Is there any better reward for a knitter than some lovely lovely yarn!?
Last month I climbed up all 1,776 steps to the top of Toronto’s CN Tower. This was definitely one of the hardest physical challenges I have ever done. I completed the challenge to raise money for charity as part of a charity drive at my work. That afternoon, I went online and ordered myself some gorgeous madelinetosh sock yarn in posy as my reward. It just arrived and can’t wait to knit my second pair of socks!
Done! My first ever pair of socks!
Pattern: Socks 101 by Kate Atherley
Source: Knitty
Yarn: Regia Hand-Dyed Effect
Needles: 2.25mm
Start: October 6, 2009 Finish: November 29, 2009
Mods: None
These were so much fun to work on and I learned so many new skills! Weird and wonderful abbreviations like ssk and k2tog now make sense. And I accomplished picking-up stitches and short rows for the first time too! As I talked about in a previous post, I learned how to knit socks with Kate Atherley at Lettuce Knit. I really enjoy taking classes to learn stuff as it is definitely the best learning style for me.
Of course, these socks are so very far from perfect. But they are perfectly serviceable and I’ll definitely wear them for snowy days this winter to stay nice and warm!
A word about the yarn. I truly detested working with the Regia hand-dyed effect. The ball was so loosely wound that for the first sock I was constantly unpicking tangles, no matter how extra careful I was. I ended up having to CUT bits that I simply could not untangle. It was really dissatisfying to work with.
Ok, next up, some Christmas knitting!
Much like the lack of snow in Toronto this November, there was a lack of writing around this little blog. Ugh, work/life balance has been completely and utterly weighted in one direction – work! I’ll strive to do better!
I’ve continued to do a fairly long commute so I have completed quite a lot of knitting and I can’t wait to share! My first recent FO was a lovely cuddly baby blanket for my dear friend’s new little boy, E.
Pattern: Big Bad Baby Blanket by Lisa Shobhana Mason
Stitch n’ Bitch
Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Blue Surf
Needles: Addi Turbo US 9, 32″
Start: September 12, 2009 Finish: October 30, 2009
Mods: None*
This was a real pleasure to knit – and much easier than the first BBBB I completed. And the yarn is absolutely lush! I am a now a true malabrigo fan and will continue to use this lovely lovely stuff. Knitting such a soft blue blanket was like knitting the sky up.
The Addi Turbos made the l-o-n-g seed stitch border fly by.
Done and ready to be blocked!
I have found the green ‘Loblaws’ bins make fantastic blocking buckets!
Done and ready to keep a new little one warm this autumn.
After finishing this I was ready to do a little project, which I will share soon (promise!).
*My thanks to knitter selandpoivre for so neatly and usefully explaining her FOs, I have adopted a similar ‘citation’.
Is there anything better than cooking with the bounty of autumn vegetables?
One veg I absolutely love is the humble butternut squash. The other night Tea-man made this incredible butternut squash soup from the New Covent Garden Book of Soups.
Starting with a homemade stock is crucial to a good soup. And finishing it off with some roasted pumpkin seeds and some super fresh bread is perfect. Really, is there a better meal than a beautiful homemade soup?
Tonight, we are facing the challenge of what to do with this fella.
I really want to love cooking with cabbage. Its cheap, its bountiful, and it grows deep into the year. But there is no cabbage recipe really excites me! I’ll report back about what this becomes.
Happy cooking this autumn!
Letterpress is something I had wanted to try for a very long time. Back when Tea-man and I were designing our wedding stationery I was really keen on letterpress but it was not in the budget.
After spending a day at an actual letterpress with the lady at the helm of snap & tumble I am now really and truely in love with this process of printmaking. I found out about snap & tumble and the workshop through the fantastic Toronto Craft Alert.
I loved seeing and selecting all of the letters ….
… mixing the colour and putting it on the press ….
… and setting my first press ….
Ta! Is a word often used for ‘Thank you’ in the UK.
and ta-dah!
Next up was ‘new home’…
… and the final product ….
Next, we changed up the colour to a lovely shade of purple that I would call aubergine. I decided my next print would be the obligatory monogram…
The paper used was a mix of Somerset and Maidstone cotton paper from Woolfits. Which Tea-man slogged all the way to Queen West and bought and cut for me. What a star!
I’m thrilled that I now have a lovely suite of stationery that I can send to family and friends. What a fun day!
Inspired by the colours at this time of year…
I picked up a ball of Regia Hand-Dye Effect in shades of burnt orange and red and cast on for (drumroll!) my first pair of socks.
I’m finding it quite odd working on needles that essentially feel like toothpicks at 2.5mm round. However, I find working on these socks is quite oddly soothing. Maybe it won’t be when it comes time to turn the heel! I’ll update here how I get on with my first ‘real’ sock project. I can’t believe at the beginning of the year I was scared to venture beyond a scarf and now I’m doing this! I love it.
The last couple of weeks I have been taking a course in “Socks 101″ with Kate Atherley at Lettuce Knit.
And, ta da! My official first training sock!
And yes, I did manage to turn it inside out or something midway through as it turned to purls. Huh.
Anyways, I successfully turned a heel and for that I am quite proud.
With my new found skills I’m hoping to accomplish a proper pair of socks before the year is out. At the class we did start a ‘grown up’ size and Kate had a very handy formula for designing your own socks. I’d definitely recommend checking out her work on Knitty and elsewhere – a great designer and teacher.
Here’s hoping that everyone is having a wonderful thanksgiving full of love, laughter, fine food and making wonderful memories.
We walked up the Niagara escarpment this morning and were rewarded with this beautiful fall view.
Lisa Shobhana Mason’s Big Bad Baby Blanket is a fabulous pattern for newish knitters. I learned lots of skills with this knit. Like many new knitters I picked up Debbie Stoller’s Stitch n’ Bitch and this was one of the patterns I always aspired to knit. Finally, over 2 years after learning to knit, I have.
I learned how to use circular needles. I used Addi Turbo 9s here that I picked up for fairly reasonable on ebay.
And how to block knitting. Wow, I can’t believe what a difference blocking makes. Here is the blanket pre-blocked.
(*er, those grapes are perilously close to this blanket!). I actually blocked this blanket on holiday in Quebec.
Putting it in the water made me super nervous.
But it came out just fine!
BBBB
My BBBB was knit with Knit Picks Palette in cream and heather green. I’m embarrassed to say that there were lots of little mistakes in this knit – some I could fix and some not. But I’m delighted by what I learned from knitting it.
Now the blanket is done and has flown to London to keep a very new and beautiful baby T warm as the nights draw in.
The best moment of knitting this blanket was when T’s Mom sent me a picture of baby with the blanket. That absolutely made my week. Its such a pleasure to be able to physically make something, stitch by stitch, for a loved one’s new child.
A while ago I ordered some scrumptious Malabrigo Merino Worsted yarn. This yarn came in skeins, and I don’t have the greatest history with skeins.
So, in order to start my next project, I turned to the fabulous Knitting Help site which has lots great videos to help new and clueless knitters like me! I watched the video on how to make a centre-pull ball , convinced my husband to hold the yarn and voila! a perfect ball was born.
My project with the malabrigo is now underway and the centre-pull ball has worked like a dream. Does anyone else have any tips or tricks for working with skeins?
