On the home stretch

I don't know what happened. For a good month, probably longer, I've neglected my poor wrap-front hoodie. But all of a sudden I got the urge and now all I have left to do is one sleeve and some seaming. How cool is that. The picture below is where I was a couple days ago. I'm a bit further along now.



And just because I love the lace pattern, (even though it's a bitch to do since I wasn't able to memorize it) here is a close-up of it. Go me!



I think what got me in the mood to work on it again is the fact that it has started raining here again. I love it when it rains. Alot of people tried to dissuade me from moving to Vancouver because of the weather. You can't let a little rain get you down! And you know what else? I went skimboarding for the first time yesterday. At 7:30am. Because that's when the tide was out. It pissed rain the whole time we were walking to the water, and it rained on and off while we were skimming, but we had a blast anyway. Here's blurry me on one of my successful attempts.



And blurry boyfriend, looking good!



And this was one of my favorite pictures. Boyfriend face down in the water.

FO. Finally

I've mentioned before that I like to get to work early and knit on the bench by my work. Well this morning, I get there and what do I see on the back of the bench? The other sock. I must have dropped it when I got up to go to work. And this morning, there it was, neatly draped over the back like someone put it there. So thank you to whoever it was! And because of that kind act I can show you this....



Ta-da! My socks are done. About time eh? And this pair fits too, unlike the unfortunate footlets
I attempted. The stripes (which I was a bit skeptical of) worked out perfect. I had to find the right spot to start on the second ball and the only difference is at the very end on the toe (but you can't really tell.) The stripes look a little off in the pic because one sock was pulled up further than the other one.

I've been jammin'

Since I am still pretty new to Vancouver, I have yet to experience all of the seasons. But I finally got the chance to go out and pick blackberries along the traintracks and whipped up a batch of peach-blackberry jam. (The recipe was courtesy of one of my lovely co-workers)



The Boyfriend was a bit skeptial about the whole idea until he had a sample. It looks like I will have to make a batch for him and him only. Otherwise there will be tears and bloodshed come Christmas.

The picture on the top here is one of the last steps to the cinnamom-pear jam. The jars full of jam are being boiled so that when they cool they suck in air and the lids go *pop*. That is one of the best sounds ever.



I loved making the first batch so much that I went ahead and made another batch. This time a cinnamon-pear jam. I recieved this jam for Christmas last year and I love it!

Okay, now for some knitting. (I would have made a damn fine housewife!) These aren't the best pictures but I think you'll get the idea.



So that is the back piece done of my sister's mini sweater. I am debating on whether I should stitch over the design to bring it out more. I don't know if that will help. Next time I know to make the designs further apart from eachother and maybe not so thin.

And on other news, I have purchased my plane ticket to Australia! I can't wait. I have a friend there that I haven't seen in over two years. I got a sweet deal on the flight too. The countdown to October 3rd has begun. It's a good thing I have the upcoming Oasis concert to keep my mind occupied for a little while.

Graphing things the hard way

There is news about my sister's mini sweater. The swatch I showed does not reflect what I am doing now. I am just knitting with the cotton and using the other two yarns to fair isle this design in.



Keep in mind, this is just a rough graph-sketch. Also, since I like doing things the hard way, I actually drew the graph lines on myself. Then I plotted the design. Why? Because I like having blue pen all over my hands. Yeah.

I've also found the yarn I will be using for the spider, webs and diamond lace pattern, with a slight change in the finished product. You can see it here, 100% wool (handspun) with a sample of my mom's batik.



I found this yarn and got it for free from the one West Coast Knitter's Guild meeting I attended. (As a guest) The change I am making is from shawl to window curtain. For this lonely window here.



It looks a little bit naked. I've been pondering what to cover it with, and whether I should or not. I was also looking for a project to use the wool for. AND I was itching for a good lace pattern. So that would make it three birds with one stone.

You say it's your birthday!!!

My sister's birthday was a couple of weeks ago and I had asked her to let me know what she would like to have knitted. So here we are. A mini sweater and a sash. In pink and sparkley if possible but nothing too fluffy. Those were the requests. I took a trip to Urban Yarns to pick out some yarn for her.



So this is what I picked up. 5 Mandarin Petit cotton, 1 Phildar-Sunset Rosee and 1 Lurex- lang Yarns. Below is a swatch I knitted up this afternoon with all three yarns together. You can see the glitz if you look close.



I aslo picked this up for 50% off. R2 'paper' yarn (which is 100% nylon) in a cool green.



I thought it might be fun to knit up, I am a sucker for novelty yarn though. Something I am trying to cure.

Finally!

Other bloggers have been flaunting the fall Vogue Knitting and I have been waiting and waiting to pick up a copy. THe magazine shop by my work finally got it in today. It's probably more of a relief for the poor guy that works there. I have been hounding him for a good two weeks I think. A subscription seems inevitable. Anyway, these two pretties will be mine!




I love the look and the versatility of the circle shrug/jacket and I have been searching for a good lace pattern.

I think I will take the time to write about Gladys. Gladys is the woman I see almost every morning before work. I like to get to work early and knit on the bench outside. I am there pretty much like clockwork and so is Gladys. She usually walks by 10 min before I start work. Over the past month she has started saying hello and inquiring about my projects. She is a sweet old lady and walks to the coffee place every morning. I am starting to look forward to our little chats, she is just so sweet! I am thinking of knitting something for her. Maybe for Christmas, maybe sooner. I thought I'd share this because if it wasn't for knitting I would never have met Gladys.

My new button!

Because I am a huge fan of BUST Magazine, I am now a part of their Girl Wide Web. If you haven't read BUST, check it out. It's an informative and crafty read.

On knitting news, there has been a catastrophic snag in my footlet situation. More on that later.

Sock and Clean-up Update

I think I've got the hang of the footlets now. Just the second one to go! Here is the first of the pair done.



And here I am in the middle of the clean-up. I don't really have too much, it's mostly scraps but I've got a project in mind for that! (There are alot of odd balls too that I don't have plans for...)



And in the spirit of socks, this is the new yarn I've purchased. Confetti superwash.



And this is the quick knit first of the pair. Viewed in big.....



and skinny!



I CO 60 sts and did a 3x3 rib. It fits my foot perfect. I did not finish the ball though because I didn't want to overshoot with the length. This length reaches about midcalf, so next time I will know to make it longer. Also, this was knit cuff down, not toe up. I may try the toe up method next and then I can knit to the end of the ball.