Bizarre + Weird == teh awesome

Wasting time on Ravelry this morning I discovered this bizarre design (watch out for possible pop-ups) that was inspired by this even weirder one. <3!

FOs: First Hat and Corn Socks

FIRST HAT FOR THE PURPLE PURL
Started: December 4, 2007
Completed: December 15, 2007
Pattern: from Knit 2 Together by Tracey Ullman and Mel Clark
Yarn: Araucania Copihue
Color: 901??
Skeins: 2 and a bit
Needles: Knitpicks Options 5.5mm/9US

CORN SOCKS
Started: September 20, 2007
Completed: December 15, 2007
Pattern: generic magic loop toe-up with Widdershin heel
Yarn: Crystal Palace Yarns Maizy Print
Color: Night Shades (#1001)
Skeins: 2
Needles: Knitpicks nickle-plated 32" 3.00mm/US2
Notes: I was bummed that I got some weird pooling on one of the socks. But this yarn is so squishy and nice it was hard to get mad at it. If I were to knit with it again I would use smaller needles because when I wear them the heel and the toe kinda flop around. I'm guessing that there is more stretch in the yarn than I imagined. I still love wearing them.

Finis!

Sunflower Tam is done! After all of the gnashing of teeth and ripping of rows I can now put this one to bed.

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Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

MOM'S SUNFLOWER TAM
Started: October 24, 2007
Completed: December 9, 2007
Pattern: Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan
Yarn: White Buffalo Elenka
Balls: 1 and a bit
Colour: #220 (heathery-pink)
Notes: This pattern was really hard for me. I spent more time riiiiiiiiiiiiiiipping and cursing than I did actually knitting.

Paying rent

I have been spending a lot of time knitting away at The Purple Purl lately. Although it seems that Jennifer and Miko are quite happy to have me there I feel terrible that I haven't been emptying my bank account there. And trust me, I WANT to give them all my money. But alas, I already have enough projects and yarn to keep me going for a quite a while. So I thought at least what I could do is knit a shop sample for them. I was trying to spoil them a little but in reality I was the one who is being spoiled. Look at this yarn!

It's Araucania Copihue and I'm so loving it! Although I'm not happy with my knitting. I must have a hat curse right now. Everything else I'm knitting looks great. But the hats, they give me problems.

Maybe you can tell I'm knitting First Hat from Knit 2 Together and I've gotten mixed reviews from some knit pals (I will admit these photos are already out of date as I've finished the hat part yesterday and the photos were taken Friday afternoon). They love the yarn. Not so thrilled with the pattern. The real reason I picked this pattern is because the hat must have a button and the Ladies at TPP carry a beautiful line of handmade buttons from AB Originals.

I think this is going to look lovely.

Sunflower Tam hates me

Most people know that I'm a pretty selfish knitter. 9 times outta 10, what I'm knitting is for me. Recently I've been doing a rash of gift knitting (well, if you consider two projects a rash). The Seamesh Scarf has been the big gift project and that has been in the making for like 2 years.

When I saw my mom in October I told her that I wanted to knit her a hat and that I had the perfect pattern and the perfect yarn. I showed her both. She wasn't exactly sure how she felt about the pattern but LOVED the colour of the yarn. I couldn't start it right away as I had to finish Pimlico for Rhinebeck. I started the tam October 24th and have had NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS EVER SINCE!

Once I got into the pattern for the top I ended up ripping the same inch or so out 12 times. So I stomped around a bit, said some bad words and then threw it back in the basket as punishment. In the last couple weeks I've picked it back up, noticed a ton of mistakes, made a bunch of new mistakes and riiiiippped a few rows here and there. Then I realized it was too big (at least for me) but I kept going. I'm not feeling the love for this project. But, as you can see, I'm very close to done. As long as I don't make the same mistakes I've been making from the get-go my mom might actually get a hat before Spring.

Wicked is aweome....

Right now I have five projects on the go. I mentioned Seamesh earlier as that has been my top priority. What better way to follow up than with with my lowest priority project? It going fast and I'm so loving it with the crazy mystery yarn (Manos or Mandos? You be the judge.)

What I've got done so far...

Detail of the twisted rib...

More on my other projects later.

I'm so close....

Remember the Seamesh Scarf I started waaaay back in July? Well, I am sooooooo close to being done.

Actually I need to be done by tomorrow as Miss Hell is going to help me block this sucker. Woot!

Tagged (And some of you are it!)

I got tagged by Dr. Steph days ago. I think she was giving me a hint. I have to admit when I'm not working I'm at The Purple Purl so I haven't had much time for blog fodder. But this is a start. Maybe this might get my booty in gear?

THE RULES:
1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

THE THINGS:
1. I've sung in my sleep.
2. I'm a compulsive pile maker.
3. I have the willpower of a super hero when it comes to buying things (including yarn!), but am weak (oh, so very weak!) in the face of anything chocolatey.
4. I've been to Thailand.
5. If I consume tequila (or any hard alcohol for that matter) I break out in hives - even just after one sip!
6. I'm part of a photography collective.
7. My husband proposed to me with a tinfoil ring.

I'm going to tag (although not in their comments, basically because I want to get back to knitting): Lorena, Betharoopie, Idyllic Chick, The Shy Knitter, Eleven Stitches, Needle Addict and Soosan. I don't expect any of them to actually do this but I thought that I would put a shout out and let them know I'm thinking of them. (Awww!)

A big shout out!

I want to send an big shout out to my S'n'B for their generous donations to Highland Heights Junior Public School's new knitting club. They graciously donated two granny grocery carts and a large shopping bag filled to the brim worth of yarn and needles. Awesome!

The Purple Purl

Today I had the chance to wile the afternoon away with Jen, Fenner and the lovely ladies over at The Purple Purl. As we were cooing and cuddling poor little Fenner to near death, Amy dropped by to add some additional snuggles. It was a near perfect afternoon!

In addition to seeing the ladies, I was able to drop off the donations I collected from my rocking S'n'B for Highland Heights Knitting Club. I had so much stuff I had to take a cab down there! And that's not a complaint. The group really stepped up when I put the note on the message board two days before I was collecting the donations. I can only hope that with some notice the group will require me to rent some sort of heavy machinery to move the donated stash.

And as an extra bonus, I got to see Dr. Steph on The Dan. Word to my homie in the hood! *ahem*

BTW - Jennifer and Miko have put together a beautiful store with an incredibly delicious selection of yarns. If you haven't been by yet then you should go as soon as you possibly can. I promise you will receive the warmest welcome! And I am glad to say that The Purple Purl is now my shop of choice since I've heard some terrible news that Alterknit has closed their doors. (I hope it's a terrible rumour and not true.) and I'm looking forward to overstaying my welcome and emptying my wallet there. Tuesday nights are their stitch'n'bitch and I'm thinking about stopping by next week. Care to join me?

With the news I got last night...

I can't wait to start gift knitting.

I will knit something cute in this:

And I can't forget to knit something totally decadent in this:

Heeeeeee!

Hey Sandi!

Do you think this hat is too big?

I dunno.

What I did Friday night...

Friday, November 2nd, Paul and I went to a taping of the The Mercer Report. It was great and maybe you just might hear me guffaw and chortle or quite possibly even see the back of my head as part of the studio audience in this Tuesday's show. I give this guy a lot of credit because after his show he stands out in the lobby and does a meet-n-greet. And not only that, he is genuinely welcoming and funny (not contrived like some other show I saw a taping of a couple years back - and they didn't even meet their fans afterwards). Thanks, Rick!

However after that, most of the weekend I sequestered myself away in my house. Lately I've been so tired I can't muster the energy to commingle with friends, much less strangers. The time change has given me a boost of energy and I hope I can ride that wave for a bit. Sorry if I've been a bit MIA lately. Please don't take it personally!

Pimlico Shrug Done!

Pimlico was supposed to be my Rhinebeck sweater. Thankfully for me, Rhinebeck was too warm to wear a sweater. However I did rib like a maniac on my trip to NY state and I finished it spitting distance to the border on my way back.

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Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

PIMLICO SHRUG
Started: June 20, 2007
Completed: October 22, 2007
Pattern: Knit 2 Together
Yarn: Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed (11 balls)
Colour: Night (#409)
Needles: US 6/ 4mm & US 7/4.5mm Knitpicks Options circular
Modifications: used smaller needles to get proper gauge

Rhinebeck!

This time last week I was frolicking around Montgomery and Rhinebeck, NY. Even though it was only last week it feels a bit like it was a century ago. I'm still reeling from the fairytale weekend I was able to enjoy. Of course, I don't want to talk about the reality of work that I left behind and the slight emergency I walked into before I even crossed the border going back. Seriously. I don't want to think about it. Now I know there are a thousand and one posts out there about their trip to Rhinebeck and I'm sure everyone's had their fill but this trip was different for me. Don't get me wrong. Was I totally stoked about going to the mecca of yarny goodness? Hell, yeah! Did I buy stuff I didn't need but couldn't keep my hands off? Double hell, yeah! However my main goal was to hang out with a gaggle of ladies that I met through the World Wide Internets. If memory serves me right, the plan was hatched sometime last year. And with determination of people on a mission we made it work, getting giddier and giddier as THE weekend came closer and closer.

The day we were supposed to leave I still couldn't believe we were going and I had no idea we were going to have as much fun as we did. Sophie, Paul and I jumped in a sexy rental (read: old man Buick) on Thursday and Paul drove the 8 hours to Montgomery while Sophie and I knit (me trying to finish Pimlico for Rhinebeck) where Betharoopie and Joe were so kind to open up her home to a slew of strangers. Okay, well maybe we weren't strangers but we had never met face-to-face and we all know that internet personalities can be quite different from real-life personalities (we've all been in THAT situation) however I was never really worried. I mean I didn't come up with blueprints for a back-up plan or code words for a quick exit or anything like that.

Anyhoo, we arrived just as it was getting dark to knittas on the porch and IT WAS SO AWESOME. The laughing never stopped. My gut muscles still hurt thinking about all the silly stuff we laughed about. And I think Joe was slightly relieved that Paul came as there were a total of 7 ladies knittingandtalkinganddrinkingandlaughingandbeinggooffy and none of use wanted to watch baseball. It was like we had all been friends for years and we were just picking up were we left off and the whole entire weekend was like that. (There's one pic that's not so safe for work. Just an fyi.)

What I remember:

-The nicest border guard EVER. Who was stumped by the fleece Sophie brought for Lorena. The conversation went something like this (actual details may have been forgotten):
"Do you have anything else to claim?"
"We have some fleece that I'm giving as a gift... Do you want to see it?"
Guard looks at fleece and has a very puzzled look on his face.
Turns to other border guard. "Do we care about fleece?"
Other border guard: "What? Polar fleece?"
Our border guard: "No. Animal fleece."
"Huh?"
"No. We don't care about animal fleece. Have a nice trip!"
- Searching for the elusive frumkin shake
- More trees than you can shake a fist at
- Betharoopie's porch
- NY looking like fall but feeling like summer
- Ribbing like a maniac
- Montgomery Mills
- boobies at OCC
- Lorena being too cute in sock monkey PJs
- poorly designed rental mini-van parked on a dark highway (*honk*) that thankfully doesn't make one fart or pee or worse
- Google driving directions that lead to a very un-main Main Street
- "Children at Play" on Devil's Lake Road ("Don't go down that way. I've seen this movie before!")
- 9 people coordinating showers each day and able to get out of the house at the agreed time
- Breaking Lorena's beautiful rosewood DPNs and feeling terrible (even though she said I didn't have to) but able to redeem myself by finding equally beautiful walnut needles at the Golding booth
- Dreaming that I was cast for a bit part in the new Indiana Jones movie. Not knowing my lines and not being able to find my scene in the script all day. Panicking at the sound stage where I see Harrison Ford being filmed while being carried around in a plastic bucket by two big, burly dudes. Thankfully, I was told after the bucket scene had wrapped that lines didn't need to be memorized.
- Milo, Otis, Cosmo and Dobby
- Ginger at the Golding booth picking a drop spindle and putting a deposit down on a wheel.
- Sharon's amazement with the loom
- Seeing the regular folks from TO in a different backdrop
- The Yarn Harlot allowing Betharoopie to kinnear her.
- Realizing I'm a food 'ho.
- Arriving at The Fold's booth after 1pm and finding the STR colourway I've had my eye on
- "The end is near."
- Zombie children at play on the side of the highway.
- The awkwardness of meeting new peeps and the awesomeness of being with Your People at the Ravelry party
- Being able to fondle Brooks Farm's yarn
- Blazing Bagels
- Yarn Mountain
- finishing Pimlico on the way BACK to Toronto

Thank you Beth, Lorena, Sharon, Kelly, Ginger and Sophie for being the most incredible women. And know that you are welcome in my house any time. And I promise that our Murphy Bed won't eat you. Urrr... not that that happened while I was gone or anything. :shifts eyes back and forth: Paul, thanks for driving. You were a trooper! And Joe, you totally rock!

I can't wait until next year!

And what did I buy? I got six skeins of Morehouse's 3-Strand Merino for the Cowl Top (although I really needed 8), on skein of Socks That Rock in Lunasea, one skein from Ancient Threads Farm and Fiber Mill dyed with natural ingredients and 2 giganto skeins of Brooks Farms Macero.

And as an extra bonus, I had a package waiting for me from Lorena when I got back. I thought she was just going to be sending me some of her handspun. I was wrong. It's like I won the lottery. This woman knows how to gift. Lorena, you are tops!

Rhinebeck, here I come!

Yup. I'm heading to Rhinebeck. I've been quiet because I've been desperately trying to finish my sweater and I've had crazy work deadlines and the holidays were here and I've been sick and I've just not been able to take a breath. Although I have found time to watch quiet a bit of Battlestar Galactica. I'm tired. But giddy.

Happy birthday, Ms. Snark!

Lorena's having a birthday today. Make sure you head over to Snarkland and wish her a good one!

Alpaca 'tocks!!

If you aren't already compulsively checking cuteoverload.com every couple of hours to get your cute on than you should check it right now. They're showing off some Alpaca 'tocks. Mmmmm... alpaca 'tocks.