Fabric hangover....

I think the best way to describe this past weekend would be: Fabric Bender.
(Note: I've been trying to get this post written for 2 days. I'm on vacation and I keep getting distracted, thinking of other things to do... sorry)

Friday evening I finished turning all the fabric circles rightside out for my niece's blanket. I sewed them together and now all that remains is the mind-numbing process of hand stitching to tack down the edges of the circles.





I used the tutorial from Sunshine's Creations for Mock Cathedral Windows. The fabrics are mostly fat quarters and a few scraps.

Turns out tacking down 4 circular edges each on 56 circle/squares takes some time. Especially when a person keeps getting distracted....

Then, still Friday evening, I copied a tank top I have and sewed this from the pillow case from a set of t-shirt sheets I bought for the fabric.



That took me up until about 12:30am...

Saturday, I started a knitting project (no pic yet... )(yes I still knit)(sheesh). Then I suddenly decided I wanted to dye the shirt I made Friday, so I did that (see above pic). Then I wanted to try reconstructing a t-shirt I never wore, so I made new jammies.



The shorts are from the t-shirt sheets. I didn't have a pattern for either, but I did borrow schematics from the shorts in the summer 2005 Interweave Knits.

Then I liked that one so much I made another:


Made from an old white t-shirt I never wore. I dyed it using a method I call "way-too-lazy-to-do-it-properly" method:
I soaked the fabric, put it in a microwaveable bowl, filled the bowl with water, sprinkled dye powder on the water, didn't stir it and microwaved it for 2 sets of 3 minutes on high.

I really liked the results. Then I noticed the back:



I don't know if you can see the skull there, but it was completely unintentional...

Sunday I made another copy of the tank top from Friday. While working on that top tragedy struck.

Photo HERE. I figured you should be warned before you see the picture. It's not for the faint of heart. Maybe. Depends on how you feel about sewing injuries involving needles. And fingers.

Somehow I managed to get my finger while I was zigzaging my edges. I thought I had just pinched it so I instinctively put it in my mouth, which scratched my lip, which is how I realized I had a needle through my finger.

Amazingly, it's totally fine now. I have a couple of spots where the needle went through, but other than that, nothing! That doesn't mean I didn't almost faint at the time.

And, I finished the shirt


Back to the fabric bender:

I had been wanting to make a twirly skirt for my friend's daughter for a while, so I started figuring that out. I wanted to use fabric in stash, so I planned to make a tiered skirt. Then I got the idea to do a patchwork skirt but I didn't have enough scraps to do the whole thing scrappy. I ended up using a combination of two different tutorials: the Tiered Skirt tutorial at Kuky Ideas and the Patchwork Circle Skirt from Just Tutes.



It was very well received by my friend's daughter.

Her exact words were "Lori, I LOVE my skirt! I love my skirt Lori. I LOVE my skirt!! I love the skirt you made me." off and on all day yesterday... I love when someone loves things I make for them!!

Now I have a couple of little sundresses in progress for my sister's little girl. I haven't seen them since Christmas, but I'll get to see them on Friday. I got some cute cotton prints on sale at Walmart and I'm planning to sew up a bunch of baby sized sundresses for both of my baby nieces.

And now, I need to work on the blanket. Unless I can think of something else to distract me. Like my knitting. Or Harry Potter. Or a sundress....

New Threads

I have this, er, phobia about cutting into "good" cloth. I'm always afraid that I'll wreck it somehow. Cloth out of the remnant bin? no problem. Fat quarters? no problem. Recycled cloth from thrifted clothing? no problem. But somehow, if I have gone to the fabric store, picked out material, taken it to the cutting table, had it cut, washed it, dried it, ironed it... Somehow it takes on this Big Deal Don't Wreck It thing.

This top is made from a dupatta that I had from when I lived in Pakistan. I had dyed it in a bucket that was too small, which resulted in an almost tie dyed look. The pattern is New Look 6515.



I followed advice found on the internets and used the size closest to my measurements. In a perfect world, this would have worked out. As it was, If I had bothered to read all the instructions I didn't realize that the pattern had 4 1/2 inches of ease. Which is a fairly significant amount. Considering there is a zipper on the side seam to allow you to get into the top.



I worked on this all evening last night. If I had a proper table (or any sort of work surface) for cutting, it might have been quicker. When I finished it was about 12:30. I tried it on and was, well, in a word: disappointed. I followed the directions for finishing the arm cyes but it made the shoulders point out somehow. I took out the stitching I had done, redid it this afternoon and now I'm at least okay with it. It's not my favorite garment ever, it's definately too big. But, overall, I like it. Ish.

Last week, I used another dupatta to make a skirt:



I don't wear skirts that often, but it's so breezy feeling that I kind of think I might if it gets really hot again.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some sewing to do. I'm finally working on the blanket for my sister's little girl Preslee.

suckers

All those people who preordered, waited in line for 12 or more hours, who scrambled to get The Book yesterday...



Picked up this afternoon (a day after the craziness). 40% off jacket price. Total time spent waiting?

90 seconds, the bulk of which was taken up with the elderly woman ahead of me in line not being able to hear the cashier.

Good thing I just got to the straight stocking stitch section of my (not so) Beaded Cami.



I spent my afternoon with the book propped open, knitting round and round... Ahh...

If only I didn't have to go to work tomorrow...

Mom Update
Mom has an appointment at the cancer clinic on July 31 and then a biopsy follow up with her surgeon on August 2. She isn't sure if the appointment at the cancer clinic will just be an evaluation or if they will actually start treatment. They told her to be prepared for a 3 hour appointment. I'm hoping to be able to take that week off to go with her to her appointments. I have most of my vacation days left, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers for her.

Bored? At work? Me? Nah....

Yesterday's Craft magazine blog had link to The Peace of Paper's Kusadama Flower origami made with sticky notes. What was I supposed to do? Not make them? I had absolutely nothing work-related to do had a temporary lull in my hectic day so...

(exclusive surreptitious cell phone photos!)

In progress Super Exciting Action Shot! Ooohh... The fold! Ooohh! The Uhu glue*!



Completed flower. The paper clips are to help the Uhu glue do its bit.



Completed flower bottom



After I finished making my flower, I noticed this note. It was stuck up underneath the overhang on my desk (the reception desk). Not sure who it's from but... aww...
(one of my coworkers is convinced it's from a certain other co-worker. she senses
intrigue and secret romance in places it never existed...)




*How much fun is it to pronounce "Uhu Glue"? You can say it "Yoo Hoo Gloo" or "OOO Hoo Gloo". Either way! Fun!**
**I promise I wasn't ingesting any glue.

In which I potentially bite off more than I can chew, so to speak

Friday evening I finished spinning a 4 oz chunk of the alpaca while waiting to go see the Transformers (btw: awesome).


I think I need bigger bobbins

I started plying it while waiting for the (very late) boy. Why do women always get the bad rep for not being on time? ehem. Anyway...

I finished plying it Saturday morning



4oz Alpaca, 2 ply, approx. 224yd/105m. It turned out to be a very even approx. worsted weight. I'm really pleased with it. Not sure what it will become yet, but I have more to spin so we'll see... I'm thinking maybe a vest or something.

Saturday morning it was 20C/68F at about 7am. By 10 it was 30C/86F and sunny and humid. So, of course, I decided to prep some wool for spinning. Who wouldn't? I didn't get signed up for the Tour de Fleece* but I had planned to try this for a while. I have about 24oz of wool roving (unknown breed) from Custom Woolen Mills. I plan to spin it up into enough for a sweater.

Not sure if I've bitten off too much here...

I dyed all the wool at once by just setting the pots outside in the sun (thus not heating up the house too much).


I was glad to see the color turned out in this picture. For some reason it is extremely difficult for my camera to capture. Before dyeing I split the roving into approx. 2oz strips. I used a mix of forest green, denim blue and a little bit of a light brown. I don't think I would have been able to produce this color if I had tried for it, but amazingly it is exactly what i had been imagining. It's an almost solid deep teal/blue/green. The slight variations in the intensity blend well together, if I do say so myself. Especially since it's nearly accidental... ehem.

I was a bit impatient to get going on the spinning, I wanted to do a test to see how I was going to spin it.



ehem.

By late afternoon I was able to start spinning (who are you calling impatient? huh?)(haha) and spun up one of the strips.


2oz, approx. 114yards/104m. It's fairly even, which I was happy about and about a worsted-ish weight.

One down, 11 to go...

One more shot of yarn p*rn before I go try to cool off:




*I was going to link to the Tour de Fleece site but a quick Google search turned up more than one Tour de Fleece. Who knew?

Mom update

My mom finally got her biopsy results, and the news is pretty much what we've been expecting.

The cancer is not a "new" cancer in that it actually spread from when she had breast cancer 13 years ago. They have determined that too much of both lungs is affected by the tumors/lesions/cancer and that it is inoperable. However, the doctor sounded optimistic that with chemo she would be able to have another 2-3 "reasonably healthy" years. (Not sure what he meant by "reasonably healthy" but we'll take it.) The doctor will be registering my mom as a cancer patient so that she can get oxygen supplied by health care. Hopefully that will at least help ease her breathing somewhat.

We're not sure when she will start with chemo or what kind of chemo, but I'm hoping they get it all moving sooner rather than later.

Thank you all for your concern and your prayers. My mom thanks you too.

good intentions...

I've been meaning to post about my Canada Day long weekend. I have the post all thought out, I just need to get the pictures done.

That may have to wait a bit. I got invited to join Ravelry!!* (EEEE) I had put my name on the waiting list quite a while ago and they are adding people as they are able to. I anticipate losing whole weeks to surfing over there (my screen name or whatever you want to call it is subloke, same as on craftster). I will get something going here soon, promise.

In the mean time, still no update on my mom's biopsy results. Hopefully soon.

*if you are still waiting for an invite, I'm sorry if this is rubbing it in.

Update update

I've been meaning to write all week but thought I'd have some news by now. My time with my mom was good considering the circumstances. She came through the biopsy well, although she was feeling very worn out from the anesthetic. She is still having a lot of trouble breathing but she seemed to have a bit of a respite from the constant coughing while I was home, which was a relief for her. The doctors told her she would have the results yesterday but they weren't ready for some reason. The waiting right now is pretty hard, but even worse is knowing she's having so much trouble breathing and the cough is back again.

My brother and his family will be there this coming weekend and for a week, so Mom will have plenty of time with grandkids to cheer her up and my brother and his wife can make sure she's taken care of when needed.

I have other things to post about: UFOs, insane crafting ideas, lessons in the importance of measuring twice... Those will come soon. This coming weekend is a long weekend (Canada Day!) so I plan to relax and work on some stuff.

Thanks for the encouragement.

Follow up post...

My Mom:
I meant to update on Monday evening but time slipped away. Thank you for praying for my Mom and your encouragement.

Mom is doing really well. Initially they had planned to do a surgical biopsy and attempt to remove one of the tumors. Just before she went in for surgery they changed the plan and opted for a "small incision" biopsy instead. They did not remove the tumor but did take samples for testing. She will get the results of those tests a week from today.

I will be going home to Saskatchewan today to help out while she recovers from the anesthetic and the incisions (and to keep her from doing any gardening or baking!), so I will know more first hand when I'm there.

The rug:
Thank you for the nice comments. I would like to do a tutorial, but it will have to wait for next week (or so). I will be thinking about it in the meantime...

Braided Rag Rug

I've been working on a bunch of different projects the last week or 2 (or 8) but don't seem to be finishing much. Or posting pics of WIPs. Or updating... sigh.

Well, if anyone is left (hi!) this is the latest in the recent bout of "I think i'm turning Amish*" crafting that has taken over my life:

Braided Rug
Materials: 3 old sweatshirts and 1 pair of (really) old sweatpants
Pattern: Wing It, by me. (i.e. No pattern) 4 strand braid, laced in an oval.
Dimensions: 23" x 30"

I've had the idea in my head for quite a while but finally tried it a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed this project. The sweatshirts/pant strips seemed to naturally fold inside out for most of the way, as I was folding as I braided.


*I mean no disrespect to the Amish people, nor do I assume I know anything about them. I'm using the term as a generalization and in an attempt to be funny.

I've been fairly preoccupied and stressed lately. You see, a month or so ago (around Mother's Day) my mom found out that she has lesions (?? terminology and I are not close friends) on her lungs. My mom is a breast cancer survivor. She went through surgery and treatment about 13 years ago. We always knew there was a possibility that more cancer could turn up, but after 13 years you kind of figure it's not going to. She will have a surgical biopsy this coming Monday (the 18th) when they will try to remove one of the tumors (again with the terminology). We are hoping this will ease her breathing.

If you, dear reader, are so inclined, please consider praying for my Mom and the surgeons and all of us that day and the coming weeks. I plan to go to help her out when she gets home from the hospital, so I will be there from about Wednesday through the weekend. I plan to bring knitting to help with the restless nervous energy. So I'll be back with (hopefully) an FO and maybe some WIPs and an update at that time.

Thank you in advance.

Bunny Baby Quilt

As I mentioned in my last post, I have suddenly developed this interest in quilts. I don't know what brought it on. When it started, I had this image in my mind of a baby quilt. I knew exactly what I wanted it to look like and set out to find a pattern for it. I couldn't find what I was looking for, so, as I usually do, I winged it, hoping that it would come out alright.



It did. This is exactly what I had pictured in my mind. ahh. (The pictures of the whole quilt don't seem to do it justice. I'll try to get better pics soon).



I found a picture of a bunny that I liked, worked some *cough cough* magic to get it the size I wanted and cut out my applique piece. I may have cheated here a bit, as the applique was done by machine. I don't think the intended recipient will mind, as she is 4 months old and even if she disapproves her grasp of language with which to verbally assault my quilting skills is limited at best.


(I love the way the binding looks! who knew I could be so enamored with a project that is so pink?)

I backed it with a fleece blanket from W*lm*rt (rather than with batting and a backing) which I thought would be simpler. Turns out, it wasn't. I didn't realize how much easier it is to hand quilt with batting and a backing until I started to hand quilt the placemats for my mom (in the middle of working on the bunny quilt). But, it was too late to change my mind on the bunny quilt, so it is backed with fleece. I like it, it is cozy, but it was a bugger to hand quilt. Can you say "sucker"?



The stitches aren't as even as they could be, nor is it as precise as it should be, but in the end, I'm very please with how it came out. I have plans for another one for my other baby niece, but I'm re-thinking the fleece backing. My fingers are sore from this one.

I am still knitting and spinning, just not necessarily finishing a whole lot of stuff. I need more time to just sit and knit/spin/sew. Why does my work expect me to be at work for the hours I'm paid?

F.O.*: Quilted Placemat

A few weeks ago, out of the blue, I started to become obsessed with the idea of trying my hand at quilting. I had never been interested in it before, but suddenly, with no warning, I was making a quilt top (yet to be seen)...

This is my first completed* quilted item


*1 of 4, so not technically a completed item, but still...


Machine pieced and hand quilted.



Am I turning Amish?

...got a brand new bag

I've had this bag percolating for a while now. Last week it all kind of clicked into place. Of course I was at work, so I had to wait a while to try it. It took an evening from start to finish, and although I have a bit of tweaking to do, I'm really happy with it.



Outer Fabric: Canvas remnants I found in the fabric section of Ikea. I'm guessing it's cotton or a blend, and probably is an upholstery type weight. I'm not sure the exact amount of fabric, as I forgot to measure it before I started cutting. I used exactly the amount of fabric i had! I have about a 2" x 3" scrap left over.
Lining Fabric: Unknown fiber remnant from my stash.
Bag dimensions: 13" wide x 12.5" high x 6" deep (plus handles)


The contrast stitching was an "oops" (I ran out of navy thread when I stitched the handles), but now that it's complete, I wish I had planned it that way, as I really like it. My sewing could have been more precise, but I was on a mission.

There are 4 patch pockets on the outside and 2 pockets in the lining: 1 zippered, one patch. The outer fabric was re-inforced with fusible interfacing in a medium-ish weight.

I've been using this as my work bag (replacing my nearly 10-year-old messenger style bag) for almost a week now. I really like it and I'm thinking I'll get a lot of use out of it. I may make another one (or five) with some more remnants I have from Ikea. If I ever get my butt in gear, I might try to sell them in my (so far empty) Etsy shop. Eventually.

so distracted

It will probably come as no surprise to anyone who has followed my knitting here that I tend to get easily distracted by new projects. I usually have at least 3 projects on the go at all times. Not counting a sock.

Lately, I've been fading on my knitting. I'm still knitting, don't get me wrong. It just isn't holding my interest as well as it usually does. Ever since I made the recycled sweater bag, I've been thinking about sewing. Specifically, I've been distracted by this:




(just a sneak peak for now. I'll show you when I'm done...)

And this:

A small bag to carry toiletries in my recycled sweater overnight bag. I thought of it during the day yesterday, started it last night and just finished it this afternoon. I even lined it (an accomplishment for instant-gratification-me):



And, the most self-control-testing destraction:

Yesterday afternoon the wife of one of my coworkers came in with some alpaca fiber they had processed. I got a pound (!!) of this soft, beautiful fiber. The self-control came in to play in that I got the fiber at 3:00pm. All this fiber sat on my desk for 2 hours while I tried to concentrate on my work!


Of course I spun some, why would you even ask! This is 50g/1.75oz, approx. 80 yards, close to a worsted weight 2 ply. I think this is the most even yarn I've produced so far.

I'll have plenty more to show off in the coming weeks. I plan to do a lace weight next, and I'm dyeing some to see how much it takes dye. There are lighter spots along the length of roving; the mill combined the fiber from all 6 animals. The alpacas on their farm range from white to dark auburn-y brown.

The owners of these animals will be selling the fiber online soon. I'll post the link when it's set up.

I'll get some pics of WIPs together to show you that I HAVE been knitting. I just haven't been finishing... sigh.

T-Shirt Rug

A couple of years ago, I started collecting t-shirts to cut up to make a rug. I bought a bunch of men's XL t-shirts at Value Village and dyed them. Then I folded them and put them in the corner.

Then, suddenly, a couple of weeks ago, I had the urge to do something with them.



I cut each shirt into a continuous strip approximately 3/4" wide. Then, I gave the strip a tug as I was rolling up my new "yarn". With squares borrowed from a simple dishcloth pattern, I knit up the t-shirts. After I had my squares knit up, I arranged them and then laced them together, like a shoe.



It's not nearly as wide or as long as I had intended, I just had gotten too anxious for it to be done. I plan to add to it as I have more t-shirts to contribute.

As you can see, it is in my "usual" color palette. I don't even consciously pick those colors, they just happen. Even the flecks in the linoleum in my (rented apartment) kitchen are the same green and blue.

I have many things to catch up on here. WIPs I intended to post that are now (almost) FOs. WIPs I have (semi) abandoned. Yarns I've spun. I think I need to work on posting more regularly but shorter posts. I tend to be too wordy (I heard that sarcastic gasp) so I will try brevity for once. (resisting the urge to continue on about it)

Recycled Sweater Overnight Bag

Earlier this week, I saw a cute Bowling Bag style purse on Craftster (thread for that bag is here). I am not much of a purse person, but I do like making them. (Irony? What?)

I wanted to try this bag (there is a link to a tutorial on the Craftster thread) so I was thinking about fabric and interfacing and zippers and things all day Wednesday when I was at work. When I got home from work, I was looking at my fabric stash and trying to decide which fabric to use. I have a weird block when it comes to fabric. It seems so final to cut into fabric, unlike working with yarn which can fairly easily be undone and reworked.

Suddenly I had an idea. I have a pile of felted sweater pieces from when I made the blanket for my friend. (i just realized i don't have a picture of it! I'll have to get her to take one for me.) So, I pulled out the felted pieces and made this Wednesday evening.



It's just big enough for a decent sized knitting tote or for an overnight bag. It is much bigger than the bag in the tutorial, which I mostly used for inspiration rather than a pattern.



I even managed to (mostly) match up the stripes on the sides. The zipper was recycled from a sweater and the felted icord is leftover from a bag I made a long time ago. Apparently I got a little carried away with the icord at that time. It was fairly tough to sew, the felted pieces of this sweater were quite thick. I haven't lined it yet, I'm trying to decide what I want for pockets etc. So far though, I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Handspun socks

I thought I had posted in the morning, but apparently I didn't. not that you would have known the difference. why am i still talking writing typing?



My handspun socks are done! I love them. The color feels Spring-like to me.

The striping even almost matched up. The difference comes from a bit of inconsistency in my spinning. The sock on my left foot in the picture (top) was spun first and is a fairly even sock weight throughout. Apparently I was getting impatient with the second batch. The yarn for the second is a bit thicker throughout.

I should get working on dyeing the 2lbs of roving I ordered from Custom Woolen Mills. I'm open to color suggestions. Anyone?

I tend to get stuck in the same color choices time after time. I would love some suggestions. I started spending time flipping through Kuler for color palettes (have you seen Kuler? if not, go now. I'll wait.), but even there I tend to be drawn to the blue/green/grey/brown color combinations. I'm in a rut.

I'm off to Saskatchewan to see my Mom for Easter. Have a great (hopefully Spring-like*) weekend!

*well, Spring-like in the Northern Hemisphere. If you're in Australia you probably don't want Spring right now. or maybe you do. I don't know. I've never been to Australia. I'm still talking writing typing. I should stop now.

the beginning

I'm often asked how or when I learned to knit. The true answer is: I don't really know! I know that it was when I was in elementary school, since I have memories of knitting in those years, but I'm not really sure when, or who exactly taught me. I assume that it was my mom and her mom, but I don't have any memory of learning.

I do remember occasionally getting the urge to make something and turning to my mom's knitting stash. I would root through her knitting bag and find a pair of needles that I found interesting (they were colored nylon mostly). Then I would dig around in her yarn stash (99% acrylic) and find a color that I liked. Then I would sit down with her worn copy of Mon Tricot Knitting Dictionary and try out different stitch patterns. I would imagine some amazing thing that would be created out of the stitch I chose and sit down to figure it out. I believe that this is how I learned to read pattern instructions, using the glossary of abreviations in the book.

These compulsive knitting experiences never really produced much in the way of finished objects. Maybe a doll blanket or a coaster, but mostly I would end up undoing everything when I got bored of it, or when I ran into the limitations of not actually knowing how to make anything other than a rectangle.

This sporadic, compulsive knitting behavior went on from time to time but I don't remember ever making any completed objects. It wasn't until I was in college that I completed something to wear.

I was procrastinating wanting to do something creative while studying and went to Lewiscraft in the mall. I suddenly really wanted to make myself a toque so I picked out some yarn I thought would be warm and that would fit with the mental picture I had and a pattern book with toques in it. I picked out a pair of needles that the pattern book said to use. I was excited.

I worked hard on that toque, re-teaching myself how to knit and learning how to make something that wasn't rectangular. This was before the days of the knit-blogs, knit-forums etc. so I didn't have anyone to talk me through it. I just wanted to do it and I did.

It was wool, I had never used wool for knitting before. My mom only had acrylic and cotton in her stash because her skin is extremely sensitive to wool. (Although, she did make me a wool sweater once. What a sacrifice that was for her to work with all that wool!) I loved it. I felt accomplished as I completed my new toque. It was warm, it fit, it was extremely dense...

I had never learned anything about gauge or needle size or weight of yarn. The yarn I had chosen for this toque was Alafoss Lopi a chunky weight yarn (suggested needle size US10/6mm). The pattern I chose called for a DK weight. I had purchased US6/4mm needles to make my toque.

Yes. I knit the entire thing on needles that were 2 whole milimeters too small and I loved the whole experience. As I mentioned, I had never knit with wool before so I thought maybe the tight knitting was part of it. It wasn't until YEARS later that I realized what, exactly, I had done!

I don't have that toque anymore, and it would be a few years before I really started getting obsessive becoming a capital K Knitter, but that experience reintroduced me to a hobby that I loved and taught me to make my own choices in knitting.

A few years later, in 2000/2001, I was working in Pakistan at a school for ex-pat kids. I came across a box of knit and crocheted squares and some random yarn that had been abandoned by a former staff member. I was told that I could make something of the squares if I wanted or I could use the yarn. I chose to undo all the randomly shaped/sized squares. I found some needles in the home-ec room and started knitting. I knit a toque out of the fugliest fuzzy pink yarn and gave it to one of the girls in my care. She loved it. I was hooked. I started unravelling abandoned sweaters or sweaters that were unwearable b/c of laundry disasters or silverfish bites. I found a shop in a bazaar in Abbotabad that sold yarn. I knit as much as I could with the limited means at my disposal.

That fall (2001) we were forced to "evacuate" from Pakistan after 9/11. I arrived home in Canada the day my nephew Talon was born. 5 days after I arrived home I was taking my parents to the airport so that my dad could go to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to hopefully get a better diagnosis than the ALS he had been diagnosed with locally. It was a very stressful time.

It was also the first time I instinctively cocooned myself with yarn and needles to work through the stress. I stopped at a Walmart on my way home from the airport and bought supplies to make a sweater for my brand new nephew. I holed up in my parents' house, watching "Pride and Prejudice" (the A&E version with Colin Firth) and knitting. The repetitive motions of the stocking stitch sweater and the comfort of the yarn worked wonders for my stress.

I was even more hooked than ever before.

And that, my friends, is why there is more yarn than anything else in my apartment.

in progress...

Over and over today at work, I did the data entry equivelent to frogging. Enter 25 lines of complicated ordering information, get to the LAST line, realize the sales person (who is on a "conference" in Mexico) didn't give you all the info needed, undo 25 lines of complicated ordering information. Repeat.

ugh.

I kept looking longingly at my bag where my knitting was resting peacefully, calling out to me: "You won't need to frog us! Work on us for a while!" (there were 2 projects in there)(you think I would only take ONE thing to knit at work?)

Sigh.

I'm working on a teeny tiny hoodie for my brand new niece (born Feb. 8). I haven't met her yet, but I will in the next couple of days. I don't know if the hoodie will be done in time, but I hope so.

Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly Tiny Tots

My handspun sock is speeding along:

I love the way the yarn is striping. I can't wait to finish this one. The next one is on the wheel:


I want a snow day*. Or at least a Saturday so I can just knit. And spin. And knit some more.

*I've never lived in a place where we got snow days! Even now, in Calgary where they don't clear side streets when it snows, we don't get snow days. It might take you over an hour to drive 10km to work, but no snow days. I have to admit a twinge of jealousy whenever I hear about a snow shutting down cities in the States**.
**I don't mean to make light of the seriousness of the storms y'all got hit with this year. I just want an excuse to stay home.

ETA: I almost forgot! THANK YOU for all the lovely comments on my red sweater. I wore it the other day and love love love it. Lesley asked about the sleeves. They weren't intentionally belled, but I do like how they behave like they are. I didn't increase for them, but because I used a 4x4 ribbing, they aren't pulled as tight to the wrists as other sleeves may be. If anyone is interested, I am planning to try to sort out my notes for the modifications I did. (I'm planning another (and maybe another) sometime soon). I'll post them when I have them sorted.