Hey, I'm a hooker!

Thanks to Jennifer at The Purple Purl I can now say I walk the streets totally hooked.

I totally kill myself with the funnies. Hooooo-by!

Anyway, she helped me do the impossible. As you can imagine, I've tried to teach myself but didn't give it enough time and failed miserably. The square above is FILLED with mistakes but at least it looks like a square. Hurrah!!

Sunday's Class @ In The Loop

Michelle and I had the honour to teach at In The Loop Café a beginner photography class for bloggers and Ravelers on April 6th. This class was aimed at helping total photography newbies get familiar with their point-n-shoot cameras while providing some tips and tricks to take nice shots of their craft projects. Sandi, Aleta, Emily and Cristina were the best students we could have asked to join for our inaugural class. Sandi even brought us apples (Pink Ladies - my favourite)! I brought my point-n-shoot for demo purposes and I took some shots of our cozy group during the exercises and during some punchy moments.

Thanks ladies, for being receptive to our class material and hope that you walked away with some helpful stuff!

If you're sad that you missed it, we'll hopefully be teaching again in June. More info to come soon!

This is only a test...

Things are a little crazy right now, so while I collect my thoughts and try to compose a post or two why don't you take this little awareness test?

It won't take long. And you'll be glad that you did.

Say it loud! Say it proud!

The Yarn Harlot declared that April 1st should be the day that knitters behave... well... inexplicable. And by that, she meant for knitters to partake in a photo scavenger hunt to commemorate the launch of her new book. And let me tell you, it was good.

Miss Hell and I (along with Joyce and Zoe) tramped through the cold, windy (with sometimes sunny) streets of Hogtown and had a blast doing it. Here is a sampling of the photos I took. These are my favourite. I won't submit you to all my photos. Unless you ask, of course. (You want to see them? I'm flattered! Please click here. I'll be honest. It's not ALL of them. Some weren't really worth uploading. Although it's questionable as to whether some that I did upload are.)

A neighborhood sign... mixed in with a little ass-kissing! Not really but we thought it was a perfect find.

We were a ballsy group, let me tell you. When we couldn't find a cop on the street so we walked into the 52nd Division police station and asked if one of the officers would like to help us with a photo scavenger hunt. The three that were there kind of blinked back at us but this guy volunteered and was such a sweetie. Big thanks to the 52nd Division!

We decided to go into City Hall to find an employee to photograph. When the woman at the info desk declined, Michelle asked if (Mayor) David Miller was in because "he's worth big points." She pointed us to the stairs and said that he was located on the 2nd floor.

Up the stairs we went. I did say we were ballsy, right?

There was a group of journalists outside his office. Since we weren't sure what the deal was Michelle decided to go into the reception area and ask to see if he was available. Not surprisingly, he wasn't. But his Secretary/Admin/Reception person made it sound like he would have done it if he "wasn't jammed with meetings." Being a good sport, he posed with our socks. He was truly the nicest person, gushing about each sock and telling us a story about a pair of socks someone he knew received from Germany.

At the ROM's Crystal... the T-Rex is through the window but you can't see it in my picture (but you could in real life). I didn't give myself the 3 points since it couldn't be seen but I love this photos because you can see Michelle and I.

Here's more of my favorites:

1. with street meat, 2. with the nicest TTC driver, 3. at Canadian Tire, 4. at Honest Ed's

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

After our feet couldn't handle the strain of walking we hobbled over to the Isabel Bader Theatre for the main event. The evening started with a small set from Skydiggers and then ended with Stephanie doing what she does best - bringing knitters together and making them laugh!

As an extra bonus, there were prizes for the scavenger hunt! Michelle and I were sure that there was going to be some rabid Harlot fan who took the whole entire day to go to every location. What surprised us was that we were the rabid ones. Not only are we ballsy but we're clearly competitive too. Michelle and I were tied for points out of all the knitters with 70+. I only came in second because my sock was shorter than Michelle's (really). For my efforts I got a beautiful book called "Kristin Knits" by Kristin Nicholas. I can't stop thinking about the Navajo inspired afghan! First prize was a $100 gift certificate to Lettuce Knit. Go, Michelle! First prize couldn't have gone to a nicer person. No, seriously. I mean that.

I mean, watch yer back, Miss Hell. Bwahahahahahaha!

Just kidding! She created the most awesome map that I think was the key to our success. She and I are heading over to LK this afternoon to do a little retail therapy. Let's hope there is some STR left!

If you are totally blown away by the photo sampling above you can check out the whole set here. While you're at it you should check out Michelle's set and her blog post. And if you're really crazy than you can check out the flickr pool that Rachel H set up to house ALL the sock photos taken by hundreds of knitters.

Many thanks to Stephanie, Rachel H, Jayme (the Wonder Publicist), Skydiggers and the staff at the Isable Bader Theatre. It was a great book launch!!

One Crazy Monkey down!

Remember photo P1060022.JPG that I posted about on the 28th?

Well, the ankle was seriously too tight. I took the advice of those who gave it and decided that I was fooling myself into thinking that it was only a wee bit tight. Because "wee" doesn't even come close to how tight it was. It was "hella" tight. Like "vein poppin' on my forehead" tight. Like "need to work on my upper arm strength" tight.

So I ripped. All the way past the heel flap. It was sad, as I was pretty much at the ribbing for the cuff. That's okay because I would have either ripped the socks after the third or fourth wearing or I would have just kept them in a drawer due to the fear level of ripping them if I wore them.

Thankfully ripping also gave me the chance to fix the aesthetic issues I had with my lack of eye of partridge in places and now my heel looks loverly. In the end, I added an extra 4 rounds to the heel gusset (total of 64 stitches instead of 60) to give me a much better fit without overly altering the pattern. Yea!

What I did during Earth Hour '08...

What?! Were you expecting something else?

Take My Class (Please!)

Michelle and I are co-teaching a class at In The Loop Café next Sunday (April 6th) called:

Photography for bloggers and ravelers - Improve Your Knitting Photography

Cost: 35 + Kit cost (TBD aprox $10) - includes a free drink.

Time/Date: Sunday April 6, 2 pm - 4 pm

Do you wish you took better photos of your knitting? Are you tired of washed out, blurry pictures of projects that you put hours and hours of hard work into? Are you confused by the buttons and features on your digital camera? Do you feel like your friends point and laugh at the photos you post to your blog or Ravelry account?

Take your knitting photography to the next level with this introductory course in basic photography techniques. Anyone can learn to take beautiful photos of their knitting and other craft projects, and you don't need a fancy or expensive camera to do it! In this hands-on course you will learn the basics of:

* Composition
* Lighting
* Focus

Bring your camera, the user manual (if possible) and a small knit project or two to practice on.

Sorry for the late announcement! I guess that's what happens when one is traveling for half the month. What's that saying? The path to hell is paved with good intentions? Whatevs.

I'm back!

Did you miss me? Or are you wondering who this person is who barely posts? Are you even reading this anymore? (Bueller? Bueller?)

Anyhoo, I have to say that the trip was awesome. I spend quality time with a friend in need, ate amazing food (natch!) and soaked up the sun when I could. I even came back with the slightest of tans. (Go me!)

Yes, that is a fried chicken sandwich. I'm drooling just thinking about it. Of course, I didn't take a picture of my favorite SF food, the burrito. But trust me when I say I enjoyed a few. If I'm stumped as why my pants no longer fit maybe you can remind me of that fact.

Unfortunately I had very little time for knitting, but I'm not asking for a pity party. I did have something like 10+ hours waiting in airports/airplanes, so I did get a little time for my favorite craft.

Behold, it looks like a sock!

Although don't look too closely at my heel. I was trying to multi task and my eye of partridge looks like normal knitting in a spot or two. Also the heel is really tight. I can get it on my foot but not without a little bit of a struggle. I'm trying to decide if I should rip it out or not.

Any thoughts?

more sunny pics

Thanks to all the Torontonians who reminded me why I moved to Canada. I think just sometimes one needs a break, you know? Sometimes you just need to see this:

Green grass!

And this:

Blue sky!

And of course, I had to get a mani/pedi:

Like little Easter eggs!

Shhh! It's quiet time.

I don't know about you (specifically the other folks who feel like they're living in The Ice Age: The Sequel), but with all the snow we've been having I don't know what to do when I look out my window and I see this:

Greenery! Hazard-free sidewalks!!

Actually, what I am doing is crying and rocking back and forth. But BESIDES that, I don't know what to do.

Especially when I left my house it pretty much looked like this:

Fetal position inducing shoveled walkway

Tell me again why I left California??!

Seamesh Scarf and my thoughts on lace knitting

This project has been lurking around a long time. The yarn, Handmaiden Sea Silk, came home with me in August of 2006 with the intention of being Lace Wings by Alice Cooley. Unfortunately, after 2 months and 13cm I left the yarn to languish. I can't remember when I saw Michelle's two skein Seamesh Wrap (it had to have been at DK) but I decided that was what my Sea Silk needed to be. And she wanted to see what a one skein version of her wrap would look like. Clearly it was destiny. So in July I riiiiipped out Lace Wings and casted on for Seamesh Scarf.

SEAMESH SCARF
Started: July, 2006
Completed: February 11, 2008
Pattern: Seamesh Scarf
Yarn: Handmaiden Sea Silk
Color: no colourway named but it's turquoise-y/blue
Skeins: 1
Needles: 3.75mm/US 5 Knitpicks Options
Notes: First completed lace project!

My love for the yarn returned! My hate for lace vanished!

This was a great first lace project... even though it took me forever to finish. There were times when it just flew off the needles and there were times when it was so full of mistakes that I had to keep rippingknittingrippingknittingripping ad infinitum but in the end it was so worth it.

Why did I like this as my first lace as opposed to Lace Wings or Orangina?

Lace Wings, first off, is a lovely finished item and more talented people than I should be knitting it right now. In my opinion, the pattern is written in such a way that a new lace knitter will break out in cold sweats. Okay, I broke out in cold sweats. It felt like you either needed to know what you're doing (which I didn't) or be okay with guesstimating (which I'm not). And then there is the increasing! Every time I increased I had this horrible thought that I was going to run out of yarn. Sometimes I would forget to increase.

The ripping! The agony! The defeat!

There was lots of ripping back. But the actual nail in the coffin for Lace Wings was the more I thought about it the more I KNEW my friend would not wear a triangular shawl. No matter how much love, blood, sweat and/or tears I put into it. And the more I thought about it, if it were for me I wouldn't wear a triangle either. That sealed the deal.

Since I've been writing this post I've been having thoughts of Orangina go through my mind. I know I started Orangina a lifetime ago but I had so many problems with it that it is in the UFO pile. Possibly for good. (I noticed in one of my old posts I said I would possibly have it done by January of 2008... that was in July of 2006. Harharhar.) But I also realize that I've done a lot of knitting between then and now. When I started Orangina I totally would have considered myself an absolute knitting newbie. The knowledge I have accumulated would make such a difference if I tackle Orangina now. First off, I would use kick-ass, awesome needles as opposed to the cheap bamboo ones that have a weird little bump between the needle and the cord requiring force to get your knitting from the cord to the needle. And I would use lifelines. Copious amount of lifelines. Because it's a 4 row repeat you tend to get comfortable (or cocky, depending) and you stop paying attention and then you have a big mess up that is hard to fix without ripping. Who knows, maybe I'll give it another try.

On the blocking boards...

Look what Michelle helped me finish yesterday.



Wooooooooooooot!

My eyes. The goggles do nothing.

Michelle pointed out another delightful version of Thriller that I haven't seen yet. I mentioned Filipino Prisoner Thriller before quite a while back (but is definitely worth another looky-see). However in all my youtube flopping I never came across this. Be ready to be horrified, amazed and entertained. I present to you... Bollywood Thriller:

The moves! The Music! The PANTS! The puddles! The damsel in distress!

Lordy. My sides ache.

Cuz this is thriller...

I have made this confession before and I will proudly make it again. I love Michael Jackson's Thriller. Say what terrible things you will about the present form of MJ, but back then you can't argue he wasn't brilliant. And his choreographer was outstanding! It was memorable! And clearly compact! Check out this clip of London Underground riders getting down in front of "unsuspecting members of the public." (found on Spacing Toronto's blog)

What would your reaction be if you saw this on the TTC?

RSVP for Knitty Yarn Roundtable Nights!

Okay, so I'm cutting and pasting straight from Amy's blog:


"Starting with the spring '08 issue, we're adding virtual yarn sampling to Knitty. In the spirit of Knitty, this will be a social, collaborative project where a group of us will gather around an assortment of yarns from just about every yarn company on the planet, and get to touch, swatch, fondle and tell the world what you think of the yarn. We want to share our favorites with our readers and let them know about surprises that knit up much differently than the average knitter would expect from just looking or squeezing a ball. As is the custom with Knitty, stuff we don't like won't appear in our pages.

Jacquie B. and I will be there as secretaries and social butterflies for the evenings, gathering your comments and evaluating which yarns will end up in the Yarn Roundtable feature each issue.

We'll be holding the Yarn Roundtable nights at the fabulous, friendly The Purple Purl [1162 Queen St. E. Toronto]. 30 knitters are welcome at each evening, and in order to let as many people as possible have a chance to participate, you can RSVP for only one event in a row. So if you were at January's event, you can RSVP to the 2nd or 3rd of the three I announce today, but not the first. We're planning to hold these monthly (or almost) so there will be lots of chances for everyone to swatch the good stuff!

There's a lot of organization involved in keeping this event tidy and making sure it can run smoothly. Your assistance in following all instructions is very much appreciated!

We've set up a blog just for RSVPs [so that non-Facebook users need not be excluded]. Each event has its own blog post. To RSVP, simply read the instructions for that evening and if you're eligible, leave a comment to that post."

My swatch from the last roundtable

Amy had created a blog for the events and you can find it here to make your reservation.

Make sure you read and understand The Rules and most importantly leave your name and email addy in the comments of the event date you want to attend. Please note that you just can't drop in. You must make an RSVP to be included.

We've got some great yarns lined up for tasting so if you are going to be finding yourself in Toronto on any of the available dates than sign up. See at the roundtable!!

Hey, I made yarn!

Over the weekend the DKC had their Winter Workshops. I took two classes, Fine Finishing and Spindling 101, and both were great. The cool thing about the spindling class? I made yarn. Wee!!

I don't think I'll be taking up the work of the people, but have a new appreciation for those who do. I know for a fact by taking that class I will be a bit more discerning when buying yarn in the future. Don't know if that a good thing or not.

Thanks Lorraine for being such an awesome teacher! And thanks Amy for the use of your gorgeous spindle.

Hey Soooooosan!

I finished the bear. Now you can get that vision of brown overalls outta your head.

HUGGABLE TOY BEAR
Started: December, 2006
Completed: January 25, 2008
Pattern: Lovable Toys (bear) Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool (little bits of Knitpicks Swish for the face detailing)
Color: Curry (#13) & ??? (#30)
Skeins: 1 of the Curry for the actual beer and a bit of the other for the scarf
Needles: 2-16"Crystal Palace bamboo circs 6US/4mm
Notes: didn't double strand. This was my oldest UFO and I am so glad that I got it off the needles.

Dear LAGOP

(click to read the text)

Dear LAGOP,

Thank you so much for your unsolicited email asking for my money. Although your request sounds reasonable, there are three reasons I will not be donating:

1) I don't live in Los Angeles
2) It's been over two years since I've even lived in California
3) I'm a registered Democrat

I will try not to end my response by calling you "spammers" or "asshats" as you were so passionate in your request. However I will kindly ask that you do not solicit funds from me again. I've removed myself from your mailing list and do hope I will never hear from you again. I'm sure that you are sad to see me go, but in all fairness, it is the right thing to do.

In God We Trust and The Stars And Stripes 4Ever,
Jacquie