Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Ravellenics

I cast-on Scalene last Friday, a garter shawl. I know, I know, I'm not really into garter, but it seems to be knitting up fairly fast, and I hope to finish it and perhaps another shawl in the 2-week timeframe.

Scalene

The colors I'm using are SG Rhinocerous Beetle which is a black, and the January Nudibranch which is a Rusty-red color. The contrast is striking and so far it's a very pleasing knit.

SG Nudibranch January 

These leaves are lovely to knit, but currently on hold.
The project doesn't meet the requirements for wips-wrestling which is the normal event I enter.
Projects had to have not been worked on since mid May to qualify for wips-wrestling, so this will have to go on hold until I'm through the Ravellenic period.

Codex Leaves Closeup

Codex Leaves pic 1



Thursday, July 26, 2012

Hurry up and wait..

The weeks have flown by and I'm still living without a dishwasher and in a challenged space. I pushed and pushed to have work done at my place in a timely manner. I was project manager extraordinaire even though the resources were not my own, and I didn't know about any of the other dependencies or competing projects. The weather's been warm, hot, overcast, stormy, rainy, electrifying, dry, and warm again, and I've had a train of people coming in and out.

Today, at last, we're ready to paint, and I know I have that little paint can just waiting for me...and there it is. I take a snap and e-mail it so I can get the quote in my hands, and realize as I turn the corner into my bathroom that that the walls are not as I remembered, they're not the same colour as the kitchen, that of the paint in the cute little can. Nope, it's a light peachy colour. So, another little surprise expense unplanned. People tell me that work on your home is always more than you expect, so to budget a bit more than you plan for just such surprises. At this point, I'd say budgeting 30% more or more, and allowing for 3x as much time as you think the  minimum will be.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Some weird weather we're having

Five people told me today about the thunder / lightning and torrential downpour last night (thursday). I woke up twice in the night myself to the rumbling thunder, but no lightning. I suppose I'm not high enough to see it.

When I looked out, everything was green and calm.  Then, when I was just settling back to sleep, an incredible downpour of rain pelting the roof - twice in one night, both times -  short but intense.

In the morning, overcast skies with just a hint of blue peeking out when I looked out of my window at work warmed to sunny weather in the afternoon, coinciding with free "refreshers *" at starbucks this afternoon. Again some weird rain - lightning bouts alternating with flashes in the sky at knit night, and driving home, a few streaks of light horizontally across the purple night sky.


* Refresher a.k.a the equivalent of an italian soda made with regular tap water instead of carbonated.  Pretty amazing how they can evolve another $4+ product line from watered down juice and ice. One was a lime-mint flavour, looks/tastes like a mojito mix without the alcohol, and the others a berry mixture with a few frozen berries thrown in. ka-ching.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

The secret handshake

"Yarn", I said, as I stood in front of a lady standing in a small crowd that had gathered in front of Future Shop today.  The lady looked at me blankly.

I said it again softly. She turned to me and stared. When I asked her her name, it turned out she was the wrong lady. Turns out Future Shop was having some kind of gaming release, so there was a reason for the small crowd that gathered there.

I ended up finding the knitter I was looking for; turns out, I was early for once, and she arrived right on time. I didn't have to say "Yarn", either, I just showed her the yarn, and she smiled.

Saturday, July 07, 2012

The Levenwick is off the needles....

I finally finished the button band on the Levenwick, and blocked it last weekend:

Bitterroot Levenwick blocking

and I've pinned Larch, but not seamed yet.

Meanwhile, new projects are beckoning...
I started one long-term one - 

(a) a Sylvan Blanket which is made with leaf strips dovetailed together.

Codex Leaves Delirium

The yarn is SG Codex in Delirium. Here is a pic of the original skeins:

SG Delirium Codex

Two leaves measures 9" long, and 3" wide.     

I have about 26 strips to make, each with a guesstimated 16 leaves, and using ~48g of yarn.

So far at knit night, I knit 6 leaves, so I have 8 total.
Needle Size: US 7


and hopefully, a short-term one - 

(b) a Summery Lacewing top. Intended to be using corn yarn, but I'm adapting the yarn, the gauge, and hoping I can adjust the decreases to the waist, and increases.

Here's the start -

Lacewing Border pic2

US 6 for the border cast-on and for the body.
My gauge 24st/32 R, targeting the 38.5" for 36".

and the yarn:

Crimson Dropwing cake

black friday

I've updated the sale page with some key sales for Black Friday. I'm not doing a lot of yarn buying these days, so these are the on...