Knitting In The North

Antique Jewelery

I grew up with a Mum who loved antiques, and spent many hours with her in junk shops, and little antique places.  My trip to Calgary was very much like looking at a piece of antique jewelery.  It's a beautiful and costly thing, but I feel sad about it anyway.  At the center of this piece, though, was a single shining jewel - my trip to Make 1 Yarn Studio, with the wonderful Gina.  We had a really nice visit, and it was such a relief to spend an hour or two talking about something other than my family and what was going on (all the lovely yarn didn't hurt, either).  Thank you, Gina, I can't tell you how much your time and support meant to me.

Another wonderful thing about hanging out at a LYS was getting to check out all these amazing yarns that I had previously only read about.  I spent quite a bit of time just wandering around, touching and petting all the balls and skeins.  My big goal in the yarn buying department was to only buy things I had an actual project in mind for - I didn't want to just accumulate more stash, no matter how lovely it all was.  At the end, I tried to decide what I couldn't possibly leave without, and this is what I ended up with.  I think I actually did quite well, I have not a single regret - not for what I brought home, nor for what I left.  (Although I did just read on the Make 1 blog that they just got in a shipment of Tofutsies.  That would have come home with me, too.)

Three pairs worth of sock yarn!  One big ball of the Trekking I have heard soooo much about, in beautiful blues and greens, two balls of Regia Silk in black (In case Stuart ever agrees to let me knit him a pair of dress socks.  If not, I'll make myself a pair of dress socks.), and two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, in the Pioneer colourway.

Two skeins of Cotton Chenille, so that I can finally knit some of the Reverse Bloom washcloths in Weekend Knitting.  I watched Areli knit several of these last year, and have been itching to try them ever since!

One skein of Cascade Quattro, in a mostly turquoise with a bit of brown.  It just looked like a jewel glowing in the sun, and I had to have it.  I plan to knit myself some kind of outerwear with this, to wear with my camel-coloured pea coat.  Maybe a hat, or a Calorimetry and some fingerless gloves.  The ball on the bottom right is Rowan Tapestry.  I was completely taken by the colours, and the fact that it is part Soy fibre was fascinating.  I plan to knit a Dream Swatch with it.  (This was one yarn I just couldn't leave behind, and couldn't let myself buy it because I didn't have a plan for it.  Imagine my joy when I remembered the Dream Swatch pattern!)  My one "Project Yarn" failure was a skein of Malabrigo in Burgundy.  I wanted it.  Everyone else knits with it.  I had never before even touched it, and it was going home with me.  Rules are made to be broken, right? 

This Patons SWS I actually bought at Michaels in Red Deer on the way home, but I wanted to show it to you anyway.  It's another yarn I've been longing to try, and I'm knitting up a Booga Bag with it (another pattern I've been wanting to try for ages).  There was another colourway that I preferred (Natural Earth), but they didn't have 3 balls of it, so I chose Natural Geranium instead.  It's good for me to step outside of my regular choices, anyway, right?  I have to say, I'm really liking how this is knitting up!  The yarn is quite nice, and very soft.  I'm almost regretting my pattern choice, perhaps I should frog it and knit Gwenyth a sweater.

Finally, as I wandered around the store, inspiration struck!  I was having a hard time with my ISE 4 pal's scarf - nothing was settling in me for her.  When I saw a sample knit of this in Make 1, I instantly knew it was everything I wanted for her.  This is the Slanted Eyelet scarf, knit from one skein of Alchemy Bamboo.  It is very soft and lovely to knit up, and I just know it's going to block beautifully.  I hope she enjoys it as much as I'm enjoying knitting it!  I also purchased 7 balls of the GGH Bali yarn that I knit Brian's Pirate Sweater out of (and in the same blue).  I'm loving this yarn - no matter how many times Brian has worn (and I've washed) his sweater, it still looks like it just came off the needles, and you know I love machine washable yarn!  Plus it was on sale.  How could I resist?

I hope you realize this officially destroys my (really, quite simple) New Year's resolution, to knit more than I bring home this year.  There is no way I can turn all this out this year, so I throw up my hands, and remind myself I don't like New Year's resolutions anyway.  And then I go and pet my beautiful yarn - it's all good.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

We safely made it all the way to Calgary and back, and finishing these socks was one of the bright moments of the trip.  (Actually, I finished the toe and the grafting of the second sock after I came home, but still.)  Today is a wet, grey day, so I thought it very fitting to introduce you to my April finished socks.  (And look what I came home to - a bit of green grass!  Woo Hoo!)

Particulars:

Pattern: Rainy Day Socks, from Magknits

Yarn: RYC Cashsoft DK

Needles: 3mm metal DPNs

Modifications: None.  I even used the picot edge cast on that the pattern called for, which was an exciting moment for me. 

Notes and thoughts:  I was very concerned that these would be too short, and although they still look a tad short in the picture, they feel wonderful on.  (Hello, Cashsoft can't not feel wonderful.  It's beautiful.)  I found no knots in the yarn, and the pattern was very easy to follow.  The lace stitch was very easy to memorize, which made them great carry along knitting.  Once again, I found I had a fair bit of yarn left over (on the handy dandy scale Stuart bought me, the socks weigh 1g, and the leftover yarn is 0.7g), probably enough to make another, shorter pair.  We'll see.  All in all, this was a very satisfying knit, and good for my sock knitting confidence.

The trip we just took was very hard, and I'm still not sure how to talk about it.  It was awful in so many ways, but still something I'm glad I did.  We had a few nice moments, but I can't tell you how relieved I was to leave for home, which I still feel a bit guilty about.  My dad is okay, although he's having a difficult time dealing with all of this, and my step-mother is moving into hospice this week, which is a bit of a relief, sort of.  Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers, and for the checking in several of you did.  I appreciate it so much, and it was something I held on to as I travelled.

Road Trip

So I'm off to Calgary!  The kids and I are heading off to spend the week with my dad and step-mum - I'm a bit nervous of the long drive on my own, but I think it's going to be fun.  I have my iPod loaded up with podcasts, and I plan to make a stop at Make 1 Yarns in Calgary, as well as visit with the wonderful Gina, who I was fortunate to meet last summer.

I have no idea how much knitting to take, and will likely err on the side of too much rather than too little.  I also have a belated thank you to my Secret Pal - an exciting surprise showed up at my house this week, a copy of The Harlot's new book!  Thank you so much, I'm taking this along with me as well, to enjoy when I have a few moments to myself, or just need a good laugh.

Please think of us, pray as you feel led, and I'll see you all next weekend!  Knit nice!

Walk With Me

After complaining about the horrible cold weather we've had of late, I was pleasantly surprised by a record-breaking warm Easter Weekend.  The temperatures rose to 20 degrees C (about 68F), incredible for us at this time of year!  I dug out shorts for everyone, (I haven't even thought about unpacking the summer stuff yet) and we headed outdoors.  Here are the big ones, trail-blazing.

I love the incongruity of the snow and the summer clothing!  The air was warm and fresh, but I couldn't find any signs of life yet.  As I walked, I realized that I felt like this:

Still holding on to some colour, but dry and tired, waiting for spring.  But I can feel it coming.

And when I look at the smiling face of my baby, the joy starts to rise up, past the hurt and sadness, to remind me to look. and. see. what is in front of me.

What do you see when you look at this?  My natural tendency is to focus on the bare trees, the ice, the dead grass and fallen logs.  But look - the ice is melting, and the sky is blue!

Thank you, each of you, for your emails and comments.  Your support and prayers mean so much to me, and are yet another reminder of how truly blessed I am.

Still Here, Still Knitting

I'm sorry I've dropped under the radar again - this time, I don't even have the excuse of no computer.  I have received sad news, though, and it has thrown me for a loop, as they say.

My step-mother was recently diagnosed with stomach cancer.  It was very sudden, and we have been told that it is inoperable.  She is receiving palliative care, and we will be fortunate to see the summer with Doreen still with us.  I don't actually know this lady very well - she and my father have been married about 2 1/2 years, and seem very happy together.  They live in Calgary, however, and although it's not a huge distance from where I live, it's far enough away that we don't see each other much.  Still, she has been a blessing to all our lives the last few years, and has been a joy to know.  And I am very sad.

We all have reminders that come to tell us to hold on to what we have, to appreciate every single moment, that life is more fleeting than I can imagine.  How quickly I forget!  Please, keep Doreen, and my father, in your prayers and thoughts if you feel led to. 

Now, the knitting I have been doing.  In reading the blogs I love to visit, I came to hear of the sickness of a lady called Betty. Julie, at Noolie Knits (please forgive the lack of links, it's acting funny and I have no desire right now to figure out what it's doing) has put out the call for blanket squares to make a comforting blanket for Betty.  Perhaps it's because of what is going on in my own family, but I felt completely driven to do this, and knit this square up.  I rifled through my stash, and came across this lovely Araucania Atacama that I received in Ms. Knitingale's Comfort Swap at Christmas.  And I thought to myself, "How fitting, the yarn I was given in a comfort swap should be used to give comfort to another."  I used the Bell Lace stitch from my stitch dictionary, worked over 41 stitches. 

I am also working away on Magknits' Rainy Day socks, knit from RYC Cashsoft 4 ply.  I'm almost to the toe (and hope to finish it today) on the first sock.  Hooray!  I'm loving them, they are sooo soft and squishy, and the pattern is very pretty.