Knitting In The North

Signs of Life

We're blessed with our home, in that it is south-facing.  The bottom is brickwork, which means the snow and soil along the front of the house melts much sooner than the rest.  This morning, I found this!  One lone hyacinth peeking through the earth, sheltered under the (now bare) lilac bush.  It's so thrilling, because we never, ever see spring growth this early in the year!  The fact is, if I turned around from taking this picture and snapped another, you would see the 2 1/2 feet of snow still on my front lawn, but still, this single little bit of green brings me hope.

It's an especially nice thing to see, as Stuart is having minor surgery today, and I'm fussing a little bit.  He's cool as a cucumber, of course, but anything involving being put under makes me a tad nervous, and I'm on pins and needles waiting for the call that he's all done, and okay.  If you think of it, say a prayer, or send some good thoughts our way!

Isn't It Romantic?

Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to find the last installment of the Woolgirl Sock Club in my mail.  I had forgotten I still had one more to go, so was extra happy to see all these goodies!  Enclosed was one skein of Zen Yarn Garden, Squooshy - this yarn is so soft and lovely.  I have never, ever felt the need for pink sock yarn before, and yet I am thrilled at the idea of pink, lacy socks.  One of the things I really have enjoyed about this Sock Club is all the really thoughtful extras included - this time, there was a charming drawstring project bag, pink hot chocolate, romantic M&Ms, and a pretty little stitch marker.  The project bag is really awesome, I can hardly wait to tuck something away in it!

I'm saving the pink hot chocolate, though, for a special "tea party" with a little girl.  It seems just right somehow (but I'm not sharing the M&Ms - those are all mine!).  This club has always included a great pattern with the yarn, but this time we got a bonus, and there were two!  Both very suitable for a February parcel - although I think I'm leaning towards Love in the First Degree.  I'm also thinking about the Quill Lace Socks I've seen out and about recently.  Any suggestions? 

Impulsive

I was doing some blog reading today, when I came across this new pattern - the Sullivan Street Bolero.  I was instantly charmed, and started looking at my stash to see what I had that could be suitable for this.  I wanted something solid, or heathery, and found this.  It's Berroco Touche, a cotton/rayon blend.  I bought it from Patternworks some time ago, hoping to make another run at Sizzle.  When it arrived, though, the yarn was not all one dye lot, and after the horrible dye lot experience I had last time I tried to knit Sizzle, I figured it was better not to tempt fate.  Into the stash it went, and now it seems there is enough of one dye lot (six skeins, in this case) to knit up this little bolero.  Forget anything else; my heart, for the moment, is here.

I Can Relate

I read the other day, on Michelle's blog, about a little boy in her life who has recently been diagnosed with Lymphoma.  She's put out a "Call To Needles", asking anyone who's interested and willing to please knit a 4" square, so that she can make him a Comfort Blanket to have handy during his medical treatment.  This isn't new, is it?  So many hurting people, so many knitters wanting to express ourselves in a tangible way.  Sometimes, I wonder to myself if I'm willing to help out with these little projects to make myself feel better - if, by knitting and posting off a couple of squares, I've done my good deed for the day.  And I can pat myself on the back.

But on further thought, I realize there's more to it than that.  I want to help.  I want to do something, even if it's small, to show that I can relate.  That if it was my own son, I would appreciate and value the support from others, even if it's in the form of a blanket from a bunch of knitting strangers.  Because we've all been there, in one way or another, and we'll all be there again.  And at those dark moments, it helps to know there are people out there; people who are thinking good thoughts, saying prayers, offering a little bit of their own strength to see you through this. 

What about you - can you relate?

Log Cabin, Northern Style

While I'm not officially a part of the Sock A Month knitting group anymore (I missed out on this round while in the depths of morning sickness), I still feel that inner urge to knit a pair each month.  One pattern that's been in my knitting queue for a long, long time is the Log Cabin Socks from the book Handknit Holidays.  This book was the first ever knitting pattern book that I felt I really needed to own, and I love it still.

I am consciously working to use stash yarn for new projects whenever possible, and so knit these socks from Plymouth Galway, in a heathered blue/green colour, on 3.75 DPNs.  While they are not quite as luxurious as intended in the pattern, they are perfect Northern BC socks, where our idea of a log cabin is a log structure, with no finishing, plumbing or electricity, and maybe a plywood floor.  They are perfect to wear on cold days here - my feet are warm around the house, and they're not too thick to fit into my everyday winter boots.  I am in love with the cable action on these, and hope to knit another pair, soon.  Cables just make me feel clever, and I especially enjoy the way the two sets of cables move towards and away from each other, and the fact that the cables continue right down the heel flap.  So pretty.

I have set myself a goal for the year - this is NOT a new year's resolution, because then in my world it would be doomed to fail - to do a little bit of organizing or decluttering each day in my home.  You've heard me say before, we have a relatively large family in a relatively small house, so storage and organization are really big in making our home livable and comfortable for everyone.  Yesterday, I tackled a little project that has filled me with no small amount of satisfaction - the board games.  If you have small children, you know how easily this area can go crazy!  We were using a desk drawer for game storage, which became two desk drawers, and then all the space under the desk, beside the desk...  you get the idea.  I read in the last few weeks a suggestion for storage, and thought I'd give it a try.

First, I got rid of all the games that were too far gone or that no one plays anymore.  These were mostly garage sale purchases that I thought would be fun, but didn't catch on.  Then, I took the game pieces, rules and any other accessories for each game and put them in an appropriate sized freezer bag, marked with a Sharpie.  The only exception to this was our Family Fun game, which has so many pieces and parts, I thought it would be easier to just keep them in the box.  Plus the box is nice and sturdy, unlike most of the game boxes we had.  And look - we're down to one drawer!  Just one!  I love it!  Now, what to put in the empty drawer?  Yarn, perhaps?

 

Like a Machine

I was out running errands this morning, and was on my way home when I saw that my LYS was open.  I just received a copy of 101 Designer One Skein Wonders, and really like the look of a Mistake Rib vest in it.  I thought I'd just pop in and see what was what, and am I ever glad I did!  The owner of the store, Darlene, is excellent - she always remembers me, and came right up to say hello.  We chatted for a few minutes, and then she looked at me and asked, "Was it you that was looking for a knitting machine on Freecycle a while back?"  I was surprised, but said, yes it was.  Just recently, an older lady was moving away from Prince George, and left her old knitting machine in Darlene's care, to pass on to another knitter!  I am pretty excited, I've been listening to the hosts of Stash and Burn talk about using their knitting machine, and have often wished to give it a try.  I personally favor plain knitting for my own garments, but don't really enjoy knitting miles and miles of stocking stitch, so this is perfect!

I haven't tried it yet, although Darlene warned me that it is quite old, I'm sure it will be completely fine for what I would like to use it for.  And it did, fortunately, come with an instruction book and a few odds and ends, so I'll have to sit down and give it a read one day very soon!

Oh, and I did find some yarn for the vest - I wandered around and around, trying to make a decision, but I kept coming back to the Noro Kureyon, so I went with that.  I think the self striping yarn will look interesting with the mistake rib texture, and the vest only has one button, so will be able to spread open until I'm a little smaller again.  I think this smacks of Startitis, but I'm sure I'll survive.

 

Cover Your Ears

In between the sweater knitting, I'm keeping my FO gratification level up with some little, simple knits.  With all the bitter, bitter cold we've been having this year, I realized that I did not have a proper nice warm woolen hat.  Most days, I don't even bother with a hat, but when it's below -30C, it's time to cover those ears.  This is the Amanda Hat - I used a lone skein of Lamb's Pride Bulky that I had sitting around looking at me, and compensated for the thicker yarn by decreasing some of the height of the hat.  I didn't think the circumference would be a problem while knitting, but after blocking it grew, and as a result is a bit teacozy-ish.  It really is super warm, though, and if it's cold enough to wear it, it's cold enough for me not to mind.

One afternoon, I curled up to look at Last-Minute Knitted Gifts (yes, again).  I was impulsively compelled to whip up a little Kerchief Scarf, and dug out the leftover allhemp6 (just under 50g) from my Cool Hemp Ponchette.  This is great for taming my wild, static-filled hair, on days when it's not cold enough to need a great giant hat like Amanda.

I'm finding it really effective to keep working on these small little knits while working on a bigger project.  I can stop the sweater for one or two days, do something different and still end up with an FO.  What's not to like?   

WIP Friday

I've been knitting along on the sweaters for the girls - above is the ribbing for Katie's giant Cabled Hoodie.  The pattern is knit in one piece from the bottom up until the armholes, and then divided.  I'm just past that point, working on the back.  I'm still concerned that it's going to be so huge it will fit Katie until she's fully grown, and possibly through her first pregnancy, too, but she's excited about it, so I guess that's all that matters.  I really enjoy working with this colour yarn.  Of course, it's one of my favourites, and I find it so soothing when life seems stressful and busy.

Gwenyth's is slow but sure, just like the Tortoise.  I'm almost finished the second sleeve, and then I'll weigh the rest of the patterned yarn, and try to figure out how high to knit the patterned yarn on the body.  This yarn is so bright and cheerful, something akin to Gwenyth's personality.  She tends to be like the little girl with the little curl, so when she's happy, it spills out over everyone around her.  The bright colours are nice to look at, especially on grey, grey, wet days.

I've been eyeing up a sweater pattern I've heard a lot about recently, Drops 103-1.  Really, with such a beautifully romantic name, how can I resist?  :0)  At any rate, I've had my finger poised over the checkout button on yarn purchases more than once, but keep talking myself out of buying more.  Maybe I need to do a good stash rustle, and see if there's something there that would work.  Hmmm, come to think of it, I ordered some Jaeger Natural Fleece from Webs recently, I wonder if that would work?  If I actually finish it before the baby arrives, I suppose I could just wear it open, right?  And then it would be all ready for fall!  What are you dreaming of knitting?

One Left

No, not one sleeve on the sweater, although it would be nice!  Not much knitting was done during the last few days, as we've been deep in "school shopping".  We're looking at changing the kids' school for the fall, and so I've been phoning and making appointments and touring and asking questions.  I think we've got it down to one that we're particularly comfortable with, which is a huge relief to me - one less thing to think about, plan for, organize...  Now we just need to get through the registration process, and we'll be able to cross this one off the list!

Recently, I was emailed a recipe for a square that sounded particularly good to me.  On my weekly shopping trip, I picked up the ingredients, but when I returned home, I found I had deleted the email!  Oh, no!  This is my version, cobbled together from a few different recipes that I could find that sounded similar.  It's great to make with kids, and they love to eat it, although not as much as Stuart, who's been consuming it faster than I can keep it in the pan.  I planned to show you a lovely photo, but there is sadly only one left (of the second pan this weekend, yikes!).  Here's the recipe, if you want to give it a try:

Yummy Square - Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Crust:

Mix 1 cup of flour with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and cut in 1/2 cup butter.  Press crumbly mixture into a square, greased baking pan.  Bake for 15 mins.

Topping:

Whatever sounds good to you.  We used butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, and crushed walnuts.  Sprinkle onto hot crust, liberally.  Drizzle sweetened condensed milk over all, top with a sprinkle of coconut.  Bake for an additional 10 mins.  It's best to wait until square is completely cold before trying to cut, even though it's torture for small people.  I find this a little bit sweet, but satisfying when I want something like that.  If you can think of a better topping than the sweetened condensed milk, please let me know.  I'm not much of a kitchen person, myself, so tend to not be very creative in that department.