My Knitting Basket

ah, the issues of copyrights & selling FO's...

2012-01-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

So, I suppose this is more my venting than anything, but bear with me nonetheless.

I've a few patterns that I've designed, most of which are available for free but still my designs nonetheless, to which I specifiy that they're for personal use only and not for resale. This does mean, on my end, that I tend to search etsy, zibbet etc to see if that's actually happening, that there aren't people selling my designs.

On occasion, there will be someone selling an FO from one of my designs, and I politely let them know what's what and the item(s) are usually taken down with no issue. That's fine.

But, recently, I did find an item in question, wrote to the seller, and even though she did take it down, her defense to allowing it for sale was a) she designs patterns herself and doesn't care if people sell the FO's, and b) "It's not like you are selling on Etsy." (her words.)

REALLY? What difference does any of that make?

First of all, whether you allow people to sell finished items from your own designs (free or purchased) is your decision as a designer, since you hold the rights to that pattern. Each designer does. Just because you allow sales from your patterns doesn't mean all designers do.

Secondly, whether I have an active shop on a site or not, doesn't matter. If you don't have the right to distribute something, then you don't have the right to distribute it! A designer does not need to have an active store on every single selling site to enforce their policies on their designs.

If you wind up selling something made from someone else's design, and you honestly didn't believe you were doing something wrong, it's ok to admit that and just take the item down when the designer specifies it. But, to respond to a designer and not only admit that they've done something wrong, but to also try to justify it by suggesting they can do what they want because the designer doesn't sell there, well, that just doesn't hold water.

Anyway, vent over. Hopefully there's some clarity seen by this particular seller, and she'll rethink when trying to infringe on other people's original ideas.

A Knitter's Night Before Christmas

2011-12-22T13:54:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd share this poem - titled A Knitter's Night Before Christmas, it's absolutely brilliant. :) Check it out and leave a comment, it's wonderfully written!

CT$ progress

2011-06-05T13:04:00.000-07:00

I'm progressing nicely with my CT$ fundraising... just passing the $30 mark, and getting to $35 isn't going to be a problem I don't think by the 28th.

I've decided, with whatever extra CT$ I receive between now and then, I'm going to put it to some benificial use. There are a few charity possibilities to put it towards. I can donate excess $ towards Canadian Tire's collection already in store, for whatever it is that they collect money for. I also know a friend whose daughters were actively in Girl Guides growing up, and she still has friends who have daughters going through Guides, and some of these girls manage to go to camp (thanks to the generosity of their cookie sales, I suppose) but can't afford tents - so buying a tent at CT using the extra $ I get (plus of course paying the balance myself, no problem) and donating it to a girl who gets to go to camp would be awesome. Alternatively there's also shelters that always accept donations of whatever, so excess CT$ can purchase something that then can be donated there as well would come in handy too.

Anyway, there's an endless list of possibilities. I'm of course still collecting the CT$, for the google eyes previously mentioned 2 posts ago, so check that out. Alternatively, there's also my facebook fanpage for my shop: www.facebook.com/KnitsYoursKnotMine - check that out, there's a listing somewhere there, posted recently, for earrings available only through my fanpage in exchange for $5 in CT$ (1 pair) or $8 in CT$ (2 pairs).

On the condition, of course, that the CT$ is received before June 28th... and with Canada Post maybe or may not be on whatever strike they're on, who knows how much slower the mail will take, but let's hope for the best nonetheless.

ETA: Thanks to friends and ravelry purchases of google eyes, I was able to raise just under $42, so that's pretty cool! Thanks to everyone who has contributed!

progress...

2011-05-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

I'm at $28 in CT$ as it stands, and it's only been about 3 weeks, which is awesome. I've got another month to come up with at least another $7 for DH... nervewrecking!

Owl Cozie KAL - & raising CT$ for DH

2011-05-20T05:30:00.000-07:00

For those of you who frequent the Canadian forums in ravelry, this may be old news, since I posted this there about 2 weeks ago... regardless, here I go (again!)...

I've designed this owl cup cozie a while back, and on ravelry (queuable here) for a while now I've offered the 10 sew on google eyes for sale, since they're so hard to find, & they stay on so much better than the glue-on google eyes. (Glue on google eyes are awesome, but for fabrics that stretch all the time like the cup cozies tend to do, they're not the best and will have a tendancy to eventually flake off, therefore sew on eyes are much sturdier!)

Because my husband loves Canadian Tire, he gets a lot of CT gift cards on the holidays, which go almost entirely towards tools and car supplies. As a change, though, I decided on collecting CT$, and since he's turnign 35, it'd be great to be able to raise @ least $35.

Considering how much he covets his tools, and working on his car, plus how much of his spare time he devotes to helping his parents, sister, and my brother with all the handy things he does, this really is the least I can do. I can honestly say that my DH is awesome when it comes to a lot of things, but especially the time he devotes to working with tools & helping both his family and mine (not to mention neighbors too!) all after working 70+ hours a week.

Over the last 2 weeks I've so far managed to raise $21 all in CT$, by selling 10 eyes for $1 in CT$ to ravellers, which is awesome. But I've got $14 more I'd like to raise - plus of course anything over and above that will be gifted and definately put to good use.

So, if you're reading this & have a couple CT$ that are just sitting in a drawer (even if it's entirely in 5 cent bills) and would like to knit up that owl cozie, please contact me via ravelry - I'm knitphomaniac there. An SASE will need to also be provided, and I can easily fit @ least 10 sets of eyes in one envelope with 1 Cdn stamp, possibly more.

THIS MAKES A GOOD: destash project, SnB KAL, 'learn to cable' project, gift for Father's Day or birthday with a coffee shop gift card, etc. (Just some ideas!) Or you can even headstart on December holiday gifts - these are ideal stocking-stuffer type gifts!

If you've got a knitting group and would like to do this KAL, maybe you can propose that each person in the group can bring $1 or more in CT$ - that way all their eyes can be sent via and to you.

JUST A REMINDER that if you wish to participate in this particular project, I do need to receive the CT$ by Tues June 28th @ the very latest! PLEASE QUEUE IT ON RAVELRY & happy knitting!

the quality of knitting/crochet, yarn, & etc...

2011-03-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

I've been spending a lot of time in the chat rooms of etsy, and a lot of time in etsy (since 2006) and other online selling sites, and a discussion that has come up time and time again, among knitters & crocheters, is the quality of materials used in knitwear and crochetwear. This has also been a topic of countless discussions on ravelry as well.

"Yarn snobbery" or "fiber snobbery" is about as taboo of a discussion as talking about religion and politics in mixed company. What defines a snob when it comes to yarn varies from one person to the next.

If you choose to not use a certain type of yarn, due to allergies or whatnot, that I can understand. There's nothing wrong with that at all. What I can't seem to understand, though, is simply going with a certain kind of yarn to make things simply because it's cheaper.

Acrylic, for example, tends to be (more often than not) cheaper than most other yarns. There are different qualities of acrylic, but at the end of the day, acrylic is acrylic, and acrylic is plastic. That's all that it is. So, why on earth would one make clothing from it? A sweater or scarf etc, made from acrylic, is the equivalent of wearing a plastic bag, and it keeps you just as warm. All it does is make you sweat, since it doesn't breathe. It's not a snob thing, it's just fact.

I've seen a lot of people on etsy make garments from acrylic, and their excuse is that acrylic is just the cheaper yarn to work with. Aren't you setting yourself up for failure before you've even started? I look even in my own closet, and I don't own any 100% acrylic clothes, even though much of what I have has been bought in department stores. Many of my shirts and undergarments are made from cotton. Even store bought sweaters are a wool blend at worst.

Yarn goes on sale all the time. Plus, if you already start with quality yarns, wouldn't that retail for more if you're planning on selling them? Or are we all comdemned to that Walmart mentality, where cheaper is always better? Do we not value our work enough to start with quality materials to make a quality product? If we're going to invest our energy into using a quality pattern, and we all know that handmade tends to be better quality than not, then why use inferior materials to begin with?

I'm not knocking acrylic yarns - I've plenty, but I believe it needs to be used accordingly. Acrylic is ideal for making toys. It's even great for making throws and afghans. Acrylic blend are great for making machine-washable garments. But to use 100% acrylic for clothing? I don't think so.

Even if you're not planning on retailing anything you've made - when you make something for yourself or to gift to someone, one would think you'd want to wear a quality garment. You don't have to spend a lot of money on quality yarns, there are some great ones that are priced inexpensively to start.

I use this as an example: A chef wouldn't use inferior ingredients to make dishes at his restaurant, a baker wouldn't bake with expired or inferior ingredients either, because (and pardon borrowing the slogan from a certain commercial) you can taste the difference quality makes. It's exactly the same in knitting and crochet.

Anyway, that's my vent, for what it's worth. I'm not even going to start with the ethicality of not charging for labour on selling sites when it comes to handmade, or infringing on trademark or copyright items when it comes to selling your work either, that's a different post for a different day. It would just be nice to see, when it comes to knitting or crochet as a whole, that people make an effort to start with quality yarns from the get-go.

You don't have to spend a whole lot of money to get good, quality yarns - just know which yarns are best suited for which projects is all.

Seven Year Itch (totally improvised!) sweater for myself!

2011-03-06T15:20:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that I finally finished knitting a sweater for myself! Woo hoo!

Last September, DH & I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary - and one of the traditional wedding gifts for the 7th year is wool, so DH quite wonderfully gifted me a gift card to knitpicks. :) I bought some Wool of Andes yarn in Winter Night, used a cable design from Cables & Arans by Erika Knight for the sleeves, and improvised away.

The whole thing is seamless in a sense - the decreases make it look like I've knit the sleeves in seperate peices, when in fact it was all joined together in a yoke-sweater fashion. I officially finished it very early Saturday morning (at 2:30am!) and it has been blocking for the rest of the weekend!

Today is Sweater Day - World Wildlife Fund

2011-02-17T08:11:00.000-08:00

Today is sweater day ... the World Wildlife Fund is encouraging everyone to wear a sweater, and turn the thermostat down by 3 degrees to help reduce carbon emissions. So, today I've done just that. Temp's down to 18 degrees Celcius and I'm wearing a handknit sweater that my grandmother knit me about 12 years ago, which I adore.

Hugging Earth today. :)

(knit) Pet Rock pattern

2011-02-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

Materials needed: a very small amount of any worsted, dk or aran weight yarn in grey, plus double pointed needles one size smaller than what's recommended on the label for a tight knit; a small amount of stuffing or batting to fill the pet rock * note: I used Red Heart Soft Touch in a dark grey, and 4mm dpn's for the rock photographed

Tension: not really important for this project

Finished Size: fits in the palm of your hand :)

terms used:
k - knit
m - make
k2tog - knit two together
st(s) - stitch(es)

Cast on 4sts.
k1, m1 in each stitch (8 sts)
Divide between 3 dpn's, join & place marker.

increase rows:
Row 1: (and all odd numbered rows) knit across
Row 2: (k1, m1) in each stitch (16 sts)
Row 4: *k1, (k1, m1) in the next st* repeat between * around (24 sts)
Row 6: k5, (k1, m1) in the next st, k11, (k1, m1) in the next st, k6
Row 8: k4, (k1, m1) in the next st, k1, (k1, m1) in the next st, k11, (k1, m1) in the next st, k1, (k1, m1) in the next st, k5 (30 sts)
Row 10: k4, (k1, m1) in the next st, k1, (k1, m1) in the next st, k1, (k1, m1) in the next st, k11, (k1, m1) in the next st, k1, (k1, m1) in the next st, k1, (k1, m1) in the next st, k5 (36 sts)

Stockinette stitch (knit every row) for 1 inch.

decrease rows: Add stuffing progressively as you go in this step, ensuring that the rock is completely full (but not overstretched) before finishing.
Row 1: k5, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k10, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k5 (30 sts)
Row 2: knit all sts
Row 3: k5, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k10, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k5 (26 sts)
Row 4: knit all stsRow 5: k6, k2tog, k10, k2tog, k6 (24 sts)
Row 6: knit all stsRow 7: *k1, k2tog* repeat between * around to end (16 sts)
Row 8: knit all stsRow 9: k2tog around to end (8 sts)
Row 10: k2tog around to end (4 sts)

Cut yarn, weave through remaining stitches & pull tightly, tie knot and weave in ends. Some shapping may be needed to be done; pattern allows the rock to be slightly flatter on one side than the other.

© 2011 by Sabrina Thompson - original design and pictures. Please do not sell pattern or materials made thereof, or copy my pictures. Pattern cannot be distributed for sale, or as a 'free pattern' promotional tool for selling yarn or knitting supplies. If posting Finished Items on personal blogs, please link back to this blog and pattern, thanks. This pattern is FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other of my patterns, please contact me by posting your questions in the comments, I'll address them a.s.a.p.!

The Stig

2011-02-02T07:22:00.000-08:00

I finished knitting The Stig (from the show Top Gear) the other day for DH, which he loves, and it was an amazingly simple pattern. Great stash busting project!

barbie's new rags

2011-01-21T13:37:00.000-08:00

In order to destash, I've got these 'barbie' (dollar store version of the doll) dressed up in dresses that I've improvised. Debating whether to count this as 3 separate projects in my 52-project-thing, or one large project since they used so little yarn (10grams or less each). Nonetheless, a fun project to do, and yay for destashing!

2nd friday, 2nd project done

2011-01-14T10:37:00.000-08:00

My goal to make 52 projects (ammended from goal: 52 pairs of mittens) in 52 weeks is in week two - with my second pair of mittens. Got the mirror beads on this pair too, which was fun. :) I love coming up with a kitchy design to decorate otherwise what may be boring mittens.

pair of mittens #1 finished, 51 pairs to go

2011-01-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

Finished my first pair of the year: knit with Patons Classic Wool in leaf green, embroidered with some jade heather Patons Classic Wool & I added some boho type mirror beads that I bought off of etsy. These are a rather well modified version of a pattern I have, that should fit women's hands.

Happy New Year 2011!

2011-01-01T08:25:00.000-08:00

I've got a new goal for 2011: 52 projects completed within 52 weeks. Mainly to destash all the yarn that I have. I'm hoping to use up as much yarn out of my own stash to do this without having to buy any new stuff for a while.

I love knitting mittens, so I think that most of these projects might wind up being mittens. My favourite go-to pattern has been the #18 mitten pattern from Knit Simple Fall 2007, & I've a feeling this pattern is going to be used to death. It's a chart break down of 9 different sizes of mittens: dk, worsted & bulky for each men's, women's and kids.

I'm currently working on my first pair, which I hope to eventually gift to my MIL later this year for xmas, made from Paton's Classic Wool (my favourite yarn). Pictures will soon follow.

the Dude no longer abides

2010-12-30T19:54:00.000-08:00

Last year, you may or may not remember, I designed a Dude sweater from scratch mainly for my brother for his birthday (Sept). For a first attempt at designing a sweater, I must admit, not bad. But, truthfully, not as movie accurate as I could've hoped.

Just as luck would have it, after literally years of looking for a dude sweater to buy or for free, exactly 7 days after I posted my pattern online and for sale (& 4 days after my brother's birthday), someone had designed a much better Dude sweater, more movie accurate than mine, and in a better variety of sizes.

To be honest, I was both heartbroken and a little jealous. But truthfully, nothing more. Had I simply known to wait for 3 more months, I could've used her pattern to knit her version for my brother for xmas.

Sales for my pattern did fairly well I must admit. No complaints really, as far as I know. Although I did have ppl that needed a bit of clarification on certain parts of my design, those who admited that clarification was needed, I did my best to help, and as far as I know, those were made without a hitch.

Sadly though the two projects completed on ravelry of my design weren't pleased, and for different reasons. In part, I believe, had to do with later realizing that they could've saved the purchase price to go with the free design, which is understandable. In part for other reasons, but I'm sure that was a good one.

I do admire the quality of the free pattern though, and anyone who is willing to give a project as detailed as a lace shawl or adult sized sweater as a free pattern, in itself, is fairly awesome & generous. :) The FO's of her design all look really great, and I look forward to get a crack at it eventually, although I think I'll avoid the work of sewing on a zipper the next time and go with a button-up version instead!

handspun scarf finished

2010-10-20T08:54:00.000-07:00

The yarn I spun a while ago is now a scarf, finally! I've been meaning to post this pic a while back, when I actually did finish it, but better late than never. I'll be adding fringe to it eventually.

a sweater makes headlines

2010-10-19T17:47:00.000-07:00

Just follow this link to the story ... it's not a knitting thing but it's a sweater thing so it's kind of a knitting thing. :)

from handspun to scarf

2010-10-07T17:28:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I finished spinning this ball of yarn and I finally cast on a seed stitch scarf with it.

The weather's starting to cool off, and I'm realizing I need some more wintery clothes! Not that I don't already have a zillion scarves, hats, and mittens, but one can never have too many.

This will be my very first project that I've knit with a handspun ball of yarn, and even better, a ball of yarn I've spun myself! Pictures to come soon!

bacon & chocolate... mmmmm ;)

2010-10-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

It has truthfully never occured to me to mix bacon and chocolate together, but I happen to stumble upon a few chocolate fudge recipes that actually have bacon in them... and I went from "Ew, that's gross" to "Wait a sec, that just might work!"

I got some merkins milk chocolate wafers, mixed it with half a square of bittesweet baker's chocolate, melted it and dunked these strips of bacon (this happen to be regular, unsalted bacon) and... it tastes awesome.

I've no idea how healthy it is, probaby not very. But it's wicked. I dare you to try it, especially if you're weirded out by the idea.

knitted wrapping paper find! woot!

2010-10-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

I love that I found this wrapping paper at Michael's the other day - I've been searching for something like this for ages. There was paper in fair isle as well, but I'm such a fan of cabled fabric that I decided to stick with these!

Now I can't wait for the holidays to come around so I can put these to good use!

mini knitting movie video

2010-10-03T11:48:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love this video... give it a watch if you haven't seen it yet! It's an animated knitting video which has been around for a while, but it's absolutely adorable and kinda funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6ZjMWLqJvM

I can't seem to figure out how to upload video into blog posts... but just follow the link!

yum... hand-dyed indigo yarn

2010-10-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

~ before ~

I've been itching to find indigo yarn for a while now, but everything that I came across seemed a bit too 'purple' to me... so I tried my hand at dying my own. All I had access to was some leftover knit picks wool of andes bulky in 'bare', and a bunch of food colouring. So, earlier this week I put it all to good use:

~ after ~

~ during ~

The actual colour of the yarn is closer to indigo than what it shows in the picture, and I love how it turned out. Now I just have to figure out a good pattern to use it all up in! I'lll probably make a cabled scarf of some kind - can't go wrong with scarves, and can't have too many of them either!

kids with unique names

2010-10-01T07:26:00.000-07:00

I've been in the ravelry posting forums and etsy chat frequently, and I've noticed lately a lot of people venting about names being given to children; specifically complaining about 'original' and 'unique' names, and how strange they are.

Well, get over it.

I love unique names. In fact, the more unique the better. The idea that kids are going to wind up developing a complex because of their name, is rediculous. If a child is given confidence, it won't make a lick of difference what their name happens to be.

Frequently kids are taught to be unique, to be individuals, and to not fall into peer pressures and follow a crowd. Why does that not apply to their names as well? Why do they have to be one of five Brian's or Shawn's or Kelly's that's in their class?

Quite frankly, I felt bad for kids in my younger classes who had to be refered to as Beth A. and Beth B., or Adam H. and Adam K., because it was tough enough to tell them apart because they were stuck with the same name. Even when I was 17 and spent the summer working up north, there were 4 girls with the same name, who wound up having to go by different names, which was confusing at first for them. Simply because they were stuck with such common names.

Now, truthfully, there's nothing wrong with a common name either. But please, adults, whether you're parents or not, quit bitching about a kid given a name that's not the 'norm'. If that kid is going to develop a complex about their name, it's not because they brought it onto themselves, it's because of people like you weirding them out because they're a bit more unique.

Pick your battles. A kid's name is not that big of a deal. I actually applaud any parent who gives their child any sense of individuality.

loopy cables bottle cozy

2010-09-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

Materials: worsted weight yarn, approx 25g; 4mm (US 6) dpn's - set of 5; cable needle; stitch marker

note: use a set of dpn's one size smaller than what's recommended on the label, to make a slightly tighter fabric

Tension (on label-recommended needles) : 20sts = 4"; with 1 size smaller needles needed for this pattern: 22sts = 4" in stockinette stitch

(I used Paton's Classic Wool Tweeds to make my cozy, and tension was based using this yarn)

terms used in this pattern:
k - knit
p - purl
k2tog - knit two together
k2togtbl - knit two together through back loop
dpn - double pointed needles

Cable Pattern: (worked over 8 sts)

Row 1: p2, place 2 sts on cable needle & hold back, k2, k2 from cable needle, p2

Row 2: p2, k4, p2

Row 3: p1, place 1 st on cable needle & hold back, k2, p1 from cable needle, place next 2 sts on cable needle & hold in front, p1, k2 from cable needle, p1

Row 4: p1, k2, p2, k2, p1

Row 5: place 1 st on cable needle &; hold back, k2, p1 from cable needle,p2, place next 2 sts on cable needle & hold in front, p1, k2 from cable needle

Row 6: k2, p4, k2

Row 7: k2, p4, k2

Row 8: k2, p4, k2

Row 9: place 2 sts on cable needle & hold in front, p1, k2 from cable needle, p2, place 1 st on cable needle & hold back, k2, p1 from cable needle

Row 10: p1, k2, p2, k2, p1

Row 11: p1, place 2 sts on cable needle & hold in front, p1, k2 from cable needle, place 1 st on cable needle & hold back, k2, p1 from cable needle, p1
Row 12: p2, k4, p2

On one dpn, CO 6. *M1, K1* across. (12sts)

Divide between 4 dpn's & knit in the round.

Row 1: *(K1, M1) K1* around.

Row 2: *K2, (K1, M1)* around.

Continue in this fashion, increasing by 1 stitch at the beginning or end of each dpn until you have 48 sts. This forms the bottom of the cozy.

For body of the cozy:
Row 1: *k2, p1, work row 7 of cable, p1* around
Row 2: *k2, p1, work row 8 of cable, p1* around

Continue in this fashion, working in pattern and incorprating rows 9-12 of cable pattern, then rows 1-12 twice, then rows 1-6 once more.

first decrease:

next row: *k2tog, p1, work row 7 of cable, p1* around

next row: *k1, p1, work row 8 of cable, p1* around

Continue this last row in pattern and incorporte rows 9-12 respectively.

to finish:

row 1: *k1, p1, k1, p1, place 2 sts on cable needle & hold back, k2, k2 from cable needle, p1, k1, p1* around

row 2: *k1, p1, k1, p1, k4, p1, k1, p1* around

row 3: *k1, p1, k1, place 1 st on cable needle & hold back, k2, p1 from cable needle, place next 2 sts on cable needle & hold in front, p1, k2 from cable needle, k1, p1* around

row 4: *k1, p1, k2tog, k1, p2, k1, k2togtbl, p1* around (36 sts)

rows 5 & 6: *k1, p1, k2, p2, k2, p1* around

Cast off (bind off) loosely in pattern, break yarn, tie and weave in ends.

© 2010 by Sabrina Thompson - original design and pictures. Please do not sell pattern or materials made thereof, or copy my pictures. Pattern cannot be distributed for sale, or as a 'free pattern' promotional tool for selling yarn or knitting supplies. If posting Finished Items on personal blogs, please link back to this blog and pattern, thanks. This pattern is FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other of my patterns, please contact me by posting your questions in the comments, I'll address them a.s.a.p.!

Twisted Ladder Scarf

2010-09-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

(pattern free for a limited time)

Materials: 3 skeins of KnitPicks Wool of Andes Bulky, in 'bare'

6mm (US10) straight needles, 2 pairs

a crochet hook, any size

Tension: yarn label shows 12-15sts =4" in stockinette

Size of scarf: approx 67" long after blocking excluding fringe, approx 5.5" wide (I made this length repeating the cable a total of 17 times, but it can be made longer with 3 skeins of this yarn.)

How-to:
Cast on 27sts.
1st Row: K4, p2, k5, p5, k5, p2, k3, slip last stitch.
2nd Row: P4, k2, p5, k5, p5, k2, p3, slip last stitch.
repeat these two rows until 10 rows have been completed.

Pattern for body of scarf:

Row 1: K4, p2, using another ball of yarn and a seperate pair of needles, k5, turn, p5. Work another 12 rows on these 5 sts in stockinette stitch. Place on a stitch holder. Slip next 5 sts on a cable needle & hold back of work. Using another ball of yarn, k5, turn, p5, work another 12 rows in stockinette stitch, then place on a stitch holder. Knot these two strips on stitch holders as follows: put 2nd strip under the 1st then over the 1st.

K5 stitches from the second strip (which is now the first strip) p5 sts from the cable needle, k5 sts from the next strip, then continue pattern to end of scarf.

Row 2: p4, k2, p5, k5, make 5, k2, p3, slip last stitch.
Rows 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13,: k4, p2, k5, p5, k5, p2, k3, slip last stitch.
Rows 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14,: p4, k2, p5, k5, p5, k2, p3, slip last stitch.

Repeat these 14rows until desired length, then rows 1-11 only. Bind off in pattern.

Cut yarn into fringe strands 14-15" long. I used 18 on each end. Fold in half, and use crochet hook to pass through each end of the scarf, and tie securely. Block as needed.

© 2010 by Sabrina Thompson - original design and pictures. Please do not sell pattern or materials made thereof, or copy my pictures. Pattern cannot be distributed for sale, or as a 'free pattern' promotional tool for selling yarn or knitting supplies. If posting Finished Items on personal blogs, please link back to this blog and pattern, thanks. This pattern is FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other of my patterns, please contact me by posting your questions in the comments, I'll address them a.s.a.p.!

knitting is driving me to drink

2010-08-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

Ages ago, I decided to buy someone's Lion Brand Suede that they had listed in their 'destash' pile on ravelry - despite it not being a natural fiber, I like the texture of it and thought it would be fun to make something with it. So, said person happen to have a lot in their stash - a lot of one ball of several colours, and to cut my cost of postage a bit, I bought the whole lot from her.

As it turns out, and I didn't find this out until after I had received the yarn, that she originally made granny squares out of this yarn, which meant that she crocheted one row, cut the yarn, used anothe colour for the next row etc, and the skeins she sent me was in fact frogged granny squares. The yarn had been cut to peices, and despite my best efforts to try to get my money back, I had no luck.

I've had this bag of pretty much shredded yarn for a while, and not sure what to make with it, and I hate to have to throw it away. I finally figured a good use for some of it: I knit this whiskey bottle from Son of Stitch & Bitch - Projects to Knit and Crochet which I plan to pass on to my brother for his birthday.

The embroidery was a bit of a pain but overall it looks alright. The white parts are knit with Paton's Shetland Chunky that I had left over from the vest I knit my dad a while back

friday the thirteenth

2010-08-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

There's apparently only one friday the thirteenth this year, and this is it.

Hubby was out doing service calls, and he happened to drive through Port Dover, where all the bikers are gathered today. It's the 30th year of them gathering there, and the 50th anniversary as well. I wonder what the origin is, of bikers and Port Dover and friday the 13th?

hearts revised

2010-08-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

I'm destined to not make the same pattern twice, I think. I've started knitting a hearts blanket from some worsted yarn I found in my office - as an effort to destash what I have - it's the pattern I used to knit a baby blanket for my cousin over a year ago. I got about 3 rows done of the large size and just got SO tired of it. So, I redesigned the actual heart part of it, so the actual heart is about 4 stitches wider and 4 rows longer; the entire pattern repeat is now 8 rows longer. In the end I've cast on 6 fewer stitche for the blanket, and with the new heart pattern it's now 7 hearts across instead of 9.

(picture shows original pattern on left, and my revised version on the right, which I think looks much better)

stash busting - turtle style!

2010-07-22T14:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know - lame Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reference. Had to be done.

I just finished knitting knitty's sheldon - I wound up using almost half a skein's worth of Red Heart Super Soft yarn, between 2 colours. My cousin's having a birthday party for her one year old son on Saturday, where this guy will be gifted.

Not a huge fan of the pattern, although the end result is adorable. It's just in way too many peices, and I hate sewing. But, done nonetheless, and a relatively quick knit.

Baby Items

2010-07-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't use some of the yarn that I said I would to knit these baby items, but I was able to make them anyway. I used a yarn called Robin Aran 400, of which I have a 334 gram skein left. I obtained 2 skeins of it when my MIL came back from Ireland, and I used up all of it to knit DH's aran sweater, but I fell a bit short and was able to find a skein from someone's stash on ravelry. But, I have quite a bit of it left. So, baby items it was.

The soaker pattern is a free ravelry download (I made the small version); the hat is from Stitch & Bitch by Debbie Stoller; and the mittens are available free online (liked via ravelry).

The Great Destash 2010

2010-07-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

Ugh, you have no idea how badly I need to destash the yarn that I have. I must have a zillion partial balls of EVERYTHING, and they've just been laying around. And, I feel so bad when going to my LYS to pick up some more to start a new project, when I know I've got so much just laying around.

So, my goal this summer is to not aquire any new yarn until I've knit up at least 1 kg of the yarn I already have. And yes, I'm going to have to use up as much of those partial skeins as I possibly can.

It's quite convenient that I just found out that a friend of mine is pregnant with her second child... so a lot of my stashbusting knitting will go to her. Partial skeins are going to make ideal baby booties and hats. She's not due until January 7th, so hopefully this will be more of a new year's baby than a christmas baby... assuming it doesn't arrive early!

I'm currently working on a pair of baby booties made from Louet Gems yarn - of which I'll make a 3 month old size, and a 6 month old size; I've got a baby sweater in transition (just needs sleeves!) which I'm making out of Yarn Bee Luscious yarn, which will wind up being a 12 month old size.

more knitting done!

2010-06-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

I finished another pair of fetching ... this pair is for my sister in law, for her birthday in August. She's a runner, and had said that she frequetly runs early in the morning where it's sometimes cool or cold. Well, naturally not now in the summer, but these'll work well for when autumn rolls around.

I made a couple adjustments to the pattern: there's an extra cable repeat to the bottom and top part, plus I accidentally knit four more rows than required between the thumb and first cable... which is fine, I think, since that part of the pattern is short and her hands are long.

dog sweaters!

2010-06-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

When I posted a few days ago that I was collecting dog sweaters for local shelters, I didn't think I would get a response so quickly! But, I already received a package from Anna over at puppypocket on etsy! She included these 5 lovely sweaters and some doggie treats: which are super lovely! Thanks so much!

... which are super lovely! Thanks so much!

two mug cozies, finished

2010-06-09T11:47:00.000-07:00

I just finished knitting this pair of mug cozies for my parents in law, who are avid tea drinkers. The pattern can be downloaded from ravelry here - where it also details how to adjust the pattern for a French press... but since my inlaws don't have one, the mug cozies will do just fine! I absolutely heart how these turned out, and I managed to eat through more of my huge stash of Elann Peruvian Wool! woo hoo!

collecting dog sweaters for local animal shelters

2010-06-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

I started doing this a bit last year, but really didn't keep up with it, I think partially because I started too late in the year. But, this year, I think I'll need to start a bit earlier.

I've got three very local animal shelters, who would gladly take in knitted or crocheted dog sweaters - one that is local to me in Mississauga, and two others that are local to family members who live within Ontario but at least an hour's drive from me. I'd like to be able to collect @ least 20 sweaters per shelter - so a total of 60 at least. Although knitted or crocheted sweaters are prefered, any sort of dog sweaters would be greatly appreciated, as long as it's warm.

The sweaters must:
- wrap around the dog's front legs. No cape-style sweaters.
- made from a warm, machine washable yarn or fabric. If it’s not machine dryable, that’s ok, but at least machine washable. Many dogs are rescued in the winter and suffer from frostbite and hypothermia, so a warm fiber content would be needed for these dogs
- fit a 60lb dog or smaller. There's no minimum size, but anything that would fit up to a 60lb dog would be ideal.
- knitted or crocheted doesn't matter, but please nothing lacey or with big spaces in them. If you're making something with granny squares, make sure that it's a more 'closed' pattern. We're aiming more for warmth rather than pretty.
- All sweaters must be submitted to me by September 30, 2010.

To get my mailing address, please email me at purplespirit1 {at} hotmail {dot} com ... or via ravelry - I'm knitphomaniac there.

Some examples of this size dog (up to 60lbs) can be found here and here.

Thanks. :)

trying, once again, to get published in knitty

2010-05-24T14:26:00.000-07:00

Why is getting published in knitty, of all places, a slight obsession of mine? I've no idea. It's just something that a part of me feels I need to accomplish.

I haven't blogged about this all that much, if at all (I'm not prepared to reread my entire blog to look for this info) ... but I've submitted a number of patterns to them and have yet to get something published. Now, if I were able to design a pair of socks or a sweater or a shawl or something lacey, maybe that would get my foot in the door. But, I'm not a sock designer, nor do I have patience to knit lace (let alone design something) ... and designing a whole entire sweater is just arduous. Possible, but much too time consuming. And, truthfully, shawls are really not my style, plus they fall under the "Why I Don't Knit Lace" rational. (Ignore, of course, the latest {and only} shawl I've knit for myself ... that was done in exception, since I'm attending a wedding this summer, it would be appropriate to wear there.)

Besides, I love more instant gratification projects. I love scarves and hats and mittens. My affinity for scarves is the reason why I wanted to learn to knit in the first place. I know that knitty has published many non-sock, non-lace, non-sweater, non-shawl items. So, the question is, am I ever going to be able to create something knitty-worthy?

Well, I love cables. If you haven't noticed already, I knit cables into as many things as I possibly can. I wonder if I could put together a scarf or hat or wrist warmers with a fun and different cable pattern, that could get published?

I was inspired last night, while watching tv, to cast on another scarf onto my knitting needles. Despite it being May, despite the warm weather, I'm knitting ahead for the cool weather. Plus, the current deadline for the next issue is July 15th, for the October issue. Fingers crossed, I can come up with something that appeals to the knitty editors.

sock monkeys finished

2010-05-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

How ironic is it to make sock monkeys not from socks? Weird, right? lol... But anyway. I knit a couple sock monkeys, as my Holiday-Headstart knitting begins. The dark grey one is for my nephew, and the light grey one will be for my neice.

I have a hard time sewing things evenly, which is why they look slightly different... but they are the same design. The pattern is from Patons, and each measure about 18" tall.

custom order completed

2010-05-20T07:38:00.000-07:00

These are the front and back views of two custom order pillows that I was asked to knit via my etsy shop - I just finished both of them yesterday. Made both out of Lion Brand Thick & Quick, and heavily cabled too, which I think look fabulous.

Love, love, love cables. On anything and everything.

finished a vest for my dad

2010-05-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

Made a vest for my dad:

I hope he likes it... I'm going to gift it with the shawl for my mom when they arrive for their vacation here next month. I used a basic vest pattern with pockets, and intergrated the cables in with it, because I love making cables. There's just something abundantly classic about making cables, they're so fun, and they're so nice to look at. Whenever I see cabled anything, I automatically think of those aran sweaters from Ireland or something. :)
Also, I finished a shawl for myself:

It's not the full picture, obviously, but the center of the shawl... so you get the idea. The pattern is called Gail (aka nightsongs) and I used a yarn called Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball, which is one I discovered @ my LYS that I thought had a really fun colourway to it.
As much as I hate knitting lace (hate it!) I must admit that I love the way it turns out. I think I need a good break from knitting lace for a while! ... I have a wedding that I'm attending in July, so that's where I plan on wearing this shawl. I just need to find the right dress to go with it!

spun another ball of yarn!

2010-05-10T11:53:00.000-07:00

This took me forever, but I finally finished it.

Was:

WIP:

Is:

Yay!

I'll miss theanticraft's blog

2010-05-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, the folks over at theanticraft.com posted on their blog that the blog shall no longer be. Not entirely surprised, considering how rarely it had been updated since facebook, ravelry, and the publication of their book. But I'll still miss it. Their blog was one of the main reasons why I went online. I don't know why, but I always found their blog contributions very entertaining and informative.

Facebook updates are just not quite the same.

But I digress. Such is life, and such is the evolution of the internet. I suppose blogs are becoming less "cool" when you can do instant updates on facebook, twitter and other places.

I've been a bad blogger...

2010-04-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

... I've been much too distracted doing pretty much anything else, so, sorry. But, catching up today is better late than never.

DH and I have started the ball rolling with getting the garage done this year. It's falling apart, and it's something we should've done last year. Again, better late than never. It's unfortunately going to cost a small fortune... but one of those necessary evils. Fingers crossed, it'll be up by the end of July at the very latest - but a part of me is hoping it'll be up by the end of June.

Also, my parents are planning on coming over for 3 weeks. They'll be here for the last week of June. There's a wedding happening during Canada Day weekend that we're all invited to, and I'm working on a shawl that I may wind up wearing to it. I'm just finishing up on the edging atm.

More knitting projects... I've been working on a few items for my etsy shop and am starting to refill it, since it's been virtually empty since xmas. I also - believe it or not - have started knitting for xmas 2010. Because I'm that neurotic. I know. Just a couple small gifts for my neice and nephew for now. But I really like getting those out of the way a.s.a.p. ... and pictures to follow once I get those finished.

another pattern published!

2010-04-08T06:05:00.000-07:00

Just got my keelhauled scarf published @ theanticraft.com ... :) woo hooo!

two projects done

2010-03-14T10:45:00.001-07:00

I've been a bad blogger, I know. Much too much time has passed since my last post. But, it's only because I've been busy knitting.

I've finished two projects lately.

Last night I knit up another owl coffee cup cozie, which I plan to gift my SIL @ xmas. I know that's a long way away, but I wanted to start doing a little care package of knit items for her, which I plan to wrap in a Tim Horton's timbit box, which I was able to snag one for free a while back. A few more items will be going in there. Also note that I've revised the pattern, because I now realize that making this in aran weight yarn is a teeny bit too loose, so I've decreased by a few stitches, which should make this a bit more snug. If using DK or worsted yarn, it should be fine as is.

I also made my mom this cathedral shawl (scroll down a bit for the pdf link to the pattern) which I made out of some Fleece Artist Ottawa yarn. It's hard to tell in the picture but it's actually a very beautiful shade of blue, which I know she'll love. I plan on gifting it to her when she comes here on vacation in July. I'm also working on designing a sweater vest for my dad, so they'll both get something. But for now, this one is what I have done.

~~ WAY TO WIN GOLD, CANADA! ~~

2010-02-28T15:22:00.000-08:00

The Canadian Team won the gold in hockey! Woo hoo! Congrats, Canada!

the deer are doing WHAT?!?

2010-02-24T12:30:00.001-08:00

I love love love this chart, it's too funny. It's a ravelry downloadable pattern, which has the fornicating deer alone or with the forest charted for a hat. I adjusted the pattern slightly, because it also had a star in the pattern above the sheep, but it would've made the hat too tall.

Knit with my favourite yarn - Patons Classic Wool. I think it turned out rather well, if I do say so myself, and can't wait for the opportunity for me to wear it out in public!

sunflower granny square

2010-02-14T10:38:00.001-08:00

Granny squares are so fantastic to make, I adore them. They're pretty much the only thing I'm willing to crochet.

This sunflowery one is from the book 99 Granny Squares To Crochet, and it's #97, made from acrylic yarn.

That book has some classic granny squares in it... I think it's a hard book to come across, but if you can find it, get it. There are some great recommendations in it! It's one of my favourite pattern books, when it comes to yarn crafts.

tools, toys, and FO's

2010-02-12T09:34:00.001-08:00

For xmas, my wonderful DH gifted me a swift and ball winder... I finally had an opportunity, a couple days ago, to use it. I balled a skein of Fleece Artist Ottawa, which is being knit up into a shawl for my mom. Don't you just adore the colour?!?! Perfect for her, I think.

Also, I've finished a pair of fingerless gloves I made for my husband, to gift to him for Valentine's Day on Sunday. I used this pattern and some dark blue Sweaterknits Merino Alpaca - uber soft and ideal colour for him! Here they are:

my house is shaking!

2010-02-05T12:27:00.000-08:00

For the past year or so, my immediate neighborhood has been going through some repairs - the water and sewage pipes are being replaced. My street is the last on the list to get these repairs and updates.

For the last week, there has been tractors and trucks and costruction guys up and down my street, digging things up, filling things in, digging things up again. Every time there's digging, shovelling, drilling, and refilling, my house (as well as other homes, I'm sure) shakes! It's unnerving.

Granted, it's not like it feels like I'm in an earthquake or anything, but my glasses and mugs rattle, I can just hear the house shudder at each move of the machines outside. A part of me sometimes expects my roof to cave in! Ugh.

Today's Friday. I hope that they finish doing the major work today.

pinwheel baby blanket

2010-01-27T08:07:00.000-08:00

I whipped up another pinwheel baby blanket - again making it in 12 sections instead of 10. I think this is the reason why the center 'pops out' a bit... I've blocked it quite a bit and the center of the blanket before the first purled row kind of comes out like a big boob. Meh. But I think there's hope yet in flattening it out, somehow.

The last pinwheel blanket I made, was donated to afghans for afghans, and this one will be donated to project linus canada.

again, all felted up

2010-01-22T11:31:00.001-08:00

I've included pics of some sheep I just finished making... more info about them can be found on my sheepy blog in this post I just put up today... here are the pictures, nevertheless:

help for Haiti

2010-01-16T15:39:00.000-08:00

Just an fyi... I've decided to donate $6 from each purchase of my Lebowski sweater pattern to different charities and organizations that are currently helping out in Haiti, from now until Valentine's Day.

If you want to find the pattern via Ravelry, click here - and if you're not on Ravelry, then you can go directly to the pattern on etsy here.

Donations will be divided between Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders, among others.

free pattern from patons

2010-01-11T04:02:00.000-08:00

I love this felted tote pattern - I saw something similar to it in a book, and didn't buy it at the time, but I loved it regardless. The pattern's only free until about mid April, and it's only 1 page to print out. So print it and knit it and felt it already. I have.

Speaking of felting - I'm in the midst of making a bunch of knitted felted sheep! I'm hoping to get these done by the end of the week. Pictures and info to follow soon.

another sweater finished

2010-01-08T09:32:00.001-08:00

I just finished knitting this sweater, which is too adorable. Intarsia is a pain in the butt to do, not my favourite, but love how it turns out.

More info about this sweater can be found here in my other (sheep themed) blog. :) Check it out!

another sweater for charity

2010-01-02T16:19:00.001-08:00

I knit this sweater for afghans for afghans youth campaign using a little over 2 skeins of Lamb's Pride Worsted yarn, in old sage. Pattern is from a book called Paton's Back to Basics 2. I used an aran weight yarn for a pattern that called for worsted, and followed the sizing for an 8 year old. Buttons were 5/8”.

As it turns out, instead of having a ‘standard’ 25.5-26.5” chest, I think what I wound up with is a 33” chest. So, the 8 year old who winds up with this will be swimming in it. Oh well, lesson learned for the next time I make this pattern. (Or, to look at this more “glass half full” - this was purposely made to be loose fitting, lol!)

The pattern in the book says that a size 8 would fit a 25.5” chest, and according to the craft yarn c ouncil's site for sizing for an 8 year old, a 26.5” chest. Anything 4-6” bigger is considrered loose fitting, and 6” or more is ‘oversized’… hm… well, hopefully it’s a garment that will nonetheless be put to good use, it should be warm enough.

finishing the year, and the decade

2009-12-31T11:29:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to post a Happy New Year's Eve, in case I don't get a chance to blog here tomorrow!

I'm currently ending the year with two WIP's... a baby blanket, so I can use up some yarn I bought a while ago, and a sweater for afghans for afghans to add to their current campaign.

I know, I know... another sweater! Argh! But it's a small sweater, it's specifically a vest for a child, knitted with an aran weight yarn, so it should be fairly easy to finish soon. So, no worries. Pictures to come soon.

Happy New Years, fellow bloggers!

finally finished - DH's sweater!

2009-12-17T08:39:00.000-08:00

I started knitting this sweater back in May... and because I was distracted with knitting my brother's Lebowski sweater and other projects, this got pushed off more and more.

Had I stuck with it, it would've been done for DH's birthday @ the end of June, but it has now become an xmas gift! (He of course knows about it, because he has seen me work on it... but he can't have it until actual xmas!) I also got him some other items, which are a surprise, which will all be gifted with the sweater!

In case anyone's curious, the pattern is Aran Pullover, from the book Knitting with Balls by Michael del Vecchio... love this pattern!

christmas spider legend

2009-12-12T09:32:00.000-08:00

Back when I worked @ Lewiscraft, I remember seeing for the first time, beading kids to make Christmas spiders... which was odd, it wasn't something I ever heard of.

It stuck with me though, and once I finish knitting my husband's sweater, I want to knit something spidery for the holidays... so I wound up googling Christmas spiders, and found this bit of information about them - and interestingly enough, explains the reason why we use tinsel on our trees as well! How wonderfully random!

Owl Coffee Cup Cozie

2009-11-25T10:47:00.000-08:00

materials:

- aran, dk or worsted yarn (18-20sts =4"), 13 grams

- dpn's (right size for yarn & tension) set of 4

- 10 sew-on eyes, 8mm-10mm

- cable needle, darning needle (to sew on eyes) and crochet hook (to weave in ends)

- optional: scrap yarn in a contrasting colour to sew on a beak

Finished size: mine ended up being 4" tall, and fits a large cup of take out coffee (approx 8-9" in diameter)

Terms used in this pattern:

C4F: put 2 sts on a cable needle, hold in front, k2, then k2 from cable needle
C4B: put 2 sts on a cable needle, hold in back, k2, then k2 from cable needle
C2F: put 1 st on a cable needle, hold in front, k1, then k1 from cable needle

C2B: put 1 st on a cable needle, hold in back, k1, then k1 from cable needle

K_tbl: Knit the stitch thru the back loop; in this case, knit two stitches each thru the back loop

how-to:

Cast on 48 sts. Divide between 3 dpn's, and join.
K2tbl, P2 rib for 4 rows.
Next row (5th row): continue doing k2tbl, p2 rib while increasing 2 stitches evenly around. 50 sts.

Work Owl Cable: (there are 5 owls around)

Rows 1 & 2: *k8, p2* around to end.
Row 3: *C4B, C4F, p2* around.
Rows 4-9: *k8, p2* around to end.

Row 10: *C4B, C4F, p2* around.

Rows 11-15: *k8, p2* around to end.

Row 16: *C4B, C4F, p2* around.
Row 17: *k8, p2* around to end. Or, to make pointy ears: *C2B, k4, C2F, p2* around to end.

Next row: work k2tbl, p2 rib while decreasing 2 sts evenly around. (50 sts)
Work 4 rows of k2tbl, p2 rib.
Cast off loosely, weave in ends.

To finish: Sew on 2 eyes per owl, just under the third cable that was worked in row 16. Add a beak using duplicate stitch - a tuturial I like can be found here.

Sets of 10 SEW ON EYES available here in my zibbet shop - zibbet is free to sign on, and works just like etsy or ebay does!

© 2009 by Sabrina Thompson - original design and pictures. Please do not sell pattern or materials made thereof, or copy my pictures. Pattern cannot be distributed for sale, or as a 'free pattern' promotional tool for selling yarn or knitting supplies. If posting Finished Items on personal blogs, please link back to this blog and pattern, thanks. :D If you have any questions or concerns about this or any other of my patterns, please contact me by posting your questions in the comments, I'll address them a.s.a.p.!

what is a knittini?

2009-11-21T21:11:00.000-08:00

I just love the word... and martinis. What would go into a knittini?

knitted science

2009-11-08T14:51:00.001-08:00

I saw this posted, and thought it was brilliant, so I needed to share it on my blog:

Knitted Science

Enjoy!

dog sweater drive

2009-10-26T09:33:00.000-07:00

I know that this is a crazy time, everyone's knitting and crocheting for the holidays... but, if you happen to have some time and yarn available, dog sweaters would be greatly appreciated!
I'm collecting sweaters of all sizes, preferably for dogs that are 60lbs or less. Here is what I'm looking for:

- the sweater must wrap around the dog's front legs at least, please stay away from 'cape' looking sweaters. Sweaters that cover the chest as well would be ideal.

- use a warm, machine washable yarn. If it's not machine dryable, that's ok, but at least machine washable. Many dogs are rescued in the winter and suffer from frostbite and hypothermia, so a warm fiber content would be needed for these dogs

I would like to be able to create a care package to donate for around the holidays or by the end of this year, if I can, at least 25 sweaters. These will be going to local shelters, in southern Ontario, Canada. Any colour(s) would be great.

If you could help, that would be wonderful. Please contact me for my mailing address, at purplespirit1 <at> hotmail <dot> com (title the email 'dog sweater donation').

I know, again, that it's late in the year and we're all busy, but this would make a great destashing project, if you have some extra yarn laying around the house and you're not sure how to use it up!

the $3000 scarf

2009-10-18T11:31:00.000-07:00

In my mind's eye, hobby farming and sheep hearding would be a fantastic - although unrealistic - idea. Just the idea of having my own sheep to then have full access to all the yarn I want, would be lovely. Then, I came across this article, and I'm now rethinking the whole concept.

no more need for mittens?

2009-10-13T15:07:00.000-07:00

If this article about fat people not needing mittens is true... I've been overweight my entire life, and yet my hands and feet are always cold? I've bought mittens every winter, and since I began knitting, I've always made myself mittens, because my hands are always cold! (Even in the summer!) So what's up with this article?!? Is the decrease in mitten sales really linked to obesity, or is it that maybe more people are just knitting their own?

my Dude sweater, finally finished!

2009-09-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

Well, after what seems like forever in working on this sweater project... it's done! This is the Big Lebowski-esque sweater I managed to design for my brother for his birthday, which was last week. It's a bit of a snugger fit than what's in the movie, but it fits nonetheless!

If you're coming across this post and want to check it out, my shop is http://www.knitsyoursknotmine.etsy.com/ - the pdf is available there!

finished 2 things!

2009-08-28T09:56:00.001-07:00

These are pickled peppers from my garden... 3 different kinds of hot peppers + 1 sweet green pepper. Recipe can be found here. Filled a half litre jar! awesome!

The baby blanket is going to be donated to afghans for Afghans ... used up all my partial skeins of wool for that one. The pattern can be found here - I cast on 6 sts instead of 5, making 12 pinwheel sections instead of 10, and it's about 36" across.

according to the online Urban Dictionary...

2009-08-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

... for what it's worth... although I think that people contribute to that for the sake of contributing... but it's slightly hilarious. The word "knit" has been revised into slang.

I'm not going to bother copy/pasting everything, but some of these definitions are hilarious. Find out what it truly means to knit a brown scarf (although I'm sure you can guess), or my favourite to knit cookies, or to knit-knit, a more traditional definition to a Knitting Pattern, lol on Knitted Underwear, oh and my favourite: the 1st definition of knitting is a hoot.

Btw... maybe I'll be courageous enough one day to whip up some knitfitti ~ and I love the definition of knitcore, maybe I'll get that on a mug.

new homespun yarn

2009-08-11T12:21:00.001-07:00

Finally finished spinning another skein of yarn... the before and after pictures:

It's hard to tell in the picture, but I spun the yarn with a metallic purple thread throughout, which gives it a bit of a shimmer, it's kind of cool! :) I'll eventually post it for sale, I think, in my etsy shop, once I've got a couple skeins spun up. Spinning yarn is soooo much fun, I totally get why people are hooked on it!

knitting a poem

2009-07-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that there's a group out there that's putting together a knitted poem? I came across it on the anticraft, and couldn't pass up the chance to check out the poem society's site, and then naturally contact them to see if I can contribute something.

We'll see what comes of it. :) Meantime, it's one more facebook group I can become a fan of. :D

abiding still by the dude

2009-07-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I blogged about being inspired by The Big Lebowski to start creating a Dude sweater, since there was no pattern for it that I can find. (Despite endless searches and joining a few Lebowski themed ravelry.com groups!) So, I finished the torso today! Just have to figure out how to do sleeves, sew it all together, and I'm set! woot! ... Pictures will come soon!

a new baby is born!

2009-07-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

Remember in May when I posted that I knit a baby sweater and a baby blanket for my expectant cousin? Well, she had her baby today!

Her and her husband wanted to keep the sex of the baby a surprise until the birth - which I think is great - and they had a boy named Ryan James! woo hoo!

in the midst of working on...

2009-07-21T13:48:00.001-07:00

... designing a sweater. For my brother.

I've been itching to design *something* ... anything, really. And I've been lagging terribly. I finally decided to throw caution to the wind and take my chances at designing a sweater.

I've already made a few sweaters with much success, but this will be my first zip-up sweater. And also my first intarsia sweater. Has been a bit of a challenge, but despite it all, fun.

So far I've got the bulk of the torso designed, and I need to knit up the sleeves! Here's hoping I've a bit of luck, since sleeves have always been a bit of a challenge for me!

Pictures and (hopefully) a pdf version of the pattern coming to my etsy shop soon!

marshmallow madness

2009-07-10T09:17:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I made more marshmallows - except this batch I cut them into smaller pieces, and dipped them into chocolate!

Surprisingly, the white chocolate ones taste better than the milk chocolate ones... very awesome combination!

a huge mitred blanket

2009-07-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

I've managed to consume nearly 8 skeins of Lionbrand Homespun (plus 3/4 of a skein of eyelash yarn) to make this blanket - a housewarming gift for my brother... phew!

Finally done!

The whole thing measures 73" by 46.5" - about 50% bigger than what the original pattern from the book measures. Granted that a large part of that comes from that I'm using a bulky yarn rather than a dk.

anti-net

2009-07-06T17:46:00.001-07:00

My internet and phone has been down for 5 days. Damn the phone company.

the dude abides

2009-06-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, DH, DB and I rewatched The Big Lebowski. It's been a while since I've seen it, and DB had the dvd... great, great movie.

Y'know, one would've thought that by now, someone would've created The Dude's sweater, since - according to my most recent google searches - everyone seems to be looking for it.

Maybe I'll do something about that.

rose jam

2009-06-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

Got around to (finally) jarring the rose jam I've been working on for the last week. I've no idea what sort of roses these are, but I do know that my parents have been making rose jam from these roses for as long as I can remember. This particular rose bush that's been growing in my back yard for the last 4 years, to make this jam, has survived countless moves over the last 30 years or so... I'm just surprised that it still blooms as much as it does!

Just an fyi - these three little jars (the largest holds about 200ml) contain over 50 roses... a lot of work for a small result... but still tasty...

knitting & the magazine - a vent in appreciation

2009-06-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a Christmas or birthday, or any other holiday where gifts are exchanged, where you impatiently wait for a whole year, and be extra good, hoping to high heaven that you finally get that puppy or bike that you were just dying to get, to only wind up with another gift bag full of tube socks? You know what I'm saying, right? Well, that's how I've been feeling with knitting magazines lately.

I've been itching to write a blog post that (hopefully) both show my appreciation for knitting 'zines but still allows me to vent, as I've a few things to get off my chest. I used to have a love for knitting magazines, both online and in print, but lately, when I come across the new issue, I've been finding myself with more bags of tube socks rather than cute puppies and shiny bikes.

First, let me state that I absolutely appreciate the amount of work that all designers put into their knitwear, and how awesome it is that there are many outlets available that allows these talented people to get published. And, the work of the publishers - whether they're paid or they do it voluntarily - to have to pick and choose from such a variety of designs and peice them together into one publication after another, kudos.

BUT - and here's my vent - whether the publication is in print or online, free or not, there's a part of me that wishes that either designers or publishers (or both) would please step up their game, and offer their readers not only great eye candy, but an actual challenge to the craft. The game needs to be stepped up a notch. We need to have more variety in what gets published on a quarterly (or more) basis.

For examples:

Knitty - a fantastic online publication, love the fact that it's both online and free to the reader, and the publication also pays their designers that get published! BUT - seriously, could we have even one issue where we're not being bombareded with shawl and sock patterns? I mean, I love shawls, and I've knit my fair share of socks. But, do we need a zillion shawls? Or a zillion pairs of socks? Are there no designers out there submitting patterns to knitty that aren't socks or shawls? Or, how about having a better distribution of patterns? Like for every sock pattern, provide a sweater pattern? Or for every shawl pattern, provide a guy's pattern of some kind? ----- Based on the almost knitty group on ravelry, almost-in patterns (for the most part) are fantastic - and there's a wonderful amount of them that aren't socks or shawls, so we know they're getting submitted. And, truthfully, the level of some of the knitting patterns that ARE getting into knitty in the last couple of issues, they seem bland and simple in comparison. (I'll address this last point a little later in the blog, be patient!)

Plus, I was quite looking forward to seeing, for the first time, a 'holiday headstart' section to this issue, but was sorely disappointed that all of them are small, short term projects. Granted, they're awesome for instant gratification, but truthfully, I wouldn't start such small projects in May or June for the holidays. Am I the only one who expected to see sweaters or something? Anything that would actually need a few months of invested work for the holidays? Knitty already publishes short-&-sweet winter projects in their winter issue, with the thinking of having quick knits for the holidays, so why start these itty bitties so early? Is the winter issue going to be filled with afghans and sweaters?

theAnticraft - a cool site, one of the few that I follow the blog more avidly than the quarterly issues themselves. What I have loved about this publication thus far is that a variety of crafts get in, not just knitting or crocheting. Any given issue there's something to sew, bake, knit, crochet, clay, weld, etc. Kick ass. But, is it just me, or has the site lost a little bit of its - I dunno - demure since the book was published? Once again relying a bit on ravelry, very few if any knitters or crocheters seem to be interested in the current issue (or even in the last, for that matter) all but two crafts revolve around making merkins.

Granted they all did require some work and creativity into designing them, and a fiber of bravery to be pictured sporting them, but how many of us will truly go out of our way to making one? If we do, what do we do with it? Would we gift them at Christmas? Hand them out as birthday party favours? Were these supposed to make ideal mother's day or father's day gifts? ----- It's just a big miss for me in this issue. The bacon issue - I believe titled "unclean", now that was probably one of the best issues I've seen in a while from Anticraft. And the first few years' worth of issues had some fantastic knitting patterns (think bat shawl, snowflake/skull wrist warmers, a killer rabbit) and very cool recipes. But, sadly, the element of hardcore creativity that I once expected from this site has fizzled a little. Please, I beg, recover. Even the anticraft ravelry group hasn't been posted in at all in at least a month. (A sign, maybe?)

And then, there's the print magazines. Again, love Interweave Knits, and have bought many an issue. Wonderfully photographed, well detailed, etc etc etc. But I've been finding that I've been buying fewer and fewer issues, despite many knitters putting this publication on a pedestal. IMHO, IK has a similar issue that knitty does, although instead of an oversurge of socks and shawls, there's a zillion sweater patterns and little of anything else. Bleh. Pretty, yes. Overdone, absolutely. Variety? Minimal.

And lastly, ofcourse, Vogue Knitting, knit.1 and knit simple. Great photographs, fun projects, and overall a healthy variety... and three publications that very distinctly appeals to 3 different genres of knitters. But, I've been finding there's just more of the same in each issue, and I've been spending more time lately wanting to read the articles published rather than be excited about a particular project inside.

Now, above I did make a statement when writing about knitty that "... the level of some of the knitting patterns that ARE getting into knitty in the last couple of issues, they seem bland and simple in comparison." The same can be applied to some of the print magazines as well, and let me explain why I wrote this before too many readers get their skeins in a bunch.

Yes, it's wise for any publication to offer patterns for all skill levels of knitters. It's encouraged. That way n00bs have something to work on, as well as people who knit intricate lace, fair isle, and celtic cables in their sleep. But (yep, this post is filled with but's!) would it be so horrible if these and other publications made an attempt to challenge their readers?

What I mean is this: let's put all knitting patterns on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the basic garter stitch n00b patterns, and 10 being the most challenging. Could we maybe try to publish patterns that are at least considered a "3" on this scale?

Reason being, it's a little insulting to me as the reader, that I've wasted a subsription to this magazine to be bombarded with the most basic patterns - again. And it bothers me a little to have so many fantastic patterns that are rejected because magazines would rather publish another garter stitch scarf. Authentically talented designers are being put aside for basic knit-&-purl patterns. Frankly, I think it insults the intelligence of the reader to provide so many 'dumbed down' patterns. If I wanted to learn how to knit, I would buy a book that would teach me, not a magazine.

The best way for anyone to learn is to give them a challenge, no matter now small. Let's encourage our knitters who are a 1 to push themselves a bit with a 2 project. Throw in a basic cable somewhere, or an easy lace detail, or at least use more than one colour of yarn in one project. Maybe even use dpn's and circular needles and knit in the round instead of knitting everything flat. Too many garter stitch & stockinette stitch projects makes Jack a dull scarf.

I would sooner invest my money and/or attention into a magazine publication if I saw @ least 1 project per issue that made me think "OMG, I want to blow half my paycheck on yarn to make that!" rather than skim through another issue after having to impatiently wait 3 months to see it and think "OMG, nothing, again."

So, after all of that, my suggestions to improve issues rather than just bitch and complain on my blog. Things that I would love to see in future issues of any and all magazines:
- more guy stuff. There's not enough guy patterns, and I (as well as others) have many great guys to knit for. Guy themed issues are great. Guy stuff in each issue, better.
- a better variety of patterns, or at least a better balance. Maybe pick a minimum of 5 or 6 things to knit (ie hats, scarves, tops, etc) and have a minimum of 2 or 3 patterns of each, so that there's variety. Again, not everyone's an avid lace, shawl or sock knitter.
- a better variety of sizes. Because some of us are 1x or more, like it or not.
- reshift your focus occasionally. If you've published a lot of sock patterns in the last year, for example, maybe come out with one issue where there are 3 or less sock patterns? That way, the focus is on something else temporarily.
- provide 3 or 4 versions of the same pattern - instead of waiting for ravelry members to knit your project in 3 or 4 different types of yarn, why not provide it from the get-go? IMHO it may make it more appealing to more people.

Think of it for your advertisers - and if you don't have advertisers, than at least for your site's shop. If your issue isn't stimulating enough for a better variety of knitters, then no one's going to pay attention to what it is you're actually selling.

cupcakes!

2009-06-16T06:57:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, we celebrated the two June birthdays ... and instead of making a whole cake and having to be finicky about how big to slice the slices, I decided to make cupcakes:

There's two different flavoures there: chocolate and lemon... I wound up with 24 cupcakes in all, so I bought extra tupperwares so that both my parents in law and sister in law could take home a bunch to snack on at home. :) Truthfully, as much as I love chocolate, the lemon ones were my favourite!

bat & bird house

2009-06-15T12:25:00.001-07:00

FIL has been talking about - for @ least a year now - making a bat house for the back yard for their (FIL & MIL's) place up at Wasaga Beach, which backs on to the Nottawasaga River. So, since this past weekend we were celebrating FIL's birthday & father's day together (along with DH's birthday, which is @ the end of the month), DH and I constructed this bird and bat house. (pictured right). The instructions for it can be found here.

This was so much fun to construct, and we added the bat in front (self designed) ourselves at the end; only the bat and roof of the birdhouse was made of cedar, the rest was made from ... well, I forget which kind of wood it was, but it was bought at Rona. Just did one coat of waterbased stain, to protect it a little from the elements!

tranquilize a sheep or two

2009-06-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

This game is bound to kill an hour of your time:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/sheep/reaction_version5.swf

... what's your best reaction level?

Lance the Squid

2009-06-13T06:22:00.000-07:00

I finished knitting & felting this squid a couple days ago, although I haven't had the chance to photograph it until yesterday.

It's for DH ... an inside joke, really. He's got weird words that mean nothing, one of which is "squidulence"... I don't know why he says it, but he's been saying it for a while. So, I've decided to give the word some meaning, sorta, by making a Squid Named Lance (which sounds sort of similar...)

Yes, I know... I've got little else to do ;) Bear with me!

The pattern for it is here - the only thing I would make note of is, when joining the tentacles, to join them at the top of the purled section of the bottom part of the torso. I stitched them @ the bottom, not really paying attention to how the bottom of the squid'll close up. But no mind, I knit a little extra peice and joined it in to fill in the gap.

diabetic coma, here I come....

2009-06-07T15:03:00.000-07:00

This dollopy mess that I made, is, in fact, one huge marshmallow:
I used this recipe and the mixer I got for my birthday from DH.

It just looks so awesome, although it won't entirely set until tomorrow, which is when DH and I can officially dive in and pig out. But in the meantime, we licked the mixing bowl and whisk, and it was so decadent.

I totally recommend making homemade marshmallows at least once in your life before you die. It's so good. But you do need that mixer to make it. If you don't have one handy, don't let that prevent you from trying some.... by all means order some homemade marshmallows on etsy from the talented bakers here. It's worth it.

to prove I'm using my new knitting needles...

2009-06-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

... I've cast on a couple mitred squares, which will become a blanket as a housewarming gift for my brother. AND it'll eat up some of my Lionbrand Homespun I have laying around the house!

new funky knitting needles!

2009-06-03T11:11:00.001-07:00

My dad has picked up a new hobby a while back: hand carving wood. He has been carving up pretty much anything and everything, and a few months ago I had requested a pair of knitting needles with "something twisty at the end". Well, a few days past my birthday, he finally completed a pair and mailed them to me! These are what I received:

I think these look just nifty, and love the fact that I now have a completely original pair of knitting needles! My big dilemma now is figuring how what the first project to make on them will be!

SALE on ETSY

2009-06-01T10:59:00.001-07:00

I have a shop on etsy - which you may or may not know - and I'm having a promo for all of June! It's posted in my shop announcement but I'll repost here:

FREE SHIPPING to ANYWHERE on all orders $25+, and there's a 2 item minimum. Some items already have free shipping as it is, so check those out too!

www.knitsyoursknotmine.etsy.com

PLUS mention 'My Knitting Basket' somewhere on the receipt and get FREE SHIPPING to ANYWHERE ON ALL VINTAGE PATTERN PURCHASES - no minimum.

This is going to be on for all of June, so take advantage of it! Check back to my shop often, I'll be adding new items to it when I can!

smooshie baby sweater

2009-05-26T05:48:00.001-07:00

I finished this sweater for my expectant cousin:
She's due soon (July) and it'll be bundled with the baby blanket I finished for her. I used Sirdar Confetti yarn, which is SO nice knit up! Although, it's a super-bulky yarn, and the pattern called for just bulky yarn, so it required that I fudged the pattern a little to adjust for the tension. Hopefully it'll be ok!

cheesecake cupcakes!

2009-05-24T09:33:00.001-07:00

I'm on a cupcake kick now, don't know why. Not that my baking skills are all that stellar, but I'm getting into cupcakes nonetheless. Last week I had the idea of making cheesecake cupcakes, and just followed the recipe printed on the back of a graham cracker crumbs box. I wound up with these:
I used both regular sized and mini cupcake cups & trays, and made steller snackable cheesecakes! They turned out so good... will need to make them again!

rarely do I blog my cat...

2009-05-23T17:48:00.000-07:00

... but I found this to be particularily hilarious...

Apparently my cat enjoys chinese food take out - the other day she spent twenty minutes half in the bag that the food came in the night before!

am I crazy?!?

2009-05-14T04:26:00.000-07:00

I think I've officially gone bananas, starting up a sweater when the warm weather kicks in! lol...

My MIL bought this Aran with Wool yarn while she was in Ireland - 2 skeins, and enough to make a sweater, with the thinking of making something possibly for DH. This was like 2 years ago, and I've finally cast on.

I love the Aran Pullover pattern in the Knitting With Balls book, partially because the sweater looks awesome, and also partially because the guy modelling it is kinda hot. Plus, DH likes the sweater too.

Granted that the sweater calls for a worsted yarn, and I'm using aran weight (is it ironic that a non-aran weight yarn is being used for an aran sweater?!?) I'm still following it as is, because the tension is close enough, plus it'll come out a teeny bit bigger. According to a lot of people on ravelry, the sweather is a bit narrow anyway, so this slightly bigger tension will likely help.

Phew, let's see how long this takes me to knit!

Pictures, finally!

2009-05-08T06:51:00.001-07:00

Finally, the camera program in the new computer is set up, and I can post pictures!

The blanket I finished 2 days ago for my cousin is called Heart Blanket, a pattern by Bev Galeskas, and officially my first finished lace pattern (short of a couple basic lace scarves). Phew, glad to get this one done!

I made it somewhat to the pattern specs: the 'large' version of this blanket is 9 hearts across (the small is 7 hearts across) but I only made it 12 hearts up - which is the small version, heightwise (the large is 14 rows of hearts). But, I managed to use exactly 6 skeins of S.R. Kertzer Northern Worsted, literally, w/o even an inch to spare! Kinda glad when projects work out that way!

finished, but pictureless

2009-05-07T13:04:00.000-07:00

I've just finished a baby blanket I've knit for my cousin. But, since we've switched computers @ home, I can't load pics of it just yet. It's a blanket that I started back in February, and I'm glad to say that I've finally finished it last night, while watching Lost. Phew.

Pictures to come soon, I promise.

etsy stuff... knitting stuff...

2009-05-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, to get it out of the way: I'm having a Clearance Sale @ my etsy shop, because I'm temporarily closing it down... so here are the deals:

~*~ SPECIAL FOR MAY 2009 ~*~

(check shop announcement for more details)

- All vintage patterns are BUY 2, GET 1 FREE. Please buy your three, I will refund the value of the third (equal/lesser value) and its shipping cost via paypal!

- WHILE QUANTITIES LAST: a free homemade sheep shaped bar of soap (3oz) will be included with EACH knit or crocheted item in my shop.

- HEMP KNITTING KITS ~ for the duration of their listing ~ come with a FREE bonus skein (100g) of hemp yarn (please check listing for more details) AND free shipping PLUS a free pair of bamboo knitting needles! Great deal for less than $20!

So, that's that.

Also, a while back (I may have blogged about this, I don't remember) I started knitting a baby blanket for my expectant cousin (who's currently 6 months preggers) ... I've been slacking off a little the last month or so, but caught up this week, and am about 2/3's done! Yay! Pictures will come soon, no worries...

Spring CreativFestival

2009-04-26T18:08:00.001-07:00

Today was spent @ the CreativFestival @ the International Center... which was very cool, although I was truthfully a little disappointed. The autumn one is HUGE, and a part of me was expecting the spring show to be something like it - but it was only like a third of the size. Nonetheless, I walked out with a crochet kit and a book - $10 off! Score!

adventures @ Knitter's Frolic

2009-04-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

I spent a couple hours today hangin' out in Toronto @ the Knitter's Frolic over at the Japanese Culteral Center... it was sooo much fun! I had found out about it from Linda over at Linda's Craftique, since she had a booth there and was obviously attending.

I did find some fantastic goodies - a knitting kit with 4 skeins of baby alpaca yarn, and 4 1-skein patterns, which are going to make fantastic xmas gifts, plus a couple goodies over @ Linda's booth: a black sheep tape measure & a beautiful shawl pin.

I also had the great fortune - while ordering a cup of coffee - to meet Amy Singer of knitty, who was standing in line behind me! (Cool!) We chatted for a little while, while ordering our respective drinks; it was pretty interesting to meet a knitting celeb! :)

cooking & knitting

2009-04-18T06:17:00.001-07:00

I don't know why this idea has been stuck in my brain the last few days...

Wouldn't it be neat to have a knitting themed cook book? I, being the knitting dork that I am, thinks so. A few months ago I was watching Martha and saw a woman making knit-looking sweaters out of marzipan and thought that was simply brilliant. But what other knitting and crocheting themed items can be made with food? Is there a special knit-tini? Something involving crocheted spaghetti and meatball pompoms?

Have I completely fallen off my rocker with this idea, or what?

back from vacation...

2009-04-14T06:29:00.001-07:00

Well, I finally came back from visiting my parents in the south of France - lucky me, eh? Phew, it was an exhausting two weeks. A large part of it is getting used to the time change (6 hours difference), and once I got used to it the first week I had to get back used to the time change when I came home! Eep!

Also, with being @ my grandmother's, she's the type of person who is always out doing something, so we hadn't had a day of rest, we were constantly running around somewhere.

Since I'm limited to the number of pics I can post at a time, I will limit my stories of France as one description of my trip per post. (Believe it or not, we have over 250 pics that I had to load up after two weeks! I won't bore you with all of them, but will show off some!)

My grandmother lives on a property that's at least a half acre, with a single story home, beautiful front yard, and fruit trees growing out the wazoo in the back. This is a pic of her front yard one foggy morning, which I thought was beautiful:

The weird looking trees you see growing are (I think) mulberry trees, that have enormous leaves that just started to bud the day before DH and I came home.

These next 2 pics are of where my dad works... there are a few more but you get an idea of how the grounds look like:

It's a winery located in Pertui (sp?) ... it's a huge property that grows mainly grape vines (obviously) for making their own wine, and olive trees too for their own olive oil. The pic on the left is part of the winery itself; there's also a banquet hall, small shop, and another part of the winery in another building, and the family live in an authentic castle just up the hill behind the pictured building. The pic on the right is of some of the gardens, which there easily is at least 5 times more of. They grown their own vegetables and have tons of fruit trees as well.

I'm off to do a little work now, but I will post more pics of my trip later on in the week....

I'm leavin' on a jet plane...

2009-03-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

Today DH and I are leaving to France to visit my parents for 2 weeks. It's a surprise for my dad, truthfully, since it's going to be his 60th birthday next week. I'm super excited to go, and to see packed suitcases in the living room for the last 2 days makes leaving a little more exciting.

I'm hoping that airport security will allow me to bring knitting needles on the plane - I've purposely bought wooden circular needles to knit up a pair of socks. So, this flight, I'm in truth teaching myself how to not only knit socks on circulars, but from the toe up as well. I've heard from a few peope that as long as I'm not bringing dpn's on the plane then I'm fine, and as long as they're wood (to avoid sounding off the metal detectors) then that's preferable too. Here's hoping.

For the next 2 weeks I'll have no internet service, so no blogging for me! But I'll be sure to update on whether or not the circ's made it on the plane, and also posting photos of my trip! woo hoo!

a sad/bad end to a mediocre week

2009-03-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

Eesh, I'm not having a good day today. Hopefully the weekend will find me productive and more positive.

Firstly, I've had to leave my first negative on etsy. I hate leaving negives on etsy or ebay. I've only had to leave one other negative before, and that was on ebay. I know that we live now in trying times with the recession, and it'll result in unpaid items, but why on earth would you put the effort into buying something that you know you're not going to pay for? :P I guess I just find it a little frustrating, especially since this person and I have been convo'ing for at least a week about what she wanted to buy. She had the choice to not buy it whatsoever... but then to not only to buy it and not pay for it, but then getting upset with me for leaving negative feedback? Puh-leeze. o_O

Secondly, I've gotten another publication rejection. I've sent in what must be my 10th submission to knitty.com to try to get something published, with no luck. I'm starting to get the feeling that I need to somehow master the skill of lace or sock knitting and to come up with a pattern using either of those, to have something worthy of publication.

I suppose I can always try to get my current pattern published somewhere else... but it's still depressing a little, to be consistantly rejected by the same place over and over. Getting published just isn't all that easy.

gettin' jiggy with my first power tool!

2009-03-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

I recently got the idea that I want to make some mitten and sock forms for my etsy store... but despite all the tools that DH has, a jigsaw is not one of them.

So, I decided to not only go out and buy a jigsaw, but also to blog about it using a bad joke as a blog post title. Bear with me, in my mind it's hilarious. Get it? Jiggy with it? Jigsaw? Isn't that so unfunny, it's hilarious?

Ok, maybe/maybe not. What's done is done. Let's see if I can use a power tool on my own without lopping off limbs.