Friday, August 29, 2003

 

Koigu Koigu Koigu

I sure love koigu. The coming of fall must have reinspired me because I really want to finish my Koigu sweater that I started in January. I'm almost done the front and since the bottom is done in the round I only have that and the top back to finish before blocking. It is so soft and the colours are so beautiful. And, I should have enough to make some crazy socks to match (not that I really like matchies but it is Koigu. The sweater is made with six different varigated colours in 10 row stripes. If you really look you can see the colour changes, but it isn't too stripey. Here's a far-away shot of the whole body to date:

And here's a closeup taken outside to show off the yummy-ness. It doesn't quite show up the loveliness (I can't seem to photograph it well) but it gives you an idea.

And I knit another mousie to help with the thesis--they're getting better I wrote 2 pages the other day and want to write more. I think I'll knit a few more and send them off after labour day.

9:48 AM

Thursday, August 28, 2003

 

I think I need a cigarette

Not two days ago I told you all about the gorgeous coat I was lusting after made from Noro Kureyon #80 and how I don't really have the cash to buy the 19 balls of yarn I need to make it. Then yesterday I found out colour 80 is discontinued, so I was feeling desparate since I would never get to make this coat.

Then wonderful, lovely, Theresa writer of one of my favourite blogs, told me about 10 balls of colour 80 kureyon on e-bay. I wrote to the seller and found out she had 10 more balls of the same dyelot, but then noticed she doesn't ship to Canada. Theresa graciously offered to play international post-mistress for me and soon I will be the happy owner of the yarn for this challenging knitting project!!!!

Here's the thing about all this: I was in lust, but I didn't have the money, or the pattern book (I gotta get that!), and hell I've never knit entrelac (though I'm getting the opportunity to try it out for Rob as a test knitter soon. ) I've just turned wildly impulsive and it is pretty damned fun! I guess this is as bad as a bad girl I can be now that I'm married with two kids and a thesis and some new credit card debt! I think I'll have a beer with supper!

5:36 PM

Wednesday, August 27, 2003

 

First some housekeeping: the pattern below that I am lusting after is from Debbie Bliss' Noro 1 book and is knit in Kureyon in colour 80. Someone asked, and I don't know why it didn't occur to me to tell you all that.

It must be because I am gearing up to get writing again. I've lapsed this summer and now I have to get back to my 2-3 pages a day writing strategy. They don't have to be perfect pages, they have to be written down pages because everything I do goes toward my first draft. The crunch is on because I already know I will need a degree extension (my 6 years are up in December) and I just want to be done.

I was so desparate yesterday, I even got these guys to help:

They're lousy typists though.

9:17 AM

Tuesday, August 26, 2003

 

Last night I spent a bit of time working on my koigu sweater and I'm in the mood to get it done. It must be because I'm almost at the armholes so I'm in the home stretch (I have the sleeves done already). But after a bit of going round and round I got bored so I picked up my fairisle mystery project and got going. I'm really liking how it's coming along. I'm going to do a bit of investigating today to see if the person I'm making it for actually reads this blog. I suspect not, so then I can share it with you all (which is what I really want to do).

And one of the knit along listers suggested I put my next felted bag with handles in a zippered mesh bag or pillow case to help with the felting.

I'll give it a try, soon, because Emma's already bugging me for a backpack for school. She starts junior kindergarten next week, I can't believe she's school aged already--she's still my little baby. And I must say she was a trooper at the dentist this morning--no cavities for both of us!

I'm also looking for a make-$250-bucks-quick scheme that doesn't involve anything illegal. That's because I've fallen in love with this:

I want the same colour and everything. My anniversary is coming up...hmmm.

11:45 AM

Monday, August 25, 2003

 

Smooch Revisited

I finished my Smooch tank in early July but hadn't worn it because it was really low cut. But Friday, I got an idea from Kerstin's blog where she put a lace through the eyelets to avoid too much clevage. I immediately crocheted a chain and put it on, and now I have a whole new top that I want to wear:

Thanks Kerstin for the great idea!

And, this weekend I finished my felted backpack. In fact I was so anxious to felt it, I forgot to take a "before" shot. But here it is all done:

The only glitch came when the straps did not felt enough (even though the bag was done) so I had to felt them by hand. It may be because I didn't knit them as instructed. You're supposed to make a stocking stitch strap and sew it together to make a tube, I just did a seven stitch i-cord to avoid the sewing.

Anyway, to hand felt, I filled up the laundry tub with hot water and detergent, got out the rubber gloves and a nail brush and scrubbed the hell out of them. Every once in a while I had to shock the yarn by plunging it in cold water. I managed to shrink them about six inches that way. I just have to say that women who had to work as "washer women" before the invention of the washing machine deserve our total respect. It is a horrible job to hunch over hot water and scrub by hand.

With all that done I made another mouse toy, and did a few rows on my Koigu sweater. And, Craig and I worked on the newly revised mystery project fair isle chart--I think I'll swatch it up tonight and see if it will work.

9:03 AM