First of all, a big THANK YOU! to those who left me comments, both here and privately, wishing me a happy birthday. I don't remember if I replied to everyone personally, but I appreciate it all the same.
I spent a quiet birthday at work with Jakob and my dad, then passed the night away in my hairstylist's chair having my highlights redone. Nothing like a good cut and blow-dry to make a woman feel new again!
In the birthday spirit, I wanted to share some gifts I got recently.
Last Sunday Yannick and I did some shopping. We finally spent a store credit we'd amassed when returing some duplicate wedding gifts waaaay back in 2006, and picked up some nice household items. Before returning home Yannick decided to treat me to a little anniversary gift. See, we'd decided that since we have a lot of home renovations to do before the new baby comes, we wouldn't do our usual "go all out" on each other's anniversary/birthday gifts this year. We'd put the money towards our renos and just go out for dinner and a movie for each birthday. Last week I took him to see The Dark Knight on Wednesday and then out for dinner for calmari and fondu (mmm) on Friday.
Well, he decided that a little anniversary gift was in order. We have been following the traditional gift lists and exchanged paper gifts last year for our first anniversary. Anniversary # 2 is...cotton! (How perfect for a knitter?) We went out yarn/pattern shopping, on the provisions that a) the pattern be for me, and b) the yarn have cotton in it, preferably as the main "ingredient".
We found something! The pattern is Waves of Lace (Rav link) by Ilga Leja, and we bought enough yarn so I can make myself the tank top only. We thought it would be perfect to wear over a black or white tank, and go with either jeans, dressy pants or even (gasp!) a skirt. I always hesitate to buy blue yarn for tops even though I know it will be nice with my eyes, because I always wear blue or black pants and am afraid of looking like a bruise. I was going to choose a dark brown shade instead...however, Yannick convinced me. I really wanted a yarn that would be a bit slinky and dressy, not just a workhorse cotton. This Sirdar Duets yarn (Rav link) was the perfect weight and I think the shiny sections will give the tank just enough "oomph" without being too formal. Plus I can always order more yarn and make the shawl if I want.
On Tuesday night we had the first MKG meeting of the year, and Robyn brought me a gift bag stuffed with tissue paper. Being the anticipation-whore that I am, I insisted on resisting opening it until my actual birthday (Thursday). When I finally did open it, this is what I found: See a theme? Robyn knows I love ladybugs. :) There is ladybug-dyed sock yarn (of secret source, for now), a ladybug yarn cutter, some ladybug buttons, a pendant needle gauge and some Udderly SMOOth udder cream which matches the ladybug red/black theme (and works really, really well too!). Thanks Robyn!
I took these photos about 2 weeks ago and feel horrible that I haven't posted them yet. Sorry Secret Pal!
Package #2 from my secret pal had arrived, and I am so happy with it! There is a cute knitting card, a sheep magnet, a candle (cucumber-melon scent, yum!) and a set of post-its, 'cus you can never have too many! The best part is a skein of Dream in Color Smooshy! I tried taking the photos in natural light but for some reason they kept coming out blue, whereas the yarn is actual dark green. The label says "Giant Peach" which is clearly wrong, so after browsing DiC's website, I think the actual color is not listed there. It might have to be Good Luck Jade by default, but it's not dark enough. (Unless of course, my memory is failing me, and it actual IS blue, in which case it is probably Midnight Derby). Either way, Yannick is trying to claim it as his, so I might need to eke a pair of socks for both of us out of it!
Thanks Secret Pal!
Because there hasn't been enough lately, here's a photo of Jakob on his Rock 'n Roll trike:
I can't show you my actual knitting, but it hit me the other day that I never finished my WEBS story, and never showed you the new additions to the stash. It's a little late to recap the story, since I don't remember much...but I'll try.
After the Harlot event Maaike and I went back to WEBS to do our shopping. I was so tempted to go utterly crazy- I wanted yarn for so many different projects! But I resisted. With one exception, I made myself promise to only buy sweater-quantities, and only for myself. Before leaving I'd printed out the yardage requirements for a few items in my Ravelry queue, and I was able to get stuff that would actual work, instead of having cool yarn and trying to find a good project for it. It's about time I show you, no? First up is some Jaeger Aqua Cotton. It's 100% mercerized cotton in a rich, chocolate-brown color. I bought it to make a silky-look lacy tank top. This Araucania Nature Wool Chunky is 100% wool. I bought it to make a heavy jacket-esque sweater. The color shift is so subtle but there really is a lot of depth to the color.
This Ironstone New Wool called out to me. I had finished my shopping and was leaving the warehouse when I spotted it- and it made me stop. For 4 years I have had a sketch of a sweater in my head, and this was the exact yarn I'd "made up" for it. I've never seen it before, and I couldn't resist it. I cheated a little with the Valley Yarns Monterey. I needed something for a scarf project I want to design, and not only was the yardage crazy, I couldn't pass up the colors. It's a 50% cotton/50% wool with 322 y/skein. !!! If you can't tell how huge that is, here is a normal-sized deck of cards with them, for scale. This Iceland yarn by Madil is either black or a deep smokey gray. It's 100% machine washable wool, and I think I'd bought it to knit a Rogue. Either Rogue, or another sweater. Finally, we have some Valley Yarns Shelburne. It's a 45% wool/30% acrylic/25% alpaca bulky yarn. I love the deep coral-red shade, and also plan to use this for a sweater for myself.
With our shopping complete (and wallets lighter!) we decided to start our drive back right away. It was already almost 6pm (I think, this was a few months ago now) and it was a good 5 hour drive if we didn't get lost. I drove and drove and drove, and it was pretty uneventful, until we got hungry and decided to stop for supper.
American highways aren't like Canadian ones. Yes, you have better roads, but we have better rest stops. Maybe it was just our route, but I never saw a single big, lit up rest stop complexe like we have all over here, with at least 2 restaurants, a convenience store and gas station. The few places we did see were few and far between, so when we saw a small sign saying the next one would be the last for a while, we decided to stop.
It was already late, and quite dark out. The exit had us go backwards in a circle for about 3 miles before opening onto what looked like it was probably a large flea market site during the day. At night it was deserted and pitch black, with the exception of a diner at one end of the lot. The part of the diner where patrons sit was shaped, from the outside, like a "traditional" diner, almost like a rounded, silver capsule. It was butted up against a log cabin, so you walk into the cabin's front door and the bar and kitchen of the diner were part of the log cabin, that also had a more formal restaurant within. For the life of me I can't remember the name of the town we were in, but if I saw it I'd know in a second.
In any case, we sat down and were given menus, and I joked to Maaike that the way the "locals" (I assumed they were locals) turned to look at us when we sat down, I felt like we were in a horror movie. One of those Stephen King things where it turns out everyone in the diner is dead and it's their ghosts, or something. We had a good laugh, although it really was creepy, especially since it was so black outside and you could barely see out the windows.
I tried sending a text message to my parents and Yannick to let them know we were stopping, and wouldn't you know it, but there was no cell signal in the diner! I left Maaike at the table and went outside. I had to get about 4 car lengths from the diner before I picked up a signal, so there I was in the dark, in an empty field, holding my phone up to the stars and watching over my shoulder to make sure I could still see Maaike in the window- now I REALLY felt like I was in a horror movie!
Finally my cell told me the text message couldn't go through because there was no digital signal around. I gave up and made my way quickly to the door to get back into the light...
...and the door was locked. The front door to the diner, with Maaike inside, was locked. From where the door was, you can't see the diner area, just the lobby. I was banging and banging, and peering through the small window, seeing NOBODY. I swear I banged on the door for a good 5 minutes, which is a LONG time when you are scared out of your wits in a dark, deserted empty field and separated from the only person you know. In my head the movie camera panned out, so I could see both me, banging on the door futely, and Maaike, being attacked by the zombie ghosts inside.
Finally the busboy came to the door, and in the strangest thing I'd been asked all year, looked at me and asked "were you inside already?" I think I just nodded and ran inside and back to Maaike. (Who was fine and not eaten by zombies).
We ended up having an okay meal, followed by an uneventful drive home. But boy will I never forget that diner!
This is an old post, I had saved it as a draft on April 3rd while waiting to see if it was ok to post Robyn's April Sock Club kit, and then forgot to publish the post. Isn't this gorgeous? It's similar to the first sock club yarn but still different, and I really, really LOVE the colors. I also think the sock pattern itself is fabulous. It's so simple, but the effect is really stricking, and I am looking forwards to knitting it. Here's a closeup of the yarn. Isn't it beautiful?
p.s. It doesn't count as stash purchasing because I told Robyn I wanted to buy it last year.
Other recent stash aquisitions that are not purchases that break my "year of the stash" rule because they are for specific projects:
Black Regia 4ply for Yannick's mom's Christmas socks. She wants the Queen of Cups pattern from Knitty.com (I'm too tired to go look up the exact link right now). I have black sock yarn in my stash but one set is acrylic and I'm not giving her that, and the other is Sisu which I haven't yet washed and I'm afraid to give her something that pills badly. No one is really interested in my knitting and they always hear Yannick rave about his socks and they have admired how well the Regia is after being thrown in the washer and dryer all the time...I'm afraid to switch brands and give them something that doesn't wear well and have them disappointed with how the socks turn out. (I say "them" because I'm also going to knit a plain stockinette pair for Yannick's dad). This is the Dream in Color Smooshy I picked up from Robyn's shop. I know what you're thinking, but this really isn't a purchase. I fell hard for the shawl pattern "Jeannie" from the Winter Knitty, and had Yannick help me choose a color. I wanted black or red but he chose the color "Into the Mystic" from the Dream in Color website. I didn't think it was what I wanted (I didn't think it went with black as well as it would probably go with denim) so he said that if I knit it and wasn't happy with the final result, he'd pay me back for the yarn. I thought I'd ordered it right away but after the New Year I contacted the company and it turns out I'd never placed the order. Right when I was about to order it Robyn told me she was getting some into her shop, so I ended up ordering it from her. In the end the colorway looks NOTHING like what it does online, but I really love the color it turned out to be! It's going to be one gorgeous shawl. This is a bunch of Patons yarn that I picked up for my submission to the 2008 Mary Maxim design contest. You have to use yarns from certain brands, so I bought this for my 2 submissions.
Well, that's it. More yarn added to my stash, although no unlawful purchasing has been done. :)
Go figure, one of the few times I manage to sneak into Ravelry during the day it goes down for maintenance!
Oh well. I'm slowly working my way through adding my wips and fos to my notebook. Then it will be time to organize my stash. Oh, my stash. :)
Speaking of stash, 3 balls of Dream in Color Smooshy got added to it last night! No, Maaike, this does NOT count as a yarn purchase. The yarn was actually ordered in December, before starting this "year of the stash" nonsense. I'm allowed to pay now for what was previously ordered- Yannick's rule, not mine. :p I bought it from Robyn's shop, and I'll take some photos when I get home.
Last night, after Jakob was in bed and Maaike had left, I commandered Yannick's arms (I still don't have a swift) and wound up the yarn I dyed Monday night. They wound easily but it was quite a sight to see Yannick standing with both arms outstretched and the Celery colorway wrapped from arm to arm, around his neck and under his foot in an attempt at keeping it taut. (I don't have a niddy noddy either for rewinding a smaller skein). MUST add those items to my stash soon!
Well, without further ado, here are the yarns I dyed:
BLACK CHERRY
I love how this came out. There are some true black spots, and some raspberry areas, but most of it is a tone-on-tone mix of black/red and red/black and it is so subtle and striking. Did I mention I loved it? Unfortunately it is really hard to take a good photo of at night and indoors, so this is the only shot you get. The other angles came out really dark.
CELERY
This came out exactly how I wanted. It is a soft transition from the darkest to lightest shade of a, well, celery green. (Or is it sage? Or moss?) There isn't a lot of variation, but I wanted a yarn where the colors had interest but wouldn't compete with the stitch pattern. I think this might work perfectly! (I love it too).
OXFORD
This yarn came out really funky. I'm reserving my opinion until I work up a good swatch, but I think I'll like it no matter what, if for no other reason than the fact that I made it. If things worked out correctly than the black third will spiral around with the colored two-thirds. It will be busy, but it was designed to work with a plain stockinette stitch sock.
I made sure to post this tonight because Yannick's parents are sleeping over tomorrow night and I don't know if I'll have time to get to the computer before they go to bed. I know it is a short post, so to make up for it I'm leaving you with a video of Jakob. I took this on Feb 29th (the leap year day) at work- you can see my messy desk in the mirror. Just about a week ago and he was waving with minimal coaching. Now he'll wave for fun, if you say the words "hi" or "bye", and when he doesn't want to eat any more he waves "bye-bye" to his food. I think it is the most adorable thing!
(Don't you find he waves like the Queen? You know, that "arm in the air, wrist moving back and forth" thing"? I love it!)
p.s. I posted this at 12:43 am EST. Youtube takes a few minutes to process the video once I upload it, so if the link isn't working for you just yet, please wait about a half hour and try again. Thanks!
Here's Mommy with Jakob at 41 weeks (last week). I know it's not the clearest of photos, but I love the way he's cracking up, and couldn't resist posting it. Here's another shot. I know he's not looking- but guess why I posted it? I'm wearing the Kosher Sweater! You can see here that the sleeves are a little baggy, but otherwise I love the sweater. It's great to throw on with a pair of jeans, but boy- the Decor yarn is warmer than I'd thought! Here's a photo from today, of Mommy with Jakob at 42 weeks. I need to start wearing makeup, or tanning, or something- I look so pale and washed out!
This is a photo from yesterday. Jakob was having fun sitting and "hiding" in his little tunnel, and popping his head out to "surprise" me. Did I mention that he crawls now? And he waves to EVERYONE. I have it on video, I should post it one of these days...
So is anyone out there wondering what I did on Monday night that I was so excited about? Get your minds out of the gutter- I dyed yarn for the first time! Maaike and I went over to Gillian's house (another member of the MKG) and Gillain taught us how to dye yarn. We used regular dyes that we mixed with rubbing alcohol (as opposed to Kool-Aid or natural dyes) then heated them in the microwave to set them, and we each dyed 3 skeins. This is what mine looked like after I got home, re-nuked them, did a few rinses and hung them up to dry. The one to the right I dyed in an attempt to get a fake "Fair Isle" look like the self-striping Regia yarns. I find the colors look very "preppy", so I call it my Oxford yarn. The one in the middle is my Black Cherry yarn; it is mostly black with random splashes or Madder and Grenadine colors. The one on the left is my best achievement, I think. It is dyed to be self-striping (the stripes are longer than the number of inches it takes to work 1 round) and goes in 5 shades of green from dark to light. I worked hard at watering down the colors to get a subtle transition, and I LOVE it. I also dyed this yarn, my Celery yarn, with a specific project in mind. I've wanted to knit Mona's Embossed Leaves Socks (ravelry link) for the longest time, but have mostly striped or patterned sock yarns in my stash, and wanted something a little more solid or subtle to let the lace show up properly. I also wanted something "leafy", be it green, brown or orange tones. Well, I can't wait to start those socks now, because this yarn is exactly what I was looking for! I should have taken photos of the yarn twisted into traditional skeins, but I forgot. Anyways, here's Oxford. I know it looks weird to have the solid section and the striped section. I'm hoping that as I knit it will make 2 spirals up the foot, one solid, and one patterned. Here's Celery. This photo actually shows a pretty accurate color. I don't have the stripes lying in order, but you can kinda see the transition from one shade to the next. Finally, here's Black Cherry. I love this color too! I'm hoping to find a good pattern for this yarn, something with cables maybe, or perhaps lace...but something that works well with a more solid yarn. I can work a project like the Jaywalker Socks (Ravelry link) in any old striping yarn. The pattern for this sock has to be special!
I would have posted this last night but I went to bed too late and was too tired. Just pretend you are reading this last night. If it helps, you can go put your jammies back on, brush your teeth, take out your contact lenses, then come back.
Yesterday we went to my friend Maia's house for a mini-playgroup. I know you can't tell by these photos but there were other babies there! I think we were about 7 or 8 moms, plus 1 extra baby (Maia has twin boys).
Jakob had a blast pulling her foam alphabet mat apart. I MUST get him one of these, it entertained him for so long!
He would pull off a square and then separate the letter from the background.
Of course, eating them was fun too! I also want to get that pig she has- when you turn it on, one ear flicks and the jaw works back and forth grumbling and talking about eating some nice slop. It's too cute! So my hubby came home with some yarn yesterday. I asked him what he was trying to get out of. He swears it was just an "I was thinking about you" gift. Cue the "awwww". :) The yarn is Estelle's Woolly Bully, and this one skein is freaking HUGE! Seriously- that coke can is included for scale. This is BIG. I don't know what I'm going to make with it yet. I love the colors and it is really soft. The thing is, I'm currently in the middle of 2 scarves, plus I have a half-finished Clapotis somewhere. I don't need 4 scarves (especially since I've made it this far in the winter without wearing even one), so I think I'll swatch it for a bit and maybe try to design something with it. Here's yesterday's progress on the Silk Rumple shawl. Everything from the orange pin and up is new. It's slow-going, but I only worked on it for an hour yesterday. Here's the Noro scarf progress. I took a quick count last night, I think I'm at 78 stripes completed. I'm also thisclose to finishing the first 2 balls which means I'm almost halfway done!
Today we only have some errands to do once Jakob wakes up from his nap, so I hope to have much more progress to show off tonight.
I knew I was ready to start posting again when I'd catch myself taking photos "for the blog" instead of "for myself". Physically things are getting better chez boob, but not back to 100% yet. I'm being followed by a specialist, so that's good, and now the incidents of pain are sporatic throughout the day...as opposed to before when it was the incidents of non-pain that were irregularly spaced out.
Remember that snowstorm I (and a bunch of other Montreal bloggers) posted about? Another opportunity for a photo! I bundled Jakob up into his snowsuit, the one that is about 3 sizes too big, and plopped him in the snow and started snapping away. The brave little guy managed to even give me a few grins while trying to figure out what was this cold white stuff that was falling on his face and freezing his nose. Last week was also Hanukkah. I completely forgot to wish those who celebrate(d) a very happy Hanukkah, so please accept it belatedly. We are a multi-religion household, so here was Jakob on the first night of Hanukkah with the menorah and his advent calendar. A recent splurge at my LYS resulted in me coming home with some Trekking sock yarn. I've never used Trekking before but quite liked how the colors look. I still haven't decided which pair will be for me, which for Yannick. (Or if I keep both for pairs for myself). Finally, on Thursday night I'd finished the Anne's Slippers. They've pretty much been on my feet ever since. I followed the seamless pattern as written but I added a strap because I felt they were a bit big. On the right foot I knit the strap seperately and seamed it on, and on the right foot I figured out how to knit the strap in, all while still keeping it seamless. Strangely enough I like the seamed version better. The buttons are sewn on purely for decoration.
Oh, and I might have accentally also bought a ball of the Patons Shetland Chunky in solid black to make another pair of these. I think in black they will look eerily similar to a pair of mary janes.
Here's Mommy with Jakob at 27 weeks. (2 weeks ago). I know I still haven't posted the one from this past Thursday (28 wks) and...well...you're not getting one. I managed to get Yannick to take 3 photos for me and all 3 suck. :) On Friday Jakob and I had music class, then we went into town to go visit my grandmother. On the way in I saw this Plymouth Voyager in front of me. Nothing against the car...but dude..."pimp"? You're driving a Voyager! I forgot to post this photo from Wednesday. Robyn, Sean, Jakob and I went to the movies and saw Enchanted, which was very cute. I love how Jakob looks irritated ("leave me alone Ma, I'm here with a friend!") and Sean looks guilty ("I told my mom I was at the library!". Yesterday was Dec 1st so we introduced Jakob to his first Advent Calendar. I think it is hysterical that I (Jewish) bought this for Jakob, and had to explain to Yannick (Catholic) what it is for. Of course, we're not letting Jakob eat the chocolates, but it makes for a cute photo op! Finally, in this collection of random photos, here's a skein (actually 2 smaller skeins together) of Hand Maiden's Rumple, 100% silk yarn. I made a joke to Yannick the other day about how he'd gone to our LYS 2 weeks ago to buy me yarn as a way of making up for something but left empty-handed, and never went back. Friday he left after supper telling me he had an errand to do, and he came home with this! I had been raving about my mom's gift, which was knit with that pale, almost banana-green Hand Maiden Sea Silk (70% silk, 30% seacell) and Yannick wanted me to have something for ME that was out of a yarn as nice. Isn't it pretty? The colors are actually much deeper in real life but the lighting sucked when I took the photo.
In other news from this week: -Jakob can roll over both ways (left or right), from his tummy to back and vice versa. Gonna have to start baby-proofing the house! -Yannick's dad came over yesterday and today to help work on the den. Still a few more weeks' worth of renos to do, but at least it's finally gotten started -I hand wound the Rumple with Yannick's help and started the scarf/shawl but needed to pick up some pointier needles (to get into those k2togs in the boucle-esque yarn) so I only have an inch or so completed and no photos yet. -I knit up to the first repeat in the Chain Melody but forgot to take a photo -I don't know if Jakob is teething or growing, but for 2 nights now I've had to feed him at 4am to get him to stop crying, plus he cries for 2 hrs before finally taking any of his daily naps. This can NOT continue... -I started a pair of Pocket Book Slippers for myself (I'll post the link in my next post with some photos). I went stash-diving for yarn and found a soft mauve in the proper gauge in the stash I inherited from my grandmother. I got halfway through the first slipper last night when it hit me- I only had 1 50g ball of yarn...and 2 feet. Further exploration of my stash got me to find out that the Patons Shetland Chunky I'd used to knit Jakob's vest was the exact same weight and yarn content (75% acrylic/25% wool) as my Bubbie's vintage stuff. I had most of a 100g ball of the gray left, so I completely undid my slipper and started over, working the new pair in 2 row stripes. The pale gray and pale purple actually go well together, in an almost old-fashioned way, which makes me happy that I could find a use for my Bubbie's yarn and transform it into something I would use and have to remember her with. I think I explained this really backwards and I'm too tired to go back and rewrite this paragraph...but I'm glad I was able to mix the two yarns and come up with new socks that look old-fashioned and thus will remind me of my grandmother. -I just used the word "thus". I need a nap.
I'm still not sure what to do about the Marble clapotis. I had made up my mind to rip it out and save the yarn for another project, but when Maaike was over this morning she got me thinking i should keep it and continue. What do do? On the one hand...no it's not as nice as the project I just finished. But on the other...it's not the same thing at all. This isn't silk laceweight. This is dk acrylic in vibrant colors that I do really like. And would it kill me to have a machine washable, workhorse scarf? I think it's just the thought of slogging through another 3 balls of yarn that are getting to me. I'm going to think on it a while and decide- without ripping it back just yet.
My KnitPicks order arrived! I took advantage of their yarn sale to get a little bit more, and decided to try out some Shimmer (70% alpaca, 30% silk). It is sooooooo soft! I had a hard time deciding the colors I wanted, but I think this brown mix is going to be perfect. I would like to use this yarn to design an oversized, lacy top to wear over a tank top, and since I usually wear jeans or black pants, and a black tank, this will go with the neutrals but will still be dressy if I choose to wear it somewhere dressier. I have a bunch of sketches of this one, but nothing concrete yet.
I got some knitting books too...mostly more stitch pattern books for designing. Last night the stars aligned and I was able to finally cast on for the Chain Melody socks. I like how the yarn is knitting up, the short repeats make each color last only for 3/4 to 1 row before changing...but when I did my swatch I was able to have each color stripe for a few rows and I have to say...I LOVED that. I almost wish I could get this same colorway but in longer repeats to stripe on my foot. I'll probably have enough left over to add this to the blankie, though, which will be shorter repeats and will stripe the way I like. 10 minutes ago my Ram Wools order arrived. Check this out- 12 knitting magazines for $2 each! With the US/CAD conversion, that comes out to about $1.89 each LOL...and when brand new the mags cost over $7.00. Not a bad sale! I think my favorite part is the plastic zippered bag they came in...perfect for storing a project in. Thanks Ram Wools!Finally, here is a real treat. My friend JayJay over in LA sent this to me in exchange for the Baby Knits duplicate book I'd recieved. Who do you think got the better end of this exchange? This is Lamb's Pride worsted (85% wool/ 15% mohair) that she dyed herself. Isn't it gorgeous? She also sent me this HEAVY box of chocolates...which Yannick was very disappointed to find out that we would be savoring it- not devouring it in one night. Thanks JayJay! Swapping is fun!
Finally, here is a real treat. My friend 
