Octopuses? Octopi?

EatSleepKnit is hosting another KAL.  This time, it's all about knitting your team mascot.

That may sound like it doesn't make sense, at first, but I shall explain.

So, all those who order from EatSleepKnit are given a team, and each team gets various challenges.  I'm skipping out of the scavenger hunt, since I don't have a t-shirt, but I am doing the trivia and the team mascot challenges.   Doing the various challenges gets you more yardage in their yarnathon, which equals more free stuff and more store credit.

Ok, it all sounds great, right?   But I've been placed as a member of team Octopurls, and . . . well, I'm not a huge octopus person. I don't hate them, I'm not afraid of them, but I've never really been 'into' them.   So what on earth was I going to knit?

The answer came in the form of a convenient christmas gift:  The Octopus Mittens.   They're a child-size mitten that knitted up using cables and texture to look like a little octopus.  Not my thing. . . but my little cousin should love it. 

I'm stealing a bit from an extra skein of Sweet Georgia Superwash Worsted I got ages ago (I got 8 skeins for a cardigan, I only need 7, and even that is lots), since it has to be yarn bought from EatSleepKnit (fair enough).    So far, they're knitting up really quickly. 

Pictures might be delayed, since my tablet has turned into a brick.  Apparently it's a known design flaw with this particular model of tablet.  But it's still under warranty, so they're just sending me a new one!  And while my digital camera works just fine, the SD card reader on my 4 year old laptop is borked, so I have no way to get the images -off- my camera except for begging my roommate to pull them off the SD card and send them to me, which, while she's cool with that, still isn't as immediate as I would like.  That's ok though.  Less picture taking means more time to knit!

Birthday Knitting Done Early!

Usually, I find most knitters writing horror stories of knitting the day of someone's birthday, or frantically knitting presents on Christmas day.

And I admit to doing that myself.

But not this time.

I finished the River Runs Through It Mittens.

They're for a birthday in December, so I finished with lots of extra time.   No frantic knitting on this project!

Also, they're for the Sweet Georgia Knit-Along on Ravelry -- for which I've started a third project, the Vancouver Fog Fingerless Gloves.  These are also a December Gift, though in this case, they are a Christmas gift.

See, I'm really trying to be good about my knitting this year!  And even better yet, so far it's working!

I even assembled a big list of all the things I want to knit for Christmas/Birthdays this year here, on Ravelry.  (I'm glad that pretty much no one on that list has a Rav account, and those that do don't know who they are on the list!)   Anyway, I'll see how well I do!

Colourwork Test-Knit Socks and KAL Progress

So I have yet another pair of test-knit socks.

The colour-work socks don't have a pattern live yet on Ravelry, but they're progressing along ok.

I'm using the Blue Moon BFL Fingering I got at Lettuce Knit a while ago, and then Knit Picks Stroll Solids in White.    It'll be interesting to see how they turn out.

Also, I'm further along with my entries in the Sweet Georgia KAL.

My River Runs Through It Mittens:

And the Glacier Sweep Shawl:

Things are progressing well on the knitting front, it looks like!  I'm hoping to have some more things finished up soon.

More Knit Alongs

Hello again!  It's been a bit slower in my posting -- things have been keeping me busy, but hey, that's life, right?

I've cast on two new projects, both for a Knit-Along in the Sweet Georgia Yarns group on Ravelry.

The first is a pair of A River Runs Through Mitt Fingerless Mittens.  They'll be a birthday gift for a friend.

The second is a Glacier Sweep Shawl, for me.

Yes, my circular is horribly kinked up, even after soaking it in hot water.  But the weight of the shawl should eventually un-kink it.

So I have lots of knitting and things to work on, but I'm really rather enjoying myself with it all.  There are a couple of long-standing works-in-progress that I hope to have finished soon, so stay tuned for more posts to come!

Surprises for Christmas

I just found out my Step-Sister will be around for Christmas.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing.  She and I aren't close, but we get along reasonably well.  I didn't expect her, since she'd just moved down to the States for a new job.  But apparently, things are going well enough for her that she can fly back on Christmas Eve.

Ok, awesome. . . but everyone else in my immediate family has knitted christmas gifts.  And I don't necessarily mind knitting for her.

Well, the Purple Purl's Sale worked out in my favour this year -- I got a skein of Sweet Georgia Superwash Chunky, and a set of monstrous 12.75 mm needles (I usually use 4mm or smaller!).

I've already balled it up, and unfortunately the light isn't the best, but here:

 It's actually far more of a tan colour, the light makes it look more blue.

(I got other stuff at the sale, too, but I don't have good pictures since I'm currently taking pictures with my tablet. )

I also found a (free) 1-skein cowl pattern, which is the Marian Cowl.  It actually calls for super-bulky, but I thought that might be too stiff, and besides which, I was working with what I could a) easily get my hands on and b) was superwash. 

Also, it's supposed to be worked in the round, but the only bigger needles I could find were straight needles, but I've decided I can just seam it afterwards. Yes, I hate seaming, but I can put up with it in this case.

So, my step-sister is getting a cowl, a cowl that is actually kniting up really, really fast.  I'm already 1.5 inches along with just some work on it tonight.

 Man, for instant gratification, bulky yarn and big needles can't be beat!

Black Friday Sale Haul

I want to preface this:  I don't usually get involved in the Black Friday craziness, unless something just happens to be on sale that I actually need.  And even then, unless I'm desperate, it's not worth the craziness of even attempt to try the malls and shopping centres that weekend.

Online is a little different, but even then, my -only- Black Friday purchase was this stuff from EatSleepKnit.   I try to buy most of my yarn on sale in some form -- it helps me get really nice yarn for less then it would otherwise cost, and yarn (properly stored) doesn't go bad.


So, my package came in the mail today.   My apologies for the pictures, but it's dim and grey enough here I actually need the flash, so the colours aren't quite right.

I got 1 skein of Sweet Georgia Superwash Worsted, in "Violet Hill"

This will become A River Runs Through Mitt, for a friend`s Birthday next year

I got 9 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Cotton, in "Indigo". 

This is for a Big Honkin' Bag, for me.  I've had my eye on this for quite some time.  My current purse is beginning to fall apart, and also isn't big enough to hold my water bottle.  So I was very glad to get the yarn on sale. :)


That was all I ordered, but that wasn't all I got.  EatSleepKnit does their wonderful Yarnathon, and this purchase got me to their 20 mile surprise mark.

What was the 20 mile surprise?  Well. . .

This was one of the additional things in my box.

It's a full skein of Shibui Knits Baby Alpaca DK, in "Fjord"!

This is why I really like ESK. They're one of the few buisnesses I know that will give away entire skeins of yarn like this!  There was other awesome stuff in the box too, like a needle case, and their usual Yarn Lotto ticket (didn't win anything this time, but that's ok.).

So now I have more new yarn.  This has decided that it will be a Penobscot Scarf.  It just seemed to suit the pattern really well.

So yeah, I just got a bunch of new yarn. :)

Job Interview and plans for another day around downtown:

I got a job interview! 

It's a place I applied for ages ago, and they got back to me and asked if I could come in tomorrow.  The position's part-time, so it won't interfere with my current job.

I'm excited, nervous, and going to try and go to bed right after I finish typing this.

Thing is, I'm meeting someone downtown later, so there's no point in me going home. It makes more sense to hang around and do some of those errands I didn't get to earlier, but even then, I'll have time to kill.

However, I realized I'm going to be close to Lettuce Knit.

I've never been there, and it's convenient that I can go there and sit and knit to kill some time.  There are a good number of little restaurants nearby it that I can get lunch/dinner (hopefully with better luck then last time!), including the place that I originally wanted to go to.

With a bit of luck, I might even be able to clear a project off the needles.  That would be nice.

On another note, I put in another order at EatSleepKnit -- with the Sweet Georgia Superwash Worsted back in stock, I just ordered the last of the remaining yarn for my christmas gifts.

Finally, after all that, the choir at my church is starting back up for the fall, so the first practice is tomorrow evening.  It'll be nice to be singing in the choir again. :)

A Bad Day with A Good Ending

Long Post Warning:  

So I'm writing this under the influence of a rather unhappy stomach.  It's better then it was last night, but, well, let me tell the tale from the beginning.


I had work this morning, then a whole bunch of errands to downtown in afternoon.  Already, I knew this was going to be a long day.

Lets just say I fell on my behind and ended up in a lot of pain, didn't do half the errands I was planning, the place I wanted to go for lunch/dinner was closed (this involved quite a walk), and the place I did go for food. . . well, it disagreed with me.  Violently.

So by the time I got to Knit Night at the Purple Purl, I was nausious, thirsty, and hurty.   Not the best mindset to be knitting in, but actually, it mostly worked out.  Oh, I didn't feel great, but once I had the chance to sit down, sip a mug of tea, and actually re-compose myself, I felt a lot more human.

Thank you!

Ok, so I was actually going to the Purple Purl in search of yarn.  I've been looking for the right yarn for a friend's Christmas gift.  It has to be grey superwash, fingering-weight, wool.

My first choice was the Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label in Charcoal, which is a colourway that Eat.Sleep.Knit doesn't stock.  Of course, unfortunately, the Purple Purl didn't have it either.

However, they did find me yarn that will suit perfectly.

I now have two skeins of Spud and Chloe Fine that will become a Caffinate! Coffee Press cover. 

The pattern calls for worsted weight, but my giftee has a mini-coffee press, and the idea of a mini-dalek made her giggle with delight over the phone, so I'm planning to just scale down the pattern in stitches per inch, work it with fingering-weight yarn, and call it done. I got dimensions out of her, so I should be good to go.

(Also, happily, I discovered in uploading this this morning, that Ravelry will keep stash entries separate if they have separate dye lots.  Well done!)

After getting my yarn, I then settled into work on my knitting at the knit night. I got the index finger done on the Birthday Gloves, (no new pic yet, I haven't had the energy), and started the thumb.

Holy crap, an afterthought thumb in fair-isle is hard!  A lot of the others there were saying that it wouldn't be easy, and they were right.   The bottom nine stitches came together just fine.  The top stitches. . . well, after a lot of cursing everything's on the needles, but it looks a little deformed.

I don't want to do this again in fair-isle.  I'd be a lot happier casting off and picking up.  I might, however, try it again on the left glove and see, however, if part of my frustration and inability was just simply the day I'd had.

So, after that long day, my stomach still lurching somewhat on the streetcar ride home, yes, I have new yarn, but I'm still not feeling that great. . . 

I come home to two boxes sitting in my living room.  One is small, the other big.  My roommate tells me that the post came for me.  No customs fees, no problem, the boxes just simply got dropped off.

So, another order came in from Eat.Sleep.Knit, for starters, and, as well, my Yarn Swift arrived!

I put it to work as a trial immediately, and I -love- this thing!  I'm actually really impressed by the Hornshaw Wood Works.  Their stuff is awesome, shipping was quick, and it was really well packed.

I needed 1 contrast skein for my plans with the Sweet Georgia Merino Silk Aran, and "Hush" seemed like a good contrast colourway.

I also got two skiens of Sweet Georgia Superwash Worsted.  This is me planning ahead -- this is for my Father's Birthday next year (no knitting 3 hours before the deadline again, I hope!)  I usually wouldn't have bothered, except the Superwash Worsted is a Power Boost Yarn, so I might as well buy it now while I get a bonus for it.

So coming home to yarn and a swift really helped perk up my day.

I crawled into bed somewhat soon after that. 

I'm feeling somewhat better now, though breakfast is still a question mark.  But I'll distract myself with knitting, for the moment.

Lucky Lotto!

Wow.

So my final order (for now) from Eat.Sleep.Knit came today.

I got 6 skeins of Sweet Georgia Merino Silk Aran in the Saltwater colourway.  It's another yarn currently on power boost.

It's a little brighter then I thought it would be, but it's still a gorgeous colour.

However, tucked away at the bottom of the box was a Yarn Lotto ticket that ended up being worth 100 dollars of store credit!

This is awesome.  I'm going to send this out tomorrow.  It takes a while to get to them (international mail and all that), so I want to get this out as soon as I can.

Well, there's absolutely nothing wrong with cheap/free yarn. :D