Mason Dixon Knitting (a book recently purchased 2nd hand from Ms. Frozen Extremities - thanks!)

I need to wash this and sew on a button and we're good to go.

My other great aunt, Mary, and my cousin Denise (really my dad's cousin), arrived the other night with two parcels - a gift from them and a gift from Aunt Jean and my grandmother.

The Gift parade:
Auntie Jean knit a beautiful beige blanket for the Mogrunt - I don't have a picture, but trust me, it's gorgeous. Also, in the package were these little booties:

I have to call them to be sure, but I think this is my grandmother's handiwork. They are made out of fleece. Pretty cute, eh?

You may have noticed by now the background in these photos is a quilt. Mr. Happy's cousin, Diane, sent this to us. She bought this quilt either in a Mennonite or an Amish community - I'm not sure which, I'd have to check the card which is upstairs (and we all know about the swollen ankles). It's beautifully made and I love the vintage look about it.

So, I'm still here. Still hanging in. Still building a person.

Forget Kevin Bacon, It's all about Angela

Ok... you know how the world is all super connected? Well, here's how my morning web-browsing progressed:

First I clicked on a blog post from "Two Straight Lines"

Then I saw an adorable doll wearing cute costume - Bamboletta.

So I wondered if the company makes boy dolls - would the Mogrunt like a boy doll? (His mom sure would.)

I decided to have a look at the Bamboletta website - Oh, it's based in British Columbia!

I browsed through some pages and discovered that they have an Etsy shop.

So, I signed into my Etsy to add them to my favourites.

Then I searched Bamboletta on Etsy.

Hmmm... there's a familiar name among the list of people making clothes for Bamboletta dolls.

I clicked on the familiar name.

That's when I laughed my arse off.

Why?

1. I have met the proprietor of the Silly Con Etsy shop (she used to live here in NS.)

2. Regular readers of this blog might recognize the designer of the graphic at the top of Silly Con's Etsy page.

(Note: they do have boy dolls but that they are all sold out of dolls right now - I'm considering placing custom order...)

A Couple of Cupcakes

Before I talk about knitting, I must tell you that last Saturday, I met up with a couple of cupcakes for a couple of cupcakes. If you know what I mean.

You don't? Ok. Let me show you.

This, my friends, is a cupcake from Susie's Shortbreads in Halifax.

Please note - I managed a modicum of restraint - I remembered to take a photo before pulling all the paper off and devouring it. That is a Neapolitan cupcake - real strawberries in that butter cream, people - REAL. It tasted BETTER than it looks.

You'll see in the background, in her isolation chamber, a Peppermint Patty cupcake. Avert your eyes, Patty, you don't want to see what will happen to your little friend!

Here we have a Strawberry Daiquiri cupcake. Isn't it pretty?

This is the lady who sacrificed that cupcake:

She is also known as the Cupcake Enabler. Don't be fooled by her innocent smile and obvious beauty... Her purpose in life is to lead you down the garden path. A garden path lined with ornate, scrumptious cupcakes, but down it, nonetheless, she will lead you and although it may seem good at first, a thousand calories later, you'll be groaning on the chesterfield, waiting for the sugar rush to pass.

This is the other hapless cupcake eater:

The divine Ms RM - she dressed for the occasion - polka dot scarf matching her lovely orange cardigan, extravagant jewelry involving rickrack - all with the usual RM flair

It was an impromptu afternoon out - to celebrate some birthdays and a chance to see some friends I hadn't seen in ages.

if only every gathering of friends included cupcakes, I'm sure the world would be a better place.

If you would like to visit Susie's Shortbreads, here's her website. She not only makes Shortbread (as her name implies), but she also makes cakes as well. We saw one of them before it headed off to a bridal shower. It looked divine.

Uh oh...

Today Mr. Happy, Henry and I met up in Halifax to do a little shopping. We wandered into La Cache and discovered that the store is closing. Very, very sad news. La Cache has always been a great place to find beautiful ($$$) dresses for little girls (that always went on sale for $ at the end of the season), colourful accessories and all sorts of other good things, like bedding.

After a quick consultation, Mr. Happy and I decided that it would be a good time to buy a new duvet cover. Hopefully a certain fur-nephew won't puke or poop on this one. (I'll post a picture tomorrow.)

While we were at La Cache I called Ms. Electron-knits, thinking that the sale might be something she would be interested in - despite her sea-faring lifestyle, Ms. EK looks nothing like an "old salt" and often wears cute girly sundresses in the summer.

Mr. Happy, Henry and I ended up having lunch with Ms. EK. During the course of conversation, Henry discovered that Ms. EK's significant other is out to sea right now. One thing led to another and Henry decided to blow us off in favour of keeping Ms. EK company.

I know that Ms. EK and Henry are both consulting adults, but I do worry that Ms. EK's sailor might come home early. Oh Henry, what kind of trouble have you got yourself in now?

Linkety Link

Hey everyone,

My good friend T-dot has started her own blog about her adventures.



She's an amazing home-renovator who has recently started running. And she's pretty darned cute with a paintbrush in her hand.



T-dot, how about a post on the McRoom McReno?



(OMG - she had a room in her house that was decorated like McDonalds when she bought it. Yoi.)



Please give some love to Tdot.

For Angela

Hey Ang,

I just wanted to show you how well I'm healing after the big crash.

My leg is feeling much better, but I can still feel some lumpiness under the top of the scratch. I guess it's just the remnants of the bruise. My ankle is still having some issues.

I had an appointment with my physiotherapist two weeks after the accident. After checking my shoulder and ankle, he suggested some exercises for me to do. I tried them out that night, but my ankle swelled up. He and my doctor recommended that I wait until 6 weeks after the accident for my body to heal. It has only been 4 weeks, after all. I guess I'll just have to continue to use it as an excuse for things, like, "I can't possibly play Bridge with Janie Clarkson today; my ankle swells up the moment I climb up all those stairs to her house."

Here's a photo of what I'm doing while chatting with you online:

You'll note that if you were to call me, the phone is NOWHERE NEAR THE COMPUTER. Unlike you, I don't LIE ABOUT HOW FAR THE PHONE IS FROM MY COMPUTER. (You would have been disappointed if I hadn't called immediately after seeing that photo... and you're still a shit.)

Anyhoo, I'm knitting away on my Shetland Triangle... looking ahead to a new project (the wee ball on the table in front of me)... and eating yogurt with nectarines and granola. Yum.

The silk is such a pretty colour, I wish you could see it in person. This is just the back:

...imagine what the right side looks like! Better yet, imagine what it looks like when I don't have to use flash because it's been yet another miserable rainy day here on the East Coast.

I know, I know, you mentioned that it is really hot out there on the Wet Coast... but seriously, did you have to send all your rain this way?

Hey, you just posted about your new skirt. I keep forgetting to tell Meegiemoo that you are joining the leagues of people who want to dress like her when they grow up. Meegie? If you're reading this, add Ang to the list.

Anyhoo, I just wanted to say that although I'm really glad you're working again, I really do miss you when you are. I really enjoy our evening chats online. It makes it much easier to handle having one of your best friends living on the other side of this huge country.

It's funny how different friends communicate. With Becca it has always been the phone (often several times a week). With you was always letters... back before internet days. I always loved getting your letters. They often took me a week to read. I'm still not sure how you paid for the postage on those novellas, being a starving student and all. And now it's chatting online. It's funny, but I can hear your voice when I read what you write. Although I don't hear it often enough, it's still there, in my memory, right along with your laugh.

Love to you, the Dictator and the girls,

xoxo
Steph

Party, Party, Party

The last four weeks have been nothing but party, party, party. At least it seems that way. I haven't had a full weekend on my own since, um, early July?

I spent the weekend of the 19th at the cottage... then we came back for a party on the 26th. As Mr. Happy and I haven't had a big back yard party at our place in years and certainly we've never had one with as many people. We thought that it was about time that we put our back yard to good use [1] and our anniversary was a good reason.

So, we invited a whole pile of people, asked them to bring some food and crossed our fingers that it didn't rain.

The morning started out a little overcast, but by the time our first guests arrived, it was sunny and warm.

Becca and Troy weren't sure if they could make it down for the party, so you can imagine my surprise when I looked out the window and saw two people arriving early. Mr. Happy had gone out to get some ice, so when I saw them crossing the street I started to panic thinking people were arriving early and thought, "Oh no, I don't even know who they ar... eeeeh! It's Becca and Troy!!!!" and I went running out of the house. Then Mr. Happy arrived the look on his face when Becca opened the door was priceless.

As this is the first party we've hosted in quite a while, we may not have had all our ducks in a row, but we were smart enough to invite the neighbours:

'cause if you're going to have loud obnoxious party guests, it's better if the neighbours are part of the noise! We have the most wonderful neighbours. They arrived with chairs and a table and flowers for us. They proceeded to crack open a bottle of wine and get a little tipsy right in the center of the party. It was awesome.

We didn't realize how many of our friends had kids until they were all running around in the yard. The kids seemed to have have fun playing catch:

...and um, tackle:

And so did the grown ups:

In fact some of the "adults" stuck around and played ball until dark.

The KOLers came and found a cool spot under the tarp. They even graciously took over the BBQ so that Mr. Happy could have a chance to eat.

While I think everyone had a good time, I really wish we had taken more time to organize the event. I got home from vacation the day before the party. I was a little stressed on Friday. (OK, alot stressed.) Also, we had planned to have some friends play music at the party, but they got stuck in traffic leaving a festival in Antigonish. Next time, we'll send out the invitations a bit earlier and check the music festival list for a date that doesn't conflict.

Regardless, we did have a lot of fun and were really glad so many people could make it out. It was really nice for Mr. Happy's family because they got to meet some of our friends. My dad and my SM couldn't make it to the party, but maybe next time. My family did represent, in the form of my great-aunt Mary and her daughter, Denise. It was so nice of them to drop in. Out of all the guests at the party, only Andrew's family[3], Becca and my great-aunt Mary had attended our wedding. We'll have to do something fun for our 15th and make sure that the whole family comes down!

One last note: At some point during the day, one of the guests spotted some of my old comic books in the spare room. After checking with Mr. Happy, he was shocked to discover that they were mine. [2] He alerted the rest of the gang and this is what I found going on a while later:

I love the juxtaposition of heavy metal rockers and chenille bedspread. I'm still wondering if I should have frisked them before they left the party.

Petitebean? You'd tell me if Sausage stole my Power Pack books, right?



[1] It's certainly not working for us as a vegetable garden.
[2] I went to my parents pharmacy after school every day, so I spent a lot of time reading the comic books on the rack. I've got a pretty good collection, but nothing is mint. It's all well-loved.
[3] My nephew Ben was technically present at the wedding, although he wasn't born for another 2 months. ;)

WWKIP - 16 days later

June 14th dawned bright, sunny and windy enough to make a half knit sock fly like a kite. I gathered up my knitting and ran (literally) down the hill to Tangled Skeins where I dropped off a special shirt for Ms. Extremities:

Nothing says "Lurve" quite like your own Henry shirt. I made two at the same time, so I hope that Ms. Extremities doesn't mind being my "shirt twin".

I then had the pleasure of heading to WWKIP with Mrs. Knit, co-organizer of our WWKIP day. Here she is, smiling despite the anxiety I'm sure she was feeling.  Will people come to the party? What if someone else tries to steal the space in front of the library? What if I can't beat them out of our space with my 10mm needles? - you know, the regular things that event organizers worry about.

All the anxiety melted away when we arrived at the library to find KNITTERS on the lawn. Happy, smiling knitters, who registered for the event and made donations to Bryony House.

There were knitters from far and near:

That's Dolce and Gasman (Ravelry names) - Dolce who is from England, was visiting her brother (Gasman) and stopped by the event.

There were new friends:

Amyjobean and Henry
Note:  I think she may have run off with him to the Wedding Chapel if I someone else hadn't recognized Henry and asked for a picture.  

And old friends:

Mrs. No Sheep and her Girl
Note: Mrs. No Sheep is allergic to Henry's wooly exterior but gamely held him in place with the aid of a jacket.

Mrs. "My Husband Leaves Town and I Buy Houses" aka, Moe
Note: In May 2005 Moe, the wee Miss Mines and I started the KOL group. Three years of KOL! Yay! Three years of knowing Moe! Yay! She's the best stalker ever. *waves to Moe hiding behind hydrangea*

Ms. Wednesday
Note: Ms. Wednesday's adorable boyfriend showed up later to knit on his work socks with us.

Some people met their new BFFs at WWKIP:

Henry: Wanna go trolling for chicks?

Gnome: Aye! But let's leave the trolls at home!

Henry: I'm with ya, buddy, I'm with ya!

There were friends we don't see nearly enough of:

Will you just STOP ripping out your projects, lady?

Everyone's favourite chef-in-training, Jaichan!

And divas with babies who don't like coffeehouses:

The Ninja - shortly before she ran off with my camera.

Here, Henry got a chance to feel Alison's baby kicking.

Awwwwwww...We see the a moment of affection between an experienced knitter with a new knitter in the womb, and a tiny green knitted monster's affinity for them both.


Perhaps the most exciting part of the day was when the yarn started flying, literally:

These little balls of yarn were donated by the Loop and garnered much more excitement than a wedding bouquet toss.

Note: This is the only photo I have of Cali, the other event organizer. If you squint, you can see her on the left, smiling and chucking yarn.

These weren't the only prizes for the day - Tangled Skeins gave a Jo kit for the photo scavenger hunt, there was a Loop bag and LK yarns donated prizes as well. Ilga Leja donated one (or was it two?) of her patterns for prizes.

Speaking of Ilga, here's a photo of her and Henry together:

This photo was taken shortly after they signed a landmark, international agreement to bring peace to the world through yarn and beautiful patterns.

If only, my friends, it could be that easy... Ilga would be the one to lead the charge. And Mrs. Yes, Cali and the rest of the knitters would be there to organize the rest!

Thanks again, ladies. It was a wonderful day. Henry was completely exhausted when we got home and missed his date with Ms. Electron-Knits

Good Friends + Tiny Chihuahuas = Great Vacation

Ok, as you know, I spent the last week of May in Vancouver with my dear friend, Angela, her boyfriend, the Dictator, and their two chihuahuas, Minou and Birdie.

I hadn't seen Angela, the Dictator or Minou in FOUR YEARS and hadn't met Birdie at all. I was a bit nervous that Minou wouldn't remember her Auntie Steph and that Birdie wouldn't warm up to me at all. I didn't want to miss out on tiny dog snuggles...

As it turns out, I had nothing to worry about... Minou remembered me:

Almost every morning I woke up to the sound of her running and jumping onto my bed. Her long tail would be whipping around as she gave me a quick slurp on my nose before sneaking under the blankets to sleep by my tummy. Say it with me, "Awwwwwww!"

Miraculously, I woke up the first morning to find Birdie dancing beside my bed, begging to be lifted up. Birdie, the grouchy dog who acts stand-offish and has been known to bite people she doesn't know, wanted up with me!

I think it is safe to say that I've earned my title as "Chihuahua Whisperer".

Angela mentioned that we are the kind of friends who will attempt to eat a dozen donuts together... but when your friend makes you breakfast that looks like this:

...who needs donuts?

Or when your friend makes Cardiac Arrest Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream:

...and introduces you to Pajos:

(amazing crab cakes, delicious fries and perfect lemonade!)

...who needs to worry about fitting into their pants? Size 6 is overrated.

These two ate with us, and they don't worry about pants:

Lest you think that all we did on this trip was eat and lay about, I will tell you that we went for walks:

We chased squirrels:

We hung out with old friends:

and new friends:

We went shopping:

1. Amy Butler Fabric, 2. And then we went to Tarjay, 3. Koigu, 4. Soya Sauce containers, 5. Bento boxes, 6. watch out for the crocodiles!

We sang:

We sewed:

...and we did other things that burned energy:

...some of us more often than others.