shhhh, don't tell

I should be painting, shuffling junk, umm I mean boxes, vacuming and or cleaning the kitchen. See I have heaps of useful things that I could be doing today. But, I would rather read blogs ( glad to see that everyone is alive and well) and generally waste time. I mean I am wearing my painting clothes, I have paint on my hands and the paint can is open with the brush laying across the top... waiting for me. Do I want to paint the rest of the kitchen, no I don't. I mean it is only primer and I am still going to have to paint it and actual colour at some point. I want to waste my afternoon doing nothing productive in preperation for my evening out, alone. Yes I am alone this weekend. P is in Montreal packing up his mother's house, it's a long story and that I won't go into. Let it be said that Quebec law regardingthe probating of will's is a pain!

So, because P is not here I can sit and play online all day and not have anyone else need the computer, why would I want to continue painting. Life is good and painting can happen anytime but awhole afternoon othe computer, a rare occasion that I believe I should cherish and remember fondly as it may never happen again.

Aside from painting the kitchen life is good. Wedding plans are coming together. P is almost finished school and I have some days as a supply teacher booked over the next few weeks... hopefully it will lead to a job for the fall. I can't imagine how great life would be if both of us managed to have jobs at the same time - then we could pay someone to paint and vacum and I would not feel like I had to so it on Saturday.

My catholic guilt is kicking in, I am off to paint.

Sing along with me will you - to the tune of the Brady Bunch theme song

Here's a story, of a lovely lady, that was knitting up a very pretty shawl. She was happy and half way through, then it all went wrong

Here's a story, of how she frogged it, pulling out all those pretty little markers. She pulled and pulled some more, till it was all gone Till the one day when the lady discovered, that she could knit it with only 2 repeats, she began again, and is now knitting, the new Wedding shawl.
The Wedding Shawl, ( do do do do doo) The Wedding Shawl, (do do do dodo) that's how it became the Wedding shawl.
Yes ladies and gentlemen I frogged the first attempt, it was a square which I liked for many reasons and disliked for a number of others but I love the butterflies. After a few independent attempts at starting again with a triangle I sought out some assitance at the LYS and got some traingle shawl 101, it's all clear to me now and I shall go forth and continue knitting. Sadly it has been a busy week of teaching and I have little knititng time but I don't have many days booked next week yet so I might get a day in somewhere. I was at Jo's this morning and we had a lovely time chatting and knitting. I must say that she is just flying along on her baby shawl. I, on the other hand discovered that the other night when I knit 3 rows I moved things along by 3 stitches and thus no longer had a center, I frogged it back a little and am now back on track.

Aside from that nothing to exciting to report, I am thinking up idea for a blog contest, it's almost been 2 years of blogging, to think that 2 years ago I was living in Seoul, South Korea! It's amazing how time flies and life changes. 

Finally finished

So I started this hat over a year ago and when I discovered that it was not going to fit me I stopped knitting it. It was a kit From KnitWhits and I knit the largest size but htere is no way that was going to fit me. When Catherine asked for hats for Lesotho I decided this would be a good one to finish and send along, so on the 20th it will be flying towards some deserving person with a head smaller than mine.
Here's the inside, I am rather proud of myself, ignore the ends sticking out!
Here are some of the hats that are leaving my house tomorrow. The 2 on the far right were sent by Michelle and the green felted one was sent by Maureen. A few others are on there way to my end of the world but will have to wait for the next trip, someone goes every few months. If you enjoy charity knitting and would like to knit some hats for children and adults in Africa email me or leave a comment. You can find more details in this post

FYI - In the background of this photo you can see the colour of the logs in my living room, complete with axe marks as they were hand hewn. 

Can we say Princess

I have a pup whom I love to pieces, I dote on her a little to much and generally spoil her rotten. This spoiling has come back to bite me this week, the princess Tai refuses to go outside in the rain! She stands at the door and you have to give her a firm shove to actually get her out the door, then she stands there and stares at me like I have just done the meanest thing ever. Meanwhile Chudder is bounding about the yard, smelling the grass and being a well adjusted young lady. Chudder goes to the bathroom and comes back to the door to go inside. Tai just stands at the door shaking. I holler at her, I come outside with her, I coax her in my most gentle voice - it's useless the dog will not pee outside when it is raining! I spent 30 minutes outside with her this morning. I was afraid that if I left her on her own as I usually do she would just find a dry place to hide and then wait until she got inside to pee as she did yesterday... she's a princess I tell you, she better get over it though cause spring in Ottawa is here and it is rainy.

It's March break here this week, lucky me. I have big plans to knit and paint but not at the same time. I also have various wedding things to get finished, I just got 1 of them done this afternoon. I took the pearls that I got in Vietnam last summer to a local bead store and the are making them into some great jewelry for the gals in the wedding party. I also got the last of the invites in the mail and now just have the party ones to get organised. Hopefully I will get a few other things under control this week, like something to put on my feet, i think I should wear Birks ( I found some nice white ones) someone doesn't agree with me but he shall remain nameless. I think I might I look for something with a little heel and sadly the birks are flat... they will remain a plan B though regardless of what HE thinks!

The wedding shawl is coming along, the circular needles make it really hard to photograph. All other knititng projects have sadly been put aside, I must finish this shawl. I made a rather large mistake this weeknd and had to frog about 6 rows, it was tragic but I seem to be back on track now although you can kinda still see a mistake or two I am calling them design elements.

I gotta go, have a good week.

Happy day

There are so many things to be happy about today!

Happy International Womyn's Day to all the womyn, and those on their to being womyn out there in the world.

Happy thoughts and thanks to Cate who sent me more handspun cashgora to work on my wedding shawl.

Happiness at my house because the wedding invites are finished and out, there are 4 waiting for address' but they are ready to go as soon as I get those so they don't count as unfinished.

Happy music, Bridgehead is playing the new Dar Williams CD and that makes blogging and drinking Chai so enjoyable.

Happy house, the logs in the living room are sanded and look amazing. They will be varnished and finished in coming weeks and then we will have a living room again. That means we will lose the dining room to renos but the end is near, well sort of. I figure by the time we need space in the summer for company we will be close to finished... It will be so worth it in the end.

Happy dogs as well, I really need to post some new pics of them. Little miss anti-social Tai loves Chudder to bits and encourages her to attack and play as often as possible. They are so cute together , one giant dog with the disposition of a small lap dog ( she so wishes she could sit in my lap more often) and one little tiny lap dog who is convinced that she is a big scary girl. They are rather funny.

All in all it's a great day.

Stalled

These are the 3 things I have on the go at the moment, branching out, a backpack and my wedding shawl. I have also been spinning up the roving I got at Stitches West and am really enjoying it. Sadly they are all on hold until further notice as I have to finish and mail these...


the wedding invites, they are going out in 2 rounds which makes my life a little easier. The first round is for the actual wedding in June and given that some people need to travel I have to get them out soon, they are a little more elaborate than the party invites which don't have to be out for ages yet as the party is not till August. I had planned on the getting them done over the weekend but I have a nasty cold and spent most of the weekend sleeping. My goal is to ge them done by Saturday. Hopefully it will happen and then I will get back to my knitting life!

Just a few photos to share

Okay so it has taken me a extra week to get organised but I now have a few minutes to sit down and type. I ended up back in California last week; I went to help my sister out with her munchkins who have been under the weather for a few weeks now

Spending a week in CA inthe winter is not so tough and the cute factor is big help. It seems as though everyone is on the mend now.

Going to Stitches West was a highlight; I didn't notice the no photos sign until I was on my way out...opps. Now, these pictures are definitely not a Gallery of Ghastlies but they are a few things that I saw and liked or laughed at, I'll let you decided what was what, okay there are only 2 that I liked




I think there is such thing as to many knit things at once on any one part of the body, if you were to spread them out I think the effect would be better than layering them on top of one another




I love these kits, I wish I had bought one... I know they exist online but I am not allowed to look right now as I have enough WIP's on the go.

There was so much great stuff and although I didn’t want to spend much money I did get a few things. The roving is amazing and the white wool is destined for some kool-aid. I’m lovin the Twisted Sisters book and Spinner Handbook has some good tips.

Here is the stuff I got on my last trip to California in January, I took the pics but never got around to posting them. The back Fiber Trends pattern is the one I am using for my wedding shawl... it's a WIP and there will be pics eventually

This is mostly yarn that I got from my sister but I did buy some of it at various SF wool shops

I finally have a some other blog topics in my head, lots to do not and not enough time. Feb. has been empty the UFO box month and I am making progress. More pics later

Insert snappy title here

Life has been busy, eat, sleep, knit with the cashgora Cate sent ( I am loving this shawl project) but there has not been much to blog about... until today. I came back to San Francisco yesterday to spend a week with my sister and the kidlets. This morning while looking up the Commuknity address we discovered that the Stitches West Show is this weekend. Do I really need to say anymore about it, STITCHES, ladies and gentlemen and I am going on Friday. I promise that I will fill you all in over the weekend and I think that I will have to leave my Visa at home since I said I was not coming here this time to shop...

I was hoping to have some pictures to post today but due to my disorganized world I don't have my camera with me and thus can't post them. They're new stash pictures from my trip to San Francisco, so just imagine lots of nice new wool on my bedroom floor instead. I also got treats in the mail today from Cate and there is a picture on her blog. She sent me 3 small skiens of wool that she spun so that I can knit a wedding shawl, I am supposed to pick the one I like best... it may be a toss up between the cashgora and the romedale. I will wait until I have tried knitting with them all before I decide for sure.

I have had a number of people offer to send hats and squares along (see previous posts) for some charity knitting projects that I have taken on - A million thanks to those who have offered and if anyone else out there has a little extra time to send something along it would be appreciated by many. Just leave me a comment or send me an email. I have told the young girl who wants to knit up the blanket for her teacher that I would help her put the squares together once we get enough. I think I have signed myself up for a large project but it is for a worthwhile cause!

I don't have top much knitting news as most of my free time has been spent doing wedding related stuff lately. I am coming along on branching out, and there are squares and hats that are in various stages of completion. P' sweater is stalled until further notice due to the million other things going on at the moment and as much as I would like to be spinning I just can't seem to find the time. I managed to get together with Tara and Jo on Sat. for some knitting and chatting time, it was great to see them.

I must be off my 1 hour of free parking is over (was 10 minutes ago) and I need to get home.

FYI - if you like Zoe Meller or are looking for some baby patterns Chapters is clearing out Double Knits for 4.99, I just thought I would share the good deal, it is not available online but there are copies in the stores.

I've been tagged

Instructions: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot.
one by one
Cj's Knitting Basket
wine and needles
kimberlinewyork
After Asia

Select 5 people to tag:
If you have time and need a blog topic, here you go - Michelle of Beknitted, Denise of Knitting without Needles, Susan of Susan Knits, Kristin of Med Student who Knits and Maureen at 5 and a Beagle and of course anyone else who wants to play, consider yourself tagged!

What were you doing 10 years ago?

Living in Moncton, New Brunswick as a participant in Katimavik, it was an interesting year of my life and I learned a lot about myself and Canadian culture.

What were you doing 1 year ago?

I was living in Taipei, counting the days until my Chinese New Year break so that I could go to the Philippines and lie on a beach.

List five creative things you want to achieve this year:
Knit my wedding shawl, finish P's sweater (my first), paint my kitchen/bedroom/any other walls that are ready to be painted, make necklaces with the pearls I got in Vietnam and try out quilting (on a small scale first!)

List five snacks you enjoy:
gluten free pretzels with French onion dip, artichoke and asaigo cheese dip/spread on anything, brownies (gluten free of course), Jelly Belly's and chocolate, any kind

List five things you would do if money were no object:
get a hot tub, hire 15 people to finish the house renos quickly, travel all summer, go back to school and visit my nieces & nephews as often as possible

List five bad habits:
not doing the dishes, saying yes to too many things, demanding perfection, (although I usually end up settling for almost and I am speaking my myself not others), procrastinating and leaving things half finished.

List five things you like doing:
knitting, sleeping, reading, cooking and traveling

List five favorite gadgets:
MP3 player, laptop, Denise needles, the snow shovel and cappucino makers

Name one thing you like about yourself:
I'm a compassionate person.

That's all there is, I have some pictures of the great stash I scored in San Francisco but I am out of time today, but I'll be back later this week

Yesterday continued

Okay so I ran our of time last night and then blogger was down, they said it would only be 30 minutes but I assure you it was longer than that! Anyway the second thing that I wanted to ask for your help with is also some charity knitting but of a much different sort.

There is a teacher here in Ottawa who amazes me, I first met her when I was student teacher and she taught one of the toughest spilt classes I have ever encountered. She was amazing and did amazing work with them, you could tell when you walked into her room that she cared about what she did. She is one of those teachers who gets what it means to love a child and works hard to make school a positive experience. Last year (while I was in Asia) she taught a number of her students to knit, she shared with them a piece of her world so that they may come to love the art as much as she does. I have not met any of the students that she taught but I understand that many of them took to it and happily knit up their first project.

Earlier this year this teacher was diagnosed with breast cancer and she had to stop teaching, she is very sick. One of the students who was in her class last year decided that it would be nice to knit her up a blanket, if all her friends knit squares then she could put them together and make a blanket for her old teacher for Christmas. So the young student put out the call to friends and teachers for 8x8 squares before Christmas. Well Christmas came and went and the student received very few squares, but yet she has not given up and still really wants to be able to give her old teacher something that has been knit by people who care about her and hope that she heals as she begins chemo in the next few weeks.

So to help this student out I said I would put out the word, if you have time the square can be from any fiber you have available and can have any pattern of no pattern at all. I will also draw a name from all who send in a square for a prize of stitch markers and some yarn, (see details below)

I know this makes 2 knitting requests in 2 days but if you could find a moment to knit up a square or a hat and send it this way that would be amazing. I am off to Toronto in 13 minutes, for a big 24 hour trip, I am hoping to fit a Romni trip in, I'll fill you in on the details when I get back.

Another thing to do with spare time, cause I know everyone has so much...

Just kidding, I know that everyone is really busy but I promised a friend I would make a knitting request on her behalf, actually I have two. First, my friend Catherine has a very good friend who works in Lesotho, she does great stuff including twinning school there with schools here in order to help provide essential supplies to very needy kids

Catherine has taken on the task of knitting and collecting knit hats for adults and children to wear during the cold winters (not much snow there but the nights are cold). There are many reasons that they are working on hats, without going into them all here I will say that it is a great cause. The goal is to have 1000 hats to send by March 15th. So if you have a minute or twenty and some spare wool, please knit up a hat and send it to me so I can pass it on to Catherine. Personally I am using it as a chance to finish up some UFO's and some bits of stash yarn. I was going to try to make a bunch for the knitting Olympics (like one a day) but, I have decided for the sake of P's sanity and the dogs as well ( I would be fine of course, it would drive them crazy if I knit 24 hours a day but it would not bother me at all) that I will pass on the chance, like Cate, I think it is better for all of us this way.

If you can help out and knit some up or if you have some already knit up, like that one you knit for your kid that they hated or didn't fit right (that never happens right!) leave me a comment and I will send you my address. And to make it just a little more fun, everyone who sends me a hat will have a chance at a prize, 5 stitch markers with Chinese zodiacs and some yarn (that I have not yest picked out), I will draw randomly from among the participants cause this baby needs a hat!

Okay I am so late as blogger is being a little annoying, I will tell you about the other stuff later! Happy Wednesday

Home again

I am home in Ottawa, I got in on Thursday and all is well. We are in the midst of a major snow storm today but that's nothing new here. I must say that they weather in California was a pleasant change to say the very least. I could get used to not wearing a coat in the missle of January

My last few days in SF were great, my sister and I managed to get some more stash enhancement in. We hit a few more yarn stores and I got some amazing alpaca along with a few more patterns and a new bag book as well. However, I think the best yarn scores were to be found in my sister stash, which she generously shared as she feels that her 2 little people will keep her busy enough for awhile! I got a some beautiful yarn and once I fish it all out of my suitcase I will share a photo or 2.

Well that's about it for news in my world, Kimberli tagged me with meme but I don't have the time to answer it at the moment as I have to go and meet P in 20 minutes. There are also a billion other thoughts buzzing around in my head that are knitting related but those too will have to wait until later.

I know that I have been quiet this week but...

I have a new nephew and I must say that he is adorable! He is 9 days old today and I am in love

and here is again, on the lovely Snoopy blanket that the world's best Auntie made for him, (not that I am tooting my own horn or anything)

This is his lovely big sister, she is modeling my first completed spinning project. I bought the roving in Rhinebeck, spun it half on a spindle and half on my new wheel and then knit it into a hat on my way here last week. To bad she lives in California because the hat would be perfect for a winter in the Arctic

My progress on P's Christmas sweater is slow, I have almost finished the back. I am making it from White Buffalo and using a Lopi Bulky pattern, the specs will follow eventually. Yes that it is a lemon tree the knitting is on, you can tell I am still in California, there are no lemons growing in Ottawa at this time of year

My second attempt at lace, it's the Branching Out Scarf from Knitty and I am using some of the billion meters of yarn that I got at Rhinebeck. I am not having to much trouble and I must say that this lace stuff is growing on me, even if I am cheating a bit and using thicker yarn this time

This is my haul from Imagiknit here in San Fran, some royal blue roving and cotton/tencel from Classic Elite Yarns, it is so soft, I bought two skiens for a scarf

And a posed picture of the monkeys, they are so cute

especially when the big one tries to get the little one to cheer for a picture.

Today I went to NoeKnits as well and got a great knitting calendar with patterns for each day, there are some really useless ones but some that I really like as well, I figure it was a good deal for the 10 bucks it cost.

I should be...

As the queen of procrastination I have an image to uphold, today I am doing an excellent job, as I type I should be;

- doing the dishes.
- making muffins with the almost dead bananas.
- packing for my trip to San Francisco tomorrow.
- shovelling the walk.
- sewing the back on the finished felted baby blanket that I decided need a flannel back at the last minute ( pics later).
- clipping the dog's nails.
- taking down the Christmas tree and putting away all the decorations.

I have gotten nothing accomplished from the above list but before I sleep tonight most of those things need to be accomplished, especially the packing one! But I have had a busy morning, I plyed and washed my first skein of yarn spun from my new wheel. I moved all my crap from one wallet into another and then stroked my drying yarn a little. I organized my knitting for the trip and made sure there were no scissors in my bag and I made sure that my computer was charged so I can watch DVD's on the plane if needed. I caught up on some blog reading that I have been meaning to do for ages and perhaps most importantly I sat by the phone waiting for word of my newest family member whose arrival into the world is imminent - still no word from the sunny western USA but I have my fingers crossed that all is well and I will hear something soon. Personally I think he should of waited for me to arrive there tomorrow night before he joins us but I guess I don't get a vote.

Ok I am off to get something done, well something fromthe list that is!

Happy New Year

Hmm I sat down to post and now I am drawing a bit of a blank on what it was that I wanted to write about! Oh well I guess I will come back to this later.

I do know that I wanted to ask for a small favour. I am heading to San Francisco on Friday and I was wondering if anyone could tell me the name of Nathania Apple's ( i think that's her name) store/blog in San Jose. I used to read her blog but then my bloglines list got erased and I am not sure what it was called.

I'll will be back later with some New Year's thoughts when I am a little more grounded and not rushing out the door, that is if I can pry myself away from the spinning wheel.

christmas, a quick review

First we dined, I cooked for hours and it was so worth it, I must say I did a fine job and the gluten free perogies were amazing! Take note of the lovely paneling and tiled ceiling that are on there way out of our house forever, soone, it will happen soon!

Then we got presents! This was my first gift, well actually it was my second but I did not take a picture of the first one as it is not really relevent to my knitting, I am sure you are wondering how a can of varnish is relevant... well the 2nd present was

a box spindles. Can you guess what was in the 3rd box, yes my friends a wheel. I must say I am the luckiest knitter/new spinner around. When I get it together I will post a picture, the contents in side the large box did not make for a very good photo

Finally as promised treats from my SP, Kelly. She sent me a soft sock kit, some fleece artist roving, a signed copy of the bookbookbook II, some great note cards, my favourite hand slime from Burt's bee's ( she is a mind reader as well because I never even mentioned that), candy canes and a funny knitter's Christmas card, Thanks again for being a great SP!

Babbling as usual

I have been meaning to sit down and blog all week, but time has slipped away and now here I am typing madly because I have a list a mile long of things to do today. Firstly I need to thanks the amazing Marmalade for being an great Secret Pal, I just got the most amazing box of treats yesterday (it will get it's own post after Christmas). Until then here are some other photos I have been meaning to post for the last week or so, after tonight (cooking dinner for 9, gluten free Ukrainian Christmas Eve) I will sit down and babble about my treats from Toronto and my trip there last weekend. I hope that everyone out there has/will have/has had a wondeful celebration, whichever celebration it is that you celebrate, (I will not list them all because I am sure that I would miss one)



I have been knitting like a fiend and there is no way that everything will be finished, I have just accepted that on many levels. As a result have wrapped it (p's gift) with the needles attached. I did manage to finish this scarf though. It is knit with some "oddly" spun cotton that I got at Rhinbeck for super cheap, it was a little frustrating to knit with but it was a quick knit and another gift is finished. The baby blanket has 5 more rows and then into the washer. My next hanful of projects will keep me busy until June, no problem there. I think that I need at least one full day a week to devote to knitting full time - I wish someone would pay me for that.


For your enjoyment, the girls... Chudder is so big that she now stands over Tai with no problem, as you can see here. It would of been a good shot if it had not been for the snowflake on the lens

She is getting to big for Tai's bed

They really do leap and fly when they are playing, they have decided that the snow is not so bad after all

I posed this one

Random thoughts

Firstly thanks so much for all your heartfelt congratulations, P and I really appreciate it. We are both excited and amazed at the offers of help that are pouring in from our friends. I wish you all lived around the corner so we could celebrate together, distance can be a downfall to the internet.

- Did you know that hot water from the tap is a great luxury, hot drinkable water is even better. I was just making myself a hot apple cider and there was not enough water inthe kettle so I wandered over to the tap and filled the remainder of my cup with hot tap water. Some of you may kow that when I lived in Taipei not only was there no hot water in my kitchen but you could not drink the tap water without boiling it first. Who ever knew that I would be thankful for tap water.

- The kitchen renovation is finally coming to a close, there is still lots of work left to do but we almost have a complete set of cabinets and places to put all the stuff that has been living on the dining room table for a month. The floor still needs to be put in and the walls painted but that will happen after the holidays.

- I had a lovely brunch on the weekend with Jo and Tara, we knit (of course) gabbed about the wedding and our current spinning projects. It is so nice to have met such great people here who love the same things I do. Knit, spin, eat, blog...

- I am heading to Toronto this weekend to play with a few friends who I haven't seen since I returned from Asia - it will be a short but throughly enjoyable visit. Sadly I don't think there will be any time from any stash building, oh well next time. (maybe a quick trip to Romni)

I must get moving this morning, I am off to make some sense of a space that we call the living room so that we can have people over for Christmas Eve.

Here is proof my newest obession - spinning, I am still working on making the fiber twist evenly! If you look carefully you can see what I was given on Friday

In case you had trouble seeing it clearly, here's another shot. Yes, that would be an engagment ring, P and I are making it official (after all these years of chasing one another), we are getting married June 9th. I am still in that supper excited not yet stressed stage, can't you tell ;)