I’ve had a good day of organizing - I bought a set of plastic drawers from Zellers for the stash, and put it all away in there. It looks very neat and tidy.
I’ve done another row of bubbles on the sleeve, and will do more once I’m done this post.

Jumping on the bandwagon with the latest meme. It’s hard to remember what I’ve shared or not.
10 Knitterly Things You Don’t Know About Me
1. I started my knitblog with this thought in my mind that somehow I’d attract a following (like the Yarn Harlot’s, or Wendy Knits) immediately. I don’t know why I thought this, my projects aren’t amazing, nor do I churn out projects like some other bloggers. My pictures are average, I can go for weeks without posting, this blog overall gets an average grade in my mind. So I know why I don’t have the following.
2. Now that I’ve been knitblogging for a while, I realise that I didn’t want the ‘following’, I just wanted comments on my projects, answers to questions I ask. It’s just nice to get feedback from people who know knitting. Friends and family or fine, but it’s always nice to hear from someone who knows exactly what has gone into it.
3. Enough about blogging. I started knitting one summer (with a 100% wool scarf!) because I couldn’t find a job, and ended up sitting around the house watching TV. Knitting while watching made me feel less guilty.
3. I have a bad habit of picking a pattern and then trying to substitute yarn that really won’t work with that pattern. Luckily now I know enough not to continue with those projects.
4. I don’t know what style I knit with. The yarn hangs on whichever side it needs to, I stick right needle in stitch with my right hand, let go of said needle (sometimes propping it with my left), wrap yarn around needle with right hand, drop yarn, pick up needle again. I don’t know. It works for me.
5. When I’m watching TV without my knitting, I feel twitchy.
6. I want all my socks to be handknit. I’m not waiting for that day though, at the rate I knit. I own two pairs so far.
7. I’ve been tempted to try spinning, but I’m scared that if I do I will end up with another hobby to spend money on, and something else to take time away from my knitting. I don’t want time taken away from my knitting.
8. I’ve never read any of Elizabeth Zimmerman’s books.
9. I have knitted in public, but I’m hesitant about it. On the one hand, I want to meet other knitters, on the other, I don’t want to have to answer all the non-knitter questions.
10. I knit almost exclusively for myself, mainly because it takes me so long. Deadlines are so hard to meet! The few things I have knit for other people, they didn’t know about it. I couldn’t make whoever it is wait that long for something.

And now a few things I’ve found recently that I want to share:
Dragon Shawl! - I want to make this. Apparently you can email the designer, and buy the pattern for $12, if you don’t have the cash for the $600 already made shawl.
Email you future self!
Second Life - It seems really interesting, when I first heard about it I thought I could become one of the people who makes real-life money in the world, but after reading more articles I think you need programming knowledge. damn.
Avatar - the Last Airbender - My boyfriend bought this at HMV recently, after hearing from a friend it was a good series. It is an AMAZING series. It’s produced by Nickelodeon, it’s in English, it’s written for the Nick audience (young) but there is so much more in there. It’s great. The entire first season is available in a nice boxed set, and series two is currently running, I think they’re up to episode 15. I can’t tell you how much fun this series is. WATCH IT NOW.
Destash and Restash Flickr group - good for getting rid of yarn you just won’t use.

That’s as far as I’ve knit on my bubbly sweater. This weekend though, should have some good knitting opportunities.
First of all, I’ve been home since 1:15pm. Normally, I work till 5, but I checked my cell phone messages at lunch, and there was one from my builging manager saying that there has been a flood that may have entered my unit. Naturally, I went home. It wasn’t terrible, someone’s fridge exploded on the 4th floor, and we’re on the 1st, so we just got the last few dribbles. So since lunch I’ve been pottering; doing dishes, garbage, etc.

I’ve been working uber-lots, and starting Monday I work retail 9-5, then stage manage 6:30-10:30 until the end of October. Pretty crazy, but theatre doesn’t pay the bills for me. Yet.

Speaking of working, I am also on a call list for a security company that does lots at the Saddledome. Sadly, I don’t get to work Elton John tonight (I don’t care how busy I am, I would’ve taken it!), but I saw Mariah Carey (feat. Busta Rhymes) on Monday, and San Jose whipping the Flames on Wednesday. Me telling you I’m a security guard is much funnier when you know what size person I am. I’m little.

I needed to mention the hockey game, because I need to do a shoutout. To the girl who was waaaaay up in the east nosebleeds (where I was working) who was carrying the Weekend Getaway Bag from the Fall 05 IK I say: hi fellow knitter!

Now that I look at the picture, it was a slightly modified version; it was smaller.
I wish I had talked to her, I mean, I did have the perfect excuse. I was searching bags after all.

But now to make a grocery list, then possibly knit.

I saw this book at work today. It looks good, but I think all the patterns have been published before. I mean, the cover is Butterfly for pete’s sake! River is in there too, and quite a few others I recognized. Pictures are here.

I love the hooded shrug and the blue chevron lace sweater.

I find it interesting that the book uses the same pictures as the Rowan magazines, and yet the book isn’t endorsed by Rowan. Or should I say, it isn’t a Rowan publication like say, Denim People. All the ones I recognized as Rowan patterns gave Rowan yarn as the suggested yarn. I can’t remember if all the patterns did though.

Plodding away on my bubbly jacket, the ribbing took forever, but looks nice and even. The pattern says to do it on a needle a size lower, but I’m using US 5s for the body, and that’s as low as my Denise set goes. In looking for a smaller needle size, I found that the only needles I had that were smaller were sock needles. I ended up starting on 2.5mm DPNs. Rubber band on the end of each one, and a bulldog clip for when I put them down, so the stitches didn’t pop off the overloaded needles.

I’ve done the first bit of bubble pattern, and then found a mistake. boo. I found where I need to put in the extra stitch, I’m still not sure how I lost one though.

Every good knitter needs a winter sweater project. Lots have more than one! So far, I’m just aiming for one and hoping I can finish that.

I bought the chocolate brown Waterspun in the summer of 2004. I was going to make the skirt from IK’s Heathered Duo. Then I realied that a knit skirt was the baddest of bad Ideas, so the bag of deliciously soft Waterspun has languished in the stash for just over two years now.
I made my Rogue in a camely-tan shade of Waterspun, but sadly I’ve hardly worn it, as it was just a little bit too small, and much, much too warm. I’ve been wanting to make something out of the chocolate shade (cocoa is its actual name) for a while, but haven’t been able to find the right pattern.
The yarn is super-warm. This cannot be a pullover-type garment, it needs to be able to be opened to cool off. Or, zipped up to keep you toasty warm. My Rogue is all right as long I only wear it outside, on cold, cold days. Although, I will be getting many many more cold days here than I did in BC.
As you can tell from the picture above, I was thinking of making IK’s Sunrise Circle Jacket. The gauge? Completely 100% WRONG. And on something as crazily constructed as that jacket, that is a bad idea. So I decided to do something crazy. I measured the guage swatch I made for the SCJ, wrote it down, and then went through all the patterns I’ve printed off the net, and all the knitting magazines I have (well, winter and fall issues anyway, have I mentioned this is damn warm yarn?) looking for cardigan/jacket patterns with a certain gauge.
I go through all my magazines some time after I’ve had my first few looks through them and put stickies on the pages of things I like. I actually found two patterns that fit the bill, and had stickies!
One from Interweave:

And one from Vogue:

The Interweave one is from Fall 2004, the Vogue one is from Winter 2003.

I looked. I hummed. I hawwed. Then I did something crazy. I swatched the bubble stitch pattern. And you know? It’s really fun! And fast too. The linen stitch bits of it will more than make up for that fastness, but I think I’ll like it.
I have three skeins of a nice denim blue, and two leftover of the camel, I think I will use one or the other colour to do the pocket linings. I like the idea of little hidden bits of colour. I was going to do the facings for the SCJ in a contrast colour too. It just adds a little something. The question will be though, blue or tan?

I still want to make the Slanted cable one, but I think it needs a silkier yarn.

Would you have made this one, or the Slanted Cable, or something different out of this yarn?

I’ve moved in, been here more than a week now, and just about everything is unpacked. I’m very excited about this. It also made me realise just how many clothes I actually own. The answer is waaaay too many. I take up so much closet space I feel bad. And I’m planning on make more. oops.
The stash is still in its plastic tubs, residing in our craft/geek/guest bedroom. I’m going to get a set of plastic drawers to keep it all in, and that will be all the stash I am allowed. Promise. But you can bet it’s going to be one of the tall sets of drawers!

The blue binder is knitting patterns I’ve printed off the internet. Note wool winder back on the lowest shelf. Also note Elrond doing battle with… something.
I think my craft stash in general will be growing, I’ve gotten the urge to start sewing now I have my machine here. I’ve always had my machine, it’s been in storage somewhere in our house since I received it Christmas when I was 9. I never wanted to actually use it until now though. I think it may be the same reason I actually want to bake now. Mum was very good at both, and anything I did wasn’t fast enough or right enough. She was neevr mean about it, but she’s the type who can’t just stand and watch me stir something slowly because I’m getting used to it or thinking about what just went in the bowl, she’d take the spoon, give it a good whisk and call it done. Now, I can work at my own pace and not worry about anyone looking over my shoulder and tapping their foot with impatience as i check the directions for the 5th time.
I have a job at a bookstore, so I get 30% off books, my first few purchases will be how-to-sew books I think. And possible some knitting books I’ve been lusting over. Any recommendations?

I’m looking forward to finishing thrummed mitten #2 (had you forgotten about those? I almost had!) in time for an Alberta winter. eek.

PS: for the curious, pictures of the new home. Only the living room so far, as the rest is still messy.

Well, we’re moved! And the living room is even unpacked! Unfortunately I can’t quite say the same thing for the office/sparebedroom/yarn storage room. Computers are up, but we just haven’t got around to all those other boxes. Hopefully before the weekend, and then I can get in some good knitting time.
No progress, the closest I’ve come to yarn in the past while is carrying the tubs around. Although, I did open them today to check for smoke smell. They’d been stored in a garage, which is fine, but that was the smoking area of that house. And my tubs close, but don’t really seal. Luckily, I can’t smell any smoke in the yarn. Which is good, because I’d find it very hard to work with, and hard to sell on, because I would have to mention the smell.
I want to knit a sweater this winter.

I am participating in Summer of Stash by not buying yarn until September 4th or after (here’s my group blog post, with rules and exceptions)).

This post will stay at the top of this page until that date.

I went 2 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days without buying yarn. Then on June 24th, I broke down and bought 3 skeins of Crystal Palace Cotton Chenille at 40% off.