Happy Halloween!!

...says Sir Citrouille!

Knitting Questionnaire

While I usually don't dig the "answer a million questions about yourself" thing, I've recently found that it's an incredibly useful resource for anyone compiling a swap package! And so, here is my Knitting Questionnaire, for anyone who needs to know a little about me).
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1. Am I a yarn snob? umm, nope. I think there's a time and a place for every (well, almost every) type of yarn.

2. Do I spin or crochet? I wish I spun! I already have a few too many things on my plate, and so limit the craftiness to knitting, crochet and sewing.

3. Any allergies? No.

4. How long have I been knitting? About 3 years

5. Do I have an online wish list? nope

6. Favorite scent? hmm, possibly vanilla. I like warm scents, vanilla, cinammon, sandalwood.

7. Do I have a sweet tooth? oh yeah

8. What other crafts do I do? see answer #2.

9. My favorite music? I like many types, so can't really simplify that here. Examples: Sarah Harmer, Sam Roberts, Beatles, Sloan, Oasis, The Murmurs, Le Tigre, Bikini Kill, Nirvana....

10. Favorite color(s)? Pink, yellow/gold

11. My family situation, including pets? Living at home, parents and siblings and 5 feathered friends (guess what type they are?!)

12. My favorite yarns to knit with? Wool, most definately. Cotton, at least 100% cotton, is stiff and causes my hands to cramp. Hopefully I'll meet a good one some day!

13. Any fiber I just hate? not the biggest fan of the highly acrylic yarns. I don't "just hate" them, though.

14. What is my current knitting obsession? sweaters! and argyle... in that, I want to knit a sweater with argyle, and hope to start my own design very soon!

15. My favorite thing to knit? tops - t shirts, sweaters etc... I also like a challenge, hence my desire to try my hand at fair isle and intarsia

16. What am I knitting right now? Hmm, got an hour? For the ones that I can remember: legwarmers, clapotis, Fair Isle U-Neck from VK, an army of little teddy bears, Bergere de France sweater from Craftster, purse...

17. What do I think about ponchos? wish I could wear them - I'm just too short!

18. Straight or circular needles? either or... I suppose straights (they really are prettier)

19. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? eww... aluminum hurts my wrists (yet I keep using them!) bamboo and plastic are good. Brittany needles = the best!

20. Am I a sock knitter? nope. I'm truly opposed to knitting socks - what's the point? They wear out so quickly, you have to put your dear, hard work on to stinky, sweaty feet... blah! (now, this does not mean that I'm opposed to sock yarn! There's plenty can be made with the stuff!)

21. How did I learn to knit? taught myself

22. My oldest UFO? that's got to be my intarsia bag, with a picture of my favourite canary

23. My favorite animal? canaries, of course!

24. Favorite holiday? Halloween! Candy, costumes, the beauty of autumn, sooo great :)

25. Is there anything I collect? yarn. In tremendous quantities.

26. Any knitting magazine subscriptions? nope (tried to subscribe to Interweave, they never sent any issues!)

28. Any books I'm dying for? can't wait til Eunny Jang's comes out - can't wait for Stefanie Japel's (aka Glampyre) either!

29. Any patterns I covet, but haven't bought? Orangina, hands down!

FO - Angora Neck Tube

My first forray into angora knitting, this is my very own angora neck tube.
I got the yarn at the Knitter's Fair in September, and the next day was finished the neck tube. It's so soft and it's got the greatest halo of fuzz floating around it.

What else could you possibly make with such a tiny amount of angora? :)

Knit Picks arrives :)

After only a week, my Knit Picks order of Elegance yarn has arrived! And, despite the many WIPs I have at the moment, I've indulged myself and started knitting my U-Neck Fair Isle sweater from the fall issue of Vogue Knitting.



The colours are based on the cute little sparrows that I see every day hopping around campus. (except for the rusty orange, that's just for flair).





Not too much progress yet, but it's so wonderful to knit with I'm sure it won't take me long at all (hehe, at least until I get to the fair isle bit...)
I'm sure this will test my patience, but I WILL conquer this sweater!

FO - Cleaves

This is my take on knitty's Cleaves. Great pattern - very creative! I had purchased 3 skeins of Lamb's Pride Bulky in white, cream and brown because I wanted to make myself a toque. When that didn't work out so well, I used it for my Cleaves! Unfortunatley, I only had 3 skeins and the pattern calls for four. I made a mod to the sleeves (didn't make them as wide as the pattern says), both for personal taste and in the hopes of extending the yarn. The top part could be a few inches longer, but I'm still happy with it :)
I'm so glad it's the fall now, so I can finally wear it.

Legwarmers Part 4

Gotta love the rainbow legwarmers! Just about the only garment I'll knit with crazy colours (since no one will see them but me!)
These ones have a great leaf pattern, that is shown off more so in the dark photo (sorry again!) and the colours are of course highlighted in the bright one (where I decided to turn on the flash :p)

Legwarmers Part 3

And here is installment three of my legwarmers. Sorry about the darkness of the pics! Why is it always late at night that I get a chance to take photos?
These ones are a wee bit short, because I made them from 2 skeins of 100% wool, handspun and dyed by Eweful yarns of eBay. I love their stuff. It's just that each skein is only approx. 100 yrds, and with the big-time celtic cable on the fronts, that eats up quite a bit of yarn.
I bought the skeins without knowing what to make with them, since the colours are so great.

Legwarmers Part 2

.... and after much procrastination here is installment 2 of my legwarmers. Oh so very usful and fun to knit - very easy to get creative with, and try out new cables :)
These ones were made with one skein of Victorian Pink colourway of NatureSpun 100% wool. Soft and comfortable. If you'll notice, one of the two bottom cuffs curls up. This was because I cast off using the usual, regular, plain-jane cast off. This was not good.
So, I tried out the backstitch cast off from my wonderful Knitter's Handbook by Montse Stanely (page 89, if you're interested).
I know other patterns for legwarmers don't call for you to sew in an elastic, but I've done so for all mine. I found that they were far too loose, and kept falling down. The elastic I used was just about 1/4 inch wide, and I just wrapped it around my leg, made a mark, and sew it one end to the other. Then I just used some of the left over yarn and stitched it into the top band of the ribbing.





Got to love the extreme close up!

I lied...

As it turns out, I have gotten a chance to take and post some pics. This is a bit of a mini-preview of a WIP that I haven't touched for a few weeks now - which is a pity, cause I love how it's turning out and the yarn is amazing! It's a kit from Handmaiden, that I'm personalizing with my own design. The colours make me droooool :) I bought this yarn at the Knitter's Fair in September, and had to start knitting with it immediately! I only hope that I can continue the progress very soon.

No News :(

Unfortunately, I've been rather bogged down with various projects (non-knitting related) at this point, and won't be able to post any WIPs for a week or so. Hope to be back in a week. Until then, happy knitting!

I know the outcomes of these quizzes are fairly predictable but...

You are Maryiln Monroe

A classic tortured beauty You're the dream girl of many men Yet they never seem to treat you right

What Famous Pinup Are You?

How fun is that? Great time wasters, those quizzes :)

Quilting Fun!

Hello all out there in blog land!
In an attempt to learn to sew, I've been invited and accepted to participate in a very fun Purple Quilt chain letter. Due to my lack of crafty/artsy friends, I'm asking anyone out there who's interested to just leave a comment after this post, and I can send you one of the letters and you'll be started! It's great fun, you'll end up receiving enough fabric to make yourself a quilt.

Any takers?

Look what I am!

Which Jane Austen Character are
You? (For Females) Long Quiz!!!
created with QuizFarm.com

What kind of yarn
are you?

You are Merino Wool.You are very
easygoing and sweet. People like to keep you close because you are so softhearted. You love to be comfortable and warm from
your head to your toes.
Take this
quiz!

A desperate cry for help (as well as a gratuitous use of hyperbole)

Anyone know how to fix my terrible template layout? I can't get the posts to remain at the top of the page, instead of sitting beneath the side bar :p

Progress on Bergere de France

I had to post my progress on the Bergere de France sweater. I'm using Manos in a great pinky colour (that my friend called "Autumn Pink". I love it :) Hopefully more FOs soon! October is knitting month!

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Edited to add: The fact that I hate gauge! Had to FROG :P
Now I'm trying to adapt the pattern to a smaller size for meself. Hope my math skills can cope... THAT is why I keep a calculator in my knitting bag o' fun. Updates to follow! (as will those damn legwarmers at some point...)

Is it wrong to do this?

Too many WIPs, must get a hold on them all.

Current WIP list -
angora leaf scarf from Scarf Style
angora argyle sweater (own design)
koigu clapotis
wool legwarmers
silk&wool sweater (my own design)
central park hoodie
another retro 40s sweater with Lorna's Laces
cabled sweater from craftster
teddy bears
little bunnies
and way too many more ideas floating around in my head!

Hopefully there will be some FOs in the near future.