Aren’t Those Fetching?

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Heather

Happy Thanksgiving!  Okay, I’m a day late and the turkey is almost gone, but I do hope all of my Canadian readers had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend.

When surfing the interwebs this weekend, I noticed a lot of people asking what Canadian Thanksgiving is about.  We don’t have pilgrims and Native Americans as part of our Thanksgiving “myth.”  Canadian Thanksgiving is simply about… wait for it… giving thanks for the fall harvest, our blessings, and whatever we happen to be thankful for.  Because we are, generally speaking, further north than our American cousins, our fall harvest starts and ends earlier, which is part of the reason for the earlier date. (I say generally more north, but Portland, ME, for example, is a fair little bit further north than I am here in Toronto.)  If you’d like to know more about Canadian Thanksgiving, check out this Wikipedia article.

Anyway, on to the knitting and cross stitch!

This weekend, not only did I cook a turkey dinner (with some help), I also knit a pair of Fetching.  I used the leftover Super Cable Aran (in colour 6434 Aubergine) from my Central Park Hoodie.  I did knit a pair, but I need one hand to hold the camera.  So, just image another hand, with the cables crossed the other way.  (Isn’t that a nice touch?)

Fetching by Cheryl Niamath (knitty.com)

Fetching by Cheryl Niamath (knitty.com)

I wore them out today, and I will admit I felt a bit like a Charles Dickens street urchin wearing fingerless gloves, but they did the job.  My hands stayed warm, and I was able to wipe Baby Man’s nose with a tissue without taking them off.  That is a total win in my book.

I also made some progress on Sampler de Noel 2009, and discovered why my stitching is so off centre.  It turns out I’m using fabric that isn’t the same count in both directions.  I used this fabric last year when I stitched Teresa Wentzler’s Father Winter Ornament, which is supposed to be square. Click that link and you will see that it is not even close to square.  And look at my Sampler de Noel 2009.  That empty oval is suppose to be a circle.  Yikes!

Sampler de Noel - Part 5+

Sampler de Noel - Part 5+

To make sure the whole piece will fit, I stitched the rest of the left border.  I still need to stitch the bottom border, but I can tell it will fit and leave me about 4cm (~1/5″) left.  I really need to find the larger piece I cut this from and remove it from my stash!

My first Creativ Festival class is Thursday evening, and I’m totally booked all day Friday and Saturday.  I’m also planning to attend the dinner on Saturday night since Erica talked me into it.  And Sunday morning I’m going to Jennifer Aikman-Smith (Dragon Dreams) and Teresa Wentzler’s talk about creativity.  I’m very excited, although I’m pretty sure that my I won’t get total shopping satisfaction since there will be so few cross stitch vendors.

Two more things to tell you about:

  • Dip Diddly Designs is having another draw.  Stop by to read all about it.  She also has a great freebie in the same post.
  • Anna from Stitch Bitch turned me on to Regretsy.  Check it out, but be prepared to a lot (and I mean A LOT) or not safe for work/little eyes stuff. Yikes!  The first image to load right now is off lady parts.  You’ve been warned.
3 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch, Knitting | Tagged , , ,

Halloween Pumpkin and Christmas Sampler

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Heather

I’m having another of my grand moments of indecision.  Today (this week?) it is about which projects I should be working on.   Notice I didn’t say which projects I want to work on.  It’s getting towards the end of the year, so that means gift stitching and knitting and ornament stitching should be dominating my rotation.  Instead, yesterday I worked on my Mermaid Socks (and screwed them up so bad somehow that I’m going to have to rip them out) and cast on for a pair of Pink Ribbon Socks (link to the pattern pdf).  I also got started stitching Take Time to Read from Jeanette Douglas Designs, which was a gift from Erica and which I have been dying to start but was supposed to be an after-all-the-gifts-are-done reward for myself. Notice that none of those are Christmas-related projects.

I should be working on the Christmas gift I have about 1/3 done, on Baby Man’s scarf, on Baby Man’s stocking, on Sampler de Noel 2009 (part 5 is out), and on another stitching gift.  I should also be knitting Baby Man the pumpkin hat for Halloween, and a pair of fingerless gloves for myself.  I’d also love to get some Halloween ornaments done too, but I think that is nothing more than wishful thinking.  Clearly, I need to review my October goals and seriously think about what I want to accomplish.

Halloween by La-D-Da is on my October goal list, and I finished stitching it just the other day.  I used Dinky Dyes silk Black Coral and DMC Colour Variations 4124 (Bonfire).  I think it turned out really nice, and I will be finishing it into a small pillow using some black faux velvet for the back.  The quilt shop down the street has some fabulous Halloween fabric that I would really like to use for this, but since this is supposed to by my SALsuffit project, I can’t buy anything new for it. *sigh*  Oh well.

Halloween by La-D-Da

Halloween by La-D-Da

I also found my Sampler de Noel, which Baby Man had stuffed beside my computer desk.  I’ve got started on Part 5, but still have a ways to go.  I’m certain I didn’t centre the project on the fabric correctly, but I should have about 4 cm (~1.5″) at the bottom.  Not great, but enough for finishing, I hope.

Sampler de Noel - Part 4

Sampler de Noel - Part 4

I’m also getting really excited about the Creativ Festival next week.  I’ve hunted down the cheap “daylight” lamp I take with me (a whole $10 at Wal-Mart, and it does a great job helping me see in those dim conference rooms).  I’ve made a small list of things to look for when I get a chance to shop, although with the lack of cross stitch vendors this year I’m not expecting to find much.  It’s the classes I’m most looking forward too, and to seeing people I only see once or twice a year.  I’m so shy they probably don’t know how much I enjoy seeing them, though. 🙂  Also, I wish I could remember if the conference rooms are hot or cold.  I always guess wrong and end up dressed wrong.

Anyway, back to the grindstone.  Today it will be Baby Man’s scarf, casting on my fingerless gloves (Fetching using the leftover yarn from my Central Park Hoodie), and Baby Man’s Christmas stocking.  If I’m lucky, I may get a little bit done on Sampler de Noel as well.  We shall see.

I’m also on book 8 of the 10 Book Reading Challenge: Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire.  I’ve slowed down considerable because I’m not really enjoying this book, but I don’t dislike it enough to stop reading it.  I’m also reading book 9: Way of the Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock.  It is a really great book about, not surprisingly, green witchcraft.  I’m finding it really inspiring.

Don’t forget: the online Needlework Show is happening until October 12th.  There are lots of great designs to see (a couple I really would love to have), a few free charts, and some great door prize draws.

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A Successful Scarf Attempt

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Heather

A day late again.  I know I was supposed to post a knitting update yesterday, but Baby Man woke up from his nap after less than a half an hour extremely upset.  I tried to get him to go back to sleep, and ended up taking him out for a walk and something to eat.  That meant there was no time for me to do anything for myself.  To ensure this didn’t happen again today, I took pictures of my knitting last night, so they look a little crappy.  As always, if you are reading this actually at my blog, click to embiggen, if you are reading this elsewhere (Google Reader, Facebook, etc.), I have no idea what will happen if you click the pictures!

Here is the entrelac scarf I’m working on for Baby Man.  It is turning out so much better than that ugly entrelac scarf I was knitting a while ago.  I’m using Bernat’s Sox in colour Wooded Denim.  It has turned out to be much too wide for Baby Man at 16.5cm (6.5″).  But I’m forging ahead, thinking that I can fold  it in half for him now, and use it as is in a couple of years.  Or, I can make it into a gift for someone else.  We shall see how it goes.

Entrelac Scarf - Bernet Soxs in Wooden Denim

Entrelac Scarf - Bernet Soxs in Wooden Denim

I’ve also cast on a pair of Lucy Neatby’s Mermaid Socks using Mary Maxim’s Bamboo Soft Stripes in colour Spring Rain. Not much to see though.

Mermaid Socks - Cast On!

Mermaid Socks - Cast On!

And, of course, I’m also working on a Christmas gift I can’t share.

On to other business: I’ve finished book 7 in the 10 Book Reading Challenge.  Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange was a wonderful, fun, romantic read.  I love revisiting Jane Austen’s worlds, even through other author’s words.  I liked this book so much that I’ve reserved another book by Amanda Grange from the library: Mr. Knightley’s Diary.

I’m guessing that some of you might be surprised how quickly I’m working my way through these books.  Well, I’m a voracious reader.  I love books and I read whenever I get the chance.  I average at least 50 books of 300 pages or more a year, along with various magazines, shorter books, books I don’t finish, and several books I don’t count because I don’t feel like they are real books (e.g. knitting and cross stitch books that are more than 50% patterns).  I read fast, and at every opportunity.  I’m even reading when I knit now, since Baby Man has stolen (!) so much of my reading time.

And, lastly, I’ve come across one more giveaway.  Annette of Annette’s Acre is hosting a 3rd giveaway, this time for a whole huge pile of cross stitch stuff.  Head on over to enter before October 18th.  Or not, because I really want to win this one! lol!  Kidding, of course.

1 Comment | Posted in Knitting | Tagged ,

Words in the Snow, Dragons and More

Posted on October 5, 2009 by Heather

There seems to be an epidemic of stitching blog give-aways lately! Here’s a run down of the one’s I’ve come across that are still open:

  • Annette’s Acre – Annette is having a draw for books (which I love), pop over to enter before October 18th
  • Annette’s Acre – Annette is also having a draw for some knitting things (I didn’t enter this one since most of the yarn is wool.)
  • Dip Diddly Designs – Jolene is giving away the Blackbird Designs’ Midnight Ride, as well as the fibres and fabric; enter before October 7th
  • Deep Inside Missy – Missy Ann will be having 13 days of giveaways starting October 19th, head over there to learn more

Do you know of a give-away I missed?  Let me know!

Now, on to my stitching!

I have finished Part 4 of Sampler de Noel, but because I’m me I have somehow misplaced it.  I’m sure it will turn up in a day or two… I hope.

Baby Man’s stocking is coming along great.  As you can see, one of the words at Santa’s feet is done.  And the way he has been behaving recently, I’m thinking I should just leave out the work “nice”.  Actually, he is a very good little boy, but he is starting to get frustrated by all the things that he just can’t do even though he wants too.  Being small is tough.

Naughty or Nice Stocking by Dimensions

Naughty or Nice Stocking by Dimensions

I’ve also started some Halloween stitching, since it is that time of year.

Halloween by La-D-Da

Halloween by La-D-Da

It is Halloween by La-D-Da from the Halloween ornament issue of Just Cross Stitch.  The fabric is a 32ct linen, maybe natural or something very like that.  I’m stitching it using Dinky Dyes Black Coral and DMC colour variations 4124.  After I finished the pumpkin I realized that it might look more real (I use that term loosely) if I had stitched it up and down rather than side to side, but I still like it.  Besides, I see Erica did the same thing I did.  Has anyone else stitched this?  How did you stitch your pumpkin, and what threads did you use?

I’ve also finally finished Dizzy Busy Bees. I think the block I bought is too big, but that’s okay.  I’m hoping I will find some sort of pom-pom bee or something to finish it off.

Busy Dizzy Bees by Sweetheart Tree

Dizzy Busy Bees by Sweetheart Tree

Dizzy Busy Bees back

Dizzy Busy Bees back

The fabric on the back says “Quilting Bee”.  Not exactly right, but the colours are a great match and it was the only bee fabric my mom and I were able to find.  We looked everywhere in two different cities.  Clearly, bee fabric is not in vogue this year.  I say that now, but I will probably find it all over the place at the Creativ Festival next week.

And a little bit of good news.  I finally got something from the Fantasy Exchange.  The lady who was supposed to send to me wasn’t able to fulfil her obligation for various reasons, so she sent to me the package that was sent to her from Zeb of geekchixxx.com. As you may remember, it was Zeb that I sent my exchange too.

The design is Teresa Wentzler’s You Were Hatched, one of the designs I most want to have.  And now I do, finished as a needlebook.  The rest of the goodies are great, including a lovely shell necklace, a skein of Waterlilies and floss.  I’m so glad that the exchange worked out well in the end.

Oh, one more thing!  I’ve finished book 5 and 6 in the 10 Book Reading Challenge from Reading and Stitching.  They were Norstrilia by Cordwainer Smith (aka Paul Linebarger) and Empire by Orson Scott Card.  Norstrilia is a great old-fashioned sci-fi novel and about a boy who buys Earth, sort of.  I highly recommend it.  Empire, on the other hand, is a miss.

Right now I’m about half way through Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange.  Yes, I do read a lot, and very quickly.  Anyway, it is a really good book and I can’t help but envision the actors from the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice when reading it. Oh, Colin Firth.  (Why, yes, I do like that name. 😉 )

Tomorrow, knitting updates!

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October Goals

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Heather

October!  I love October.  I think it is my second favourite month of the year, and probably my busiest month, full of holidays (Thanksgiving and Halloween), birthdays, anniversaries, and, my most favourite, the Creativ Festival.  I’m going to be busy this month, so I will set my sights a bit low in terms of my goals.

First, a review of my September goals:

  1. Finish the toy sack and Christmas tree of Baby Man’s Christmas stocking
  2. Finish the sleeves of the Central Park Hoodie and make a start on the hood
  3. Finish Part 4 of Castles in the Air
  4. Work on Christmas gift I started at the end of August
  5. Finish the two-at-a-time socks
  6. Lose 3lbs
  7. Work on a couple more amigurumi projects
  8. Think some more about starting the Great American Aran Afghan (That’s for you, dianemi.  I need to hunt down a copy of the book where the shipping isn’t half the cover price.)

Let’s see: I finished the sections of the stocking I wanted to and did a little more.  I totally finished the Central Park Hoodie, and I will post pictures soon.  I worked on Castles in the Air, but I figured that Baby Man’s stocking should come first. I’m knitting a Christmas gift and I did finish the two-at-a-time socks. Don’t ask about weight loss. And I didn’t get to the amigurumi projects or find a copy of the Great American Aran Afghan.

Overall, not too bad of a month, I think.  Especially since I also finally finished Tesla (which will soon be winging it’s way to the lovely Kat of Cross-Eyed Kat Cross Stitch Designs), knit several dish cloths, finished Once Upon a Tree, and started the Sampler de Noel SAL.

My goals for October:

  1. Finish all stitching except backstitching for Baby Man’s stocking
  2. Stitch and finish the La-D-Da design for the JCS Halloween issue (my SALsuffit project)
  3. Finish a Christmas gift
  4. Knit Baby Man a pumpkin hat
  5. Find a copy of the JCS ornament issue (did you guys totally forget about Canada or something?)
  6. Stitch Voodoo Girl, and hopefully get her finished too so Voodoo Boy can have a girlfriend for Halloween
  7. Cast on another pair of socks so I have an on-the-go project again

That’s plenty, I think.  I will be adding a bunch of projects to my pile with all the Creativ Festival classes I’m taking and the wee bit of shopping I will be doing (not to mention all of last year’s classes and shopping…).  But the next few months will be full of gift knitting and Christmas stitching, so I think they will have to wait until 2010.  And speaking of which, 2010 will be the year of stitching for me.  The only exceptions I can think of (unless someone gets married or has a baby and I decided to stitch/knit something, as there is no guarantee I will) will be to finish Baby Man’s birth sampler and possibly stitch Lynne Nicoletti’s Velveteen Rabit for him. So, get your orders in now, family, if there is something you want.

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Stitching Christmas and a Pile of SALs

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Heather

It’s the last day of September, and I am in full on Christmas preparation mode.  Only, perhaps, to be broken by a little bit of Halloween stitching next month.  We shall see.

On the knitting needles is a Christmas gift, so no pictures of that.  I will be knitting Baby Man a pumpkin hat for Halloween, which I will share.

I’ve been diligently stitching away on Baby Man’s Christmas stocking, and have achieved my September goal of finishing the toy sack and Christmas tree.

Naughty or Nice Christmas Stocking

Naughty or Nice Christmas Stocking

My goal for October will be to finish up all of the stitching with the exception of the back stitching.  All this work on the stocking means that I have fallen horribly behind on the Papillon Creations Castles in the Air SAL.  But that will be going on for about another year and a half, so I think I will be able to get caught up.

I’ve also completed Part 3 of the Sampler de Noel SAL.  Part 4 is due out on Thursday, and I’m ready.  (Yes, I did say Fridays before, but my French really is so bad that I get days of the week mixed up.  Cereal box French doesn’t really get you very far on the Internet unless someone is giving away something for gratuit.  That’s free for those of you who’s French is even worse than mine.)

Voilà:

Sampler de Noel - Part 3

Sampler de Noel - Part 3

Lovely, isn’t it?  The very uneven linen I am using makes it look a bit off in a couple of places, but everything is just as it should be.  I think it gives it a bit of an antique look.

This brings me to yet another SAL, or rather Read Along.  I’ve finished book 4 of the 10 Book Reading and Stitching Challenge from Reading and Stitching.  It was A Good Yarn (Blossom Street, No. 2) by Debbie Macomber.  Please forgive me.  I know I said I wouldn’t read any more of her books, but I figured that I had to be missing something since so many people like them.  I’m not.  I didn’t enjoy this book either.  I think it is because I want a mystery or a historical event or something to underlay the story.  I don’t want to just read about someone’s life.  (Jane Austen is an exception here, and only because she is a fabulous writer, and they are historical novels now, right?  Anyone?)

I’m halfway through my next two books.  The first is Empire by Orson Scott Card, which is hibernating because the story has gone silly.  My husband read it last week and thinks I should stick with it.  And the second is Norstrilia by Cordwainer Smith (aka Paul Linebarger), a fabulous old school sci-fi novel that is making me want to reread some classics on my bookshelf.

And one more SAL to round out the post: Tempus Fugit is hosting another SAL.  This time she isn’t providing a chart (like her fabulous SALexander).  The aim of this SAL is to finish at least one project every month using just what you have in your stash.  She means completely finished, so turned into a pillow, framed, made into a pinkeep, whatever.  It will run from October to June, and I’ll be taking part.  Goodness knows there is enough in my stash to do this. Head on over and read about the SALsuffit.

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Strangled by Tesla

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Heather

As a former Engineering student, I came across Nikola Tesla often in my studies.  I’ve also run across him in fiction (it is rumoured that H.P. Lovecraft’s Nyarlathotep is based on Tesla), on TV (I love Murdoch Mysteries), and in video games.  Never did I think, though, that I would knit Tesla.  But I did, out of lovely Silk Seacell yarn from Dye-Versions.

Wearing Tesla

Wearing Tesla

(Oh, what an unflattering, headless picture!  Can you believe I actually posted it.  And you can even enbiggen it by clicking on it.  The humanity! And what a bad sunburn too.  Yikes.)

Tesla is a reversible lace scarf from the Summer 2009 issue of Knotions.  You can find the pattern here.  It is lovely, with a beaded cast-on edge and a diagonal ruffle along the cast off edge.  The yarn I picked is soft and was a pleasure to work with.

Tesla Ends

Tesla Ends

The problem?  Well, first, green is not my colour at all.  Second, I hate skinny scarfs.  I hate anything around my neck, including turtle necks.  In the winter, when our frigid weather demands scarfs, I always wear them very loosely.  Skinny scarfs, by their nature and by fashion, are worn tight around the neck.  After wearing this for two minutes, I knew I would never wear it again. What a big fail.

Goodness knows what I’m going to do with this.  At least I have enough yarn left to knit a lacy, non-skinny scarf that I will wear.  I’ve already got some possibilities lined up, but I think I will leave the yarn to mellow in my stash for a little while and work on other things.

These, however, I did not fail with.  They are four simple dish cloths from Kris Knit’s Autumn/Thanksgiving Dish Cloth set.  They were knit with Lily Sugar n’ Cream in Jute and Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in Terra Firma.  They are small (29 stitches wide) and knit tightly with a 3.5mm needle, and I like them much better than the large dish cloths I’ve done with more stitches across and large needles.

Fall Dish Cloths

Fall Dish Cloths

Now I’m working on a Christmas gift, and thinking about which pair of socks to knit next.  Maybe these Mermaid Socks. (Ravelry link)

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