Guide me oh leather master

OK. So I went for coffee with friend tonight...then we went to Giant Tiger, and to Talize (I'd never been to Talize before). At Giant tiger I think I totally scored...H and I still don't have curtains on the dining room patio door...so our main living area is sort of like living in a fish bowl when it gets dark, and there is a walking path that runs just behind our fence...it's a little creepy. We were given some money for Christmas and I wanted to buy curtains, but seriously curtains are EXPENSIVE! Guess what I found at the GT boutique....curtains...for about 1/2 the price of the ones I was about to give in and order from Sears. They're not exactly what I was looking for..the have a back tab top, instead of grommets, and they're ivory faux suede instead of white something or other....but they're so close and I think they'll work great!

So then at Talize I looked for some leather. I can't believe how much I had to choose from! It's incredible! I picked up too large mens coats. They are both in great shape, I will almost be sad to cut them up. The first is suede, the second is leather. Have a look.......lot's of leather yardage in these two!
I love LOVE the colour and the intersting seams in this one, it's hard to see in the picture, but there are neato little seam lines running vertically on the front...and on the back.
See, lot's o' yardage....
And now...if I actually get over the fear of cutting and sewing leather, maybe I'll make that book cover...... oh leather master..... teach me your ways :-) Actually....can I just mail you the leather...and you can put it together for me :-P

Help me decide (assuming I'll get as far as casting on)

In case you feel like voting....I think I need another big warm cozy sweater...since I have one that fits this description...and I wear it at home constantly...maybe it needs a buddy to take the pressure off of it.

Soooooo..I did a quick browse through for patterns for a big comfy sweater/jacket type wintery warm thing to knit. They are all ravelry links... Let me know if you take a look..which are your favs.

My criteria are: fat yarn, big needles, fast knit, cozy, collar or something cozy right up to the neck, comfortable so not too form fitting, but not so sloppy that I have to take it off to do things (know what I mean). warm, so even the ones with a tie front I'd probably alter so that they closed all the way down.

thick-knit-car-coat

109-19-jacket-in-symphony

petra

sedum

one-more-notch

77-vine-lace-top-down-cardigan

Hmmmm, I'm also open to any other suggestions you might have :-)

MMM comfort soup and knitting

I have been doing some knitting...steadily actually on one thing!
The first picture here is my swatch..so you can actually see the stitch pattern...it's very simple but makes a nice little detail.
And this is how much I've got done. There is a long way to go...but lot's of relaxing over the holidays gave me a pretty good start. It's to be a tank top...a rather big one with room for expansion...I'm thinking ahead here, it's for some reason encouraging to me to be knitting this.
Pattern: Anjou sleeveless top (ravelry link).
This morning/afternoon I made a nice warm comforting soup. We got one of those spiral hams on sale after Christmas, so I saved the bone and some of the meat. I've never made a ham soup before (never have I bought one of those hams before either). I did some internet searching and found a recipe to loosely follow.... but I changed most of it based on my likes and availability of ingredients.Potatoes, green onions, carrots.... some spices (celery salt because I had no celery)Quite a bit of left over ham....I like lot's of meat in soups.It's a very thick soup...lot's of stuff in it...just the way I like it. I actually made it a cream soup...but the picture of that just looked like, well, cream, so I showed this one...before making it creamy....
Yumm!
I'm even eating the carrots instead of picking them out ...hehe

Lucky Year!

I won a guessing contest over at The Tangled Arts a couple of weeks ago (seriously...I won something...and more than once this year! I'm really not usually someone who ever wins! ...but on to my yarn!)

Trish knit a beautiful blanket for her daughter (the kind that I've drooled over for a while..so I tried to make a simple dishcloth in a similar type of pattern, but I messed it up...and frogged it...anyways...back to my new yarn)

The contest was to guess how many ends Trish had to weave in when she finished that blanket...and I won! So, here's what she sent me:
See that...it's Lime & Violet Sasquatch sock yarn and the colourway is "Midnight in the garden of loopy". Hehe, and look...the skein is all loopy :-) It makes me giggle....I love that name.
I suck at taking pictures that actually look like the object I'm taking pictures of...but I think this one maybe shows the colour a bit better.....it's probably actually somewhere between the dark and light pictures... I love it I love it!It's really fueling my recently found love for sock yarn, and staring at it, squishing it, spending far too much time on Ravelry deciding what pattern I should knit out of it. Oh, how I love the yarn.

Thank you Trish! You rock!

Oh, and seriously...she just posted her knits of 2008...man...I aspire....to knit even half...heck..who am I kidding, if I finished a quarter of that knitting I'd think I'd done pretty awesome!

Bad blogger...

I am a very spurty blogger aren't I. No posts, no posts, no posts, then 6 posts, then no posts, no posts, no posts.... so inconsistent. I'd make a resolution not to do that...but it would just make me feel bad when I don't keep up...so...it is what it is...I am what I am...a bad..and spurty blogger. Sorry :-)

So, since I'm so spurty I have a few things to show you....I'll move from most recent, and move backwards through time. Here is H in his new very VERY thick hat. His last hat was knit in a cotton blend, because he didn't want it to be too warm. He said his head gets too hot in most hats, but too cold without one. It serves it's purpose for the not so frigid days when he doesn't have to be out for too long, but now since his building moved he has about a 10-15minute walk outside to his office from our parking lot and his head gets tooooo cold. So, I grabbed some lion brand wool ease thick and quick and found a quick pattern on ravelry called Brangelina. He doesn't like the name because he thought it was girlie...but I convinced his it's a perfectly acceptable man hat.I have his full permission to post these pics because he actually likes how he looks in these pictures...which is really very unusual for him...he rarely likes pictures of himself. I glad he likes these ones...I do too :-)

I started this scarf a bit before Christmas on a whim. I think if I eventually finish it I'll give it to H's father. It's a really nice and very simple pattern. I've already recommended it to a couple of newer knitters one who was struggling with a plain ribbed scarf and getting discouraged because she saw no progress....I hear she's liking this pattern much better. I guess I'm not the only one who finds ribbing so tedious I want to poke a needle into my eye.
Oh, and I can't believe I forgot to blog the mitered mitts when they were finished. This is such a great pattern. The more I knit the more I appreciate the ingenuity of Elizabeth Zimmerman. I must admit that when I first saw much of her stuff I thought it was all frumpy and old fashioned (gasp! I know....I said it outloud too!), but now I see much of it as classic, or if not classic, then a lesson in how to make it classic or change it to your own design based on techniques that you learn from following her. These mittens though...I think they are just classic and elegant. I love them...I picture them in black or white and a very fine weight yarn going all the way up your arms with an elegant evening gown (I guess you'd want fingers then though huh?), but these are just normal toasty warm wool mitts.

Merry Christmas

I've not sent out a single Christmas card. Yes, I made a stack of them, but no, they didn't get done and mailed :-( I even have a couple of treats that I was going to have mailed out to a few of you on time for Christmas, but that hasn't happened either...hopefully in January....but I think the actual Christmas cards will wait until next year.
I haven't even mailed my Aunt's socks...although they've been done forever! They've not made it into the mail. Mostly because I have to actually go to the post office to mail them (get them weighed and all that jazz) and I've just been too tired and lazy! I'm positively terrible!
Sooo,

Merry Christmas everybody!

Happy Birthday Jennifer!!!

Go visit this very cool chick and tell her happy birthday!

Happy Birthday Jennifer....I hope you've had a blast!

Mitered Mitts!

As promised....here's a little glimpse of my mitered mitts!I have the second mitten almost to the point where I stop the increases and just work my way down to the end. I haven't done the thumb yet...and I gotta tell ya, I'm a wee bit nervous about it.These are a gift for my secret sister, and the secret sister reveal party is tomorrow night! EEK!
I hope I get them done.
I really love this pattern, I think I will end up making it again (maybe even for me). I would recommend it to anyone looking for an easy, but almost elegant looking mitten. The girls at work are all quite impressed and "elegant" was their way of describing them. So, hopefully I'm able to do this afterthought thumb and not ruin them :-)

Oh, yes, that is a knitpicks harmony wood interchangeable needle I'm using for magic loop. It's the only one I have. I actually bought the tips and cable to use for Harolds sweater..hehehe...poor chilly Harold.

I LOVE these needles, they feel nice like bamboo, but they're a little bit "faster" because they're so smooth. The points are perfect for me, long and tapered, and sharp...but blunt at the very very tip so I don't end up with a sore finger from pushing the needles (subconscious habit I'm trying to break). Oh, and the price is right, considering each of my bamboo circulars is $13 and I have some in 2 different lengths. I could have the whole set of harmony wood needles for $69 ...US funds...ugggg...which totally sucks right now when buying anything in US funds...the Canadian dollar is soooooooo low, but still they're worth it!

OK I'd better go knit!

Socks that count!

Toe up Mockery socks. Toes from Bayerische.
With a short row heel from "Simple socks: Plain and Fancy" which I bought as soon as I realized she explained short row heels and toes so that even I could do them without big holes! And an elastic bind off.

I finished the second sock…this one was much faster! The elastic bind off on this one isn’t as nice and loose as the first though :-( Hoping it will be loose enough for Aunt Mary, it’s OK for me.

Yeah! Socks that count: 1 pair (I've made others before, but they were fat yarn on bigger needles) So this is the first pair for my official sock count. I think I'll be making more...but first some Christmas knitting. I'm about to cast on for some mitered mitts!My first tiny needle skinny yarn socks!

Hmmmm, don't zoom in too close on the first picture...you might end up finding some stray leg hair :-P
Ha!...I'm gross

Snow, Snow, SNOW!

I have no snow pictures, because I'm not going outside....BUT I might actually get to use our new fireplace :-) and for that I'm kindof excited.

I've had a few weeks of migraines, but yesterday topped them all. I think it was because of the snow, rain always gets me, but I hadn't considered snow before, so now I realize that's probably why winters are so bad for me....Hmmm, maybe I'll move closer to Wool Winder. Looks nice there doesn't it!

I haven't really made any progress on the socks, but I did finish my blanket square (so we have enough squares for our Christmas blanket, I casted on a tomten jacket, knit about four rows, and decided that I didn't like something, either the needles or the yarn, not sure which, but that's the end of that. I also casted on another baby bib o'love, because I wanted to knit, but needed some plain old garter stitch. Sooo, no work on the sock :-(

Here is a picture of the baby kimono finally finished and gifted at the baby shower. I finally finished sewing it up. I finished the knitting around September, but the sewing up didn't happen until Wednesday night...because the baby shower was on Thursday!
Instead of ribbons I opted for just a crocheted tie, because some moms have told me that the ribbons get caught on velcro in the washer and end up ruined. I hope this looks OK. Sarah seemed happy with it, but I also got her a one hour massage, so I think she was drunk on the idea of someone rubbing down all her sore spots..hehe....

Which house are you from?

Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?

Your in-depth results are:

Gryffindor - 14
Ravenclaw - 12
Hufflepuff - 11
Slytherin - 7

After reading Jennifer's post...I just had to find a quiz!

SNOW!

It started snowing yesterday. I really didn't think it would be snow that stayed...but when we woke up this morning...here's what we saw:Over on the left....those smooshed things are the cages for over my garden boxes...I'll be really sad it I can't bend the wire back to shape...because they were a royal pain in the sitter to make!
They were supposed to be in the garage already...but we've been cleaning and organizing, so didn't really have a place for them yet...oops
More snow
Oh, and here's where my sock is at.... it is hard to take pictures of your own feet yes/no? Anybody have a fancy nice way to do this? Anyways...I can't believe how long it's taking me to knit this sock! LOL

Things to knit...or finish knitting

Warning...most of these are Ravelry links....

1. Socks for my secret recipient (the purple ones I'm working on now...) they're doing quite well I think. The first one is about 30 rows from finished.
2. Seam up the baby kimono, because it is a shower gift for a friend...it's been finished for a while... just not sewn up...I'm weird
3. Blanket square for the knit night blanket project (I have only one half done..because I decided to be fancy and do a ball band blanket square instead of plain knitting...and well honestly the sock it taking all my attention)
4. Harold's sweater, I ripped it all out, and casted on again...but...I only have about 1 inch knit...it's lost its intrigue since I had to rip :-( poor chilly sweetums with no sweater to warm him
5. Harold needs a new hat too...the one I made him last year has too much cotton (requested because he's bald and wanted soft) anyways...it's perfect out of the dryer...but too big after a few days :-( (Totally my fault...what gauge?
6. Mitered mitts, just because I want some and Jennifer's look so cool!
7. More socks! More socks! With my fantastic sock yarn! Also, I just got my copy of "simple socks plain and fancy" So I'm ready to go!
8. Hemlock ring blanket to put away for any future possible babies
9. Cotton dishcloth blanket...made of lot's of different cool dishcloths with textured pictures on the....also for babies (because seriously...pregnant people are popping up all over the place!
   
10. Cancelli fingerless mitts with the one skein of light blue alpaca I picked up because I just had to!
    

Well, that should really keep me busy forever...since I don't actually spend nearly enough time knitting to complete much of anything! :-P

Go visit Happy Handwork...you'll be glad you did :-)

Sooo, it's Monday, and I really should have posted this on Friday night...but we were out all night on Friday, and then we were at a very long, but very beautiful wedding all day on Saturday, and then H and I were on service (church) yesterday, and then his family came to visit, and then I've had some "health issues". So, there's my excuse for being horrible tardy is posting my thank you! Because this is a fantastic gift! Thank you Barb!

When we came home from work on Friday there was a box in our mailbox. It was from Barb at Happy Handwork. Have you been to visit? If not, go check out her blog. There is always a story to be told and it's always told in a very creative and entertaining manner. If you're reading Happy Handwork, you usually get to feel like you're walking around right beside it's writer!
Inside the box was a real treat! A beautiful card was right on top with a note from Barb. Then, I started unwrapping, and unwrapping, and unwrapping...I was amazed it seemed to never end! You are so generous Barb! Thank you sooooo much! You really made my day!...weekend! Week!

There were some Peeps, which I've heard people talk about, but never seen before and I was so curious about them...I haven't broke into any of the candy yet...but it won't be long! And there was the cutest packet of teas with a little spoon rest in the shape of a teapot, with those yummy stir-spoons! (Can you see them...they're next to the peeps...it was hard to make them show up with my little camera). Anddd..there's more...Choxie chocolates! Yummm! Two different kinds of chocolate, solid milk chocolate bars and dark and milk chocolate truffley goodness. To top it all off..there is yarn! Sock yarn...and beautiful sock yarn! Now, I'll really have to have a contest...so you can all help me decide which pattern to match up with which sock yarn :-D Wait for the post...it will be coming soon!I tried to take a close up of the colours in the yarn...but it didn't work out that well, it's beautiful....lighter blues...darker blues...even some purple tones Thank you Barb! And keep posting! We are all so blessed to know you!

I think I like socks!

Well, Here is my sock... it's twisting a bit but I think that's OK.Here's a close up of my heel. I did it the yo way, like one of my knitting friends who always seems to be knitting great socks. I also ordered the book...but it won't be in for a week or two. It's on sale right now at knitpicks! I figured if it was a short row method that didn't make me cry :-) then I'd buy the book :-) Last time I tried short row socks I had HUGE holes and ripped them out.
They're far from perfect...but it's my best attempt so far. The toe is kindof messy and I think I maybe should have done one more pattern repeat before the heel (hindsight is 20/20 isn't it), but I can get my feet in them...they're just snug...and I'm pretty sure that the recipients feet are significantly smaller than mine....so I'm hoping they'll be OK.
Here's where I'm at now with H's sweater....after starting it over on Saturday night.....
Here's what's left of the first time I started H's sweater...I finally took that same knitting friends advice (from a comment from awhile ago...I've been trying to tink back for quite some time) anyways...I met a place where things were just really messed up..and I couldn't make it look pretty again..so rippy rippy...it's all gone. I think it actually feels better...you wouldn't believe how stressed I made myself...sheesh...knitting is supposed to be enjoyable! I put these balls back in the box...and started with some fresh stuff. I'll probably have to use them in the end, but right now I just wanted to start fresh.

Goodbye Garden...see you next year!

I actually accomplished a few things on Saturday (yesterday). I was feeling rather lazy...and really didn't want to do anything but knit my sock :-) but I dragged my butt outside and dug up my garden. I'd all been turned over and is pretty and smooth and black. Made me want to plant it again right then and there!

Then H and I dig some garage organizing...whew! that made a difference, we're not quite done yet, because we plan on buying some shelving, but will have to wait. Even so...it's SUCH an improvement. I could actually put my car in there now!

Let see, other than that, I paid our bills, made some mushroom chicken tortellini, nearly injured myself throwing around the mini football in the back yarn with H, and made a short row heel!!! Well, actually the short row heel was Friday night...I couldn't stop until it was done :-) Stayed up until 1am! Yes...that's late for me...heh I'll post pics soon, right now, I have to go get ready for church....H and I aren't "on service" this week, so we got to sleep in ...nice!

Thank you NEredhead!

So, I've been out of commission for a couple of days due to H's dad's 80 b-day party, and a very busy weekend...Sooooo I haven't got a chance to show you this!

I should say up front, that the chocolate is already all gone, so ....sorry, I can't share :-) Really, I'm not joking, the chocolate IS all gone ...and it was TASTY!
This was waiting for me on Friday when I got home from work, how nice is that?!? What a great end to the week! It's from the football swap on Ravelry. My secret swap sender was NEredhead, and she really spoiled me (what a great first swap experience this has been!)
There's a football in Chargers colours (we be Chargers fans in this house). We almost broke a couple of things and so I had to reinstate the no throwing in the house rule,...but we had a lot of fun before things got carried away hahahaha Yes, we are BOTH over 30, but still, we were throwing the football around in the living room!
There was also some dark chocolate M&Ms ..they were tasty...and we ate them too quickly (really you'd think we are both 5 years old!) And there were these really great truffle chocolates called Choxie...yumm! The mint was my favourite, I've never seen them in Canada.
Oh yes! And the yarn! Go figure I've been dying to knit socks lately! And check out this yarn...it is soft...very SOFT...and I love the colours in it! These socks will be for me... :-D I think I will try to pick a pattern and knit them right after I knit the ones for my Christmas gift (and I hope those go well)
Sooo, Here's my sock progress! Thanks for all the suggestions....I decided on Bayerische, because it's beautiful! But, then I got a bit scared by all those charts, and thought perhaps I should try something a weee bit easier for the first pair of socks on tiny needles with tiny yarn, so enter "Mockery" but it's not toe up...... So, I've done the toe of Bayerische, and then started the pattern of Mockery...hopefully I can figure this out..... I definitely want to make Bayerische some day...woo beautiful! But....maybe a couple of pairs from now.
They're maybe a smidge big on me for width, but I do have oddly skinny feet (something on me had to be skinny I guess) so I'm hoping they're not to wide for normal people...also they're not pointy enough on me...but...most people don't have an oddly long second toe turning their foot into some sort of weird arrow...so again...hopefully better on a normal person's foot.
My increases are kinda ugly....but not terrible so I'm keeping them...wish me luck...If I finish these it will be the first pair of fancy socks I've ever made (I've just done thick hiking type socks before)
I can't wait to make some with my new swap sock yarn! Thanks again NEredhead! :-D

Sock Pattern...suggestions?

Ok everyone I bet you’re shocked that I’m posting this much aren’t you. Well, honestly it’s partly because there are no pictures, sometimes it’s the hassle of uploading pictures that stops me from posting (not because it’s difficult, but more because I’m lazy and my pictures are overflowing from this poor laptop). But…whatever…. On to my post

My latest question:

I think I would like to make a pair of socks for a particular person for Christmas. I don’t think she reads my blog but just in case I won’t say who it is. A lady, about 60 years old (I’m totally guessing here, she’ll be really offended if she’s only 57, but rather pleased if she’s actually 65)

I bought some knitpicks essential in the colour African Violet. I also bought some needles size 2.0mm and 2.25mm to try the magic loop method, hopefully one of those sizes will work for me. I’d like to do toe up, and I prefer to do the magic cast on thingy rather than short row (because I had short row hole issues last time I tried…but I’m willing to experiment at bit).

Any pattern suggestions? I’ll look at all suggestions and then hopefully cast on tonight, or sometime this weekend. I would love any input you guys can give me. I’ve never successfully made socks on tiny needles with thin yarn…so this is new for me, but I’d like to do something pretty, that won’t be too boring either.

When do you turn the heat on?

Hi All,

Hope you're all feeling toasty and warm this morning. Things are cooling down here fast!
Actually on the weekend we were wearing t-shirts outside. Now, it's all about the sweaters and jackets. Tuesday was the first really cold day, when we realized that it's officially NOT summer anymore :-( My garden isn't even put to bed yet.

So I ask you all, when do you decide to turn the heat on? Yesterday we came home and it was 65F in the house, we resisted. This morning we woke up and it is 63F.

Edit: I should say...I mean the temperature in the house...outside the house it's been about 38F with a high of a nice balmy 58F. I'm fine with that outside...but...not so much on the inside :-)

So, what is you threshold for flipping the switch? I'm just curious :-D

Happy Friday!

Still at it...

tink, tink, tink, tink

tink, tink, tink,

tink, tink

tink

tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink tink

that's all I have to say today :-p

oh, yeah, and I royally messed up my back on Saturday...thought it was better Sunday, but then today at work I gradually progressed to not being able to move my head...ha! I'm very funny looking....I can't move much...so I'm not going to feel guilty about the pile of dishes in the sink! I'm just going to tink....cuz I can move my arms :-)