Just keep knitting, just keep knitting.....

So yeah, this xmas knitting thing is getting old. I am advancing however and have managed to crank out another couple FOs. I finished the pink/peach/coral socks:

Details:
Pattern: 3x3 Cable with Moss Stitch by Charlene Schurch
Yarn: louet gems fingering - soft coral 04

Needles US 1 / 2.25 mm
Made for: Nan N.
Timeline: July 7th, 2008 - Nov 25th, 2008
it didn't actually take this long, July 7th was the date I cast on with the original colourway. Sometime after that I changed colours, and did other projects between the two socks.
Modifications: Only really used the stitch pattern, did the sock over 66 sts. continued cables on heel flap.

I really love the pattern and will definitely be making myself a pair at some point.

I also made myself another hat. I realized that when I wear my hair up in a headband it makes my head bigger and non of my hats would actually stay on. I opted for a slouchier hat but not too slouchy cause I still want it to stay on by itself.

Details:

Pattern: Slouchy Copy Cat Hat by Terra Jamieson
Yarn : Susan Andrews Collection Inca Gold Marra - Dusty Rose 3995
Needles US 6 / 4.0 mm
Made for: Me!
Timeline: Nov 19th, 2008 - Nov 27th, 2008
I was working on this while working on the second sock. I wasn't really digging cabling on the metro so this was my commute knitting.
Modifications:I cast on more stitches in the beginning, I was worried about it being too tight. It worked out perfectly.

I also finally cast on my dad's sock. I said I would wait, but I saw someone at Ariadne's knit night doing a method that I found quite intriguing and I decided to try it. Two socks at once toe up, using the magic cast on. I'd wanted to do these socks toe up and two at a time, but I don't like the short row toe and I wasn't crazy about the one in Interweave. This one seemed simple and really nice. So I tried it and it's awesome. I probably should have cast on more stitches but oh well, the toes will be slightly pointy.

I'm a bit further than this, almost done the toe increases. It will be done in 2X2 rib once the toe is complete.

The last of my projects is not really knitting but I'm sure they'll get lots of knitting related use anyway. I decided to finally make myself some Placemat Sock Blockers, I've had the placemats for a while so it was just a matter of printing out the template and doing them. You can see them in the photo with the pink socks as well but here they are all nekkid:

Details:
Pattern: Sock Blocker by Maryann Wu
Made for: Me (Size 7-9 foot) maybe even more.
Timeline: Nov 30th, 2008
I really needed some sock blockers, but I'm not really able to spend $30ish on them right now so I decided to go this route. They're flimsy-ish but work really well.

I also procured some yarn this week, Ariadne got in some more Marra, and this stuff makes me weak in the knees and it's really inexpensive due to it being discontinued. I bought 15 balls of Fuchsia: The colour is not quite right, but is as close as I could get it. I figure that it might become Mr. Greenjeans but I'm still not sure.

Next is something I've been eyeing for a while. I went to a craft fair a while back to see Biscotte (shop link) and she was all out of the colourway I was really looking for. I did end up walking away with a skien of her Watermelon and one in Lavender fields. (I didnt take pictures before winding into cakes. I need to photograph the cakes). The colourway I was looking for was this one:

Biscotte & Cie's Kiss the Frog sock yarn.

I love the colours and I can wait to see how it knits up.. I just have to find a pattern.

I also cast on for the second Heavy Sock but It's such a boring knit that pictures were just not necessary. I'm still not sure I will finish.

6 down
3 in progress
9 to go (3 hats and some other optionals or at least later deadlines.)

More stash

Just an update on other random stash I've acquired in the past few months.

Robyn's Nest sock clubs:

July's kit which is a dye your own and it came with Kool-aid to dye with. I can't wait to try it
August's kit which was designed by Robyn and dyed by Tanis Fibre Arts
September's Kit.

The ladies at Ariadne decided to put my favourite yarn on clearance and I obviously couldn't resist. I only bought two colours in christmas-y colours to maybe make something for the holidays.

Earlier this summer I stopped by Les Lainages du petit mouton and found some Regia on sale as well as a very bright Noro (probably for another pair of Newfoundland mittens).

At my first visit to Effiloché since just after they opened I spotted Ranco Multy which for a 100g sock yarn was fairly inexpensive and I rather enjoyed the colours:
I made another trip to Ariadne a little more recently to aquire some yarn for my xmas knitting. Some Lang 150 merino and was also tempted by their new Koigu.

destined to be a Montreal toque for my brother

I'm contemplating the Chevron scarf in these two colours.

I visited my LYS here on the south shore Saute Mouton and fell in love with the colours of this OnLine sock yarn:

Later that same day I stopped by a Quebec chain of department stores (known for being fairly cheap in quality) just to check for something, I stumbled into their yarn section and low and behold they now carry Briggs and Little tuffy. I grabbed two colours that I hadn't seen before:

Greystone
Granite

And last but not least is some Cascade 220 superwash from Robyn's Nest also for some xmas knitting. I ordered this special from Robyn. She has a multitude of new colours of the superwash in her store now.

This will probably be the last of my stash acquisitions for a while. At least until I start getting my xmas gifts. :D

Icewine mitten and Alpaca yarn

So I started knitting the first Icewine Mitten only to discover that the green I chose didn't work at all with the purple. Too dark and barely visible when knit in fair-isle. I set out on a hunt for a better green and finally found an Ultra Alpaca supplier in Montreal. I set out to Effiloché hoping that she would have one of the lighter greens I saw online. (She had two). I chose a colour called Pea Soup mix (love the name) and while I was there I decided that I should buy another colour to go with the darker green for a future project. I settled on a colour called Winter Squash (I'm more and more attracted to oranges and more autumnal colours. I will probably make Kate Gilbert's Wintergreen mittens with these colours.

Pea Soup Mix
Winter Squash

I did restart and finish the first Icewine mitten. I really like the pattern, and once I changed one circular instead of dpns things started going much smoother. ( I was getting bumps because of fair-isle and dpns blech!) Here the first mitt:

front
back

Alpacas & Apples

Sept 7 was la journée Portes ouvertes sur les fermes du Québec. Basically certain farms in Quebec open their doors to the public for tours and info sessions and whatnot.

I heard the announcement for it on the radio one morning while I drove JF to work and when I came home I decide to look it up to see if there was anything that I'd be interested in visiting. At first I was thinking a sheep farm, but then I realized that most sheep farms in quebec are mainly for meat. I didn't particularly like this idea, especially considering I find mutton and lamb to be utterly disgusting. I kept looking and I discovered that there was an alpaca farm not too far from home and just down the street from that was an Apple Orchard. I love alpacas and apple picking so this made for the perfect outing.

Our first stop was the alpaca farm where we got to interact with two male alpacas. (they're so soft). The farm is Alpagas des hauts Vents. The older one was really not happy he stood in the middle of the pen the whole time and wouldn't let anyone touch him.

This is Romeo.
This was Romeo's son, I don't remember his name. I got to touch him and feed him.
The females and babies were in a seperate area.

There was a small boutique on site where they sold mostly items made from alpaca but they did have a small selection of yarn. Some of it was from North American alpacas but I chose the yarn that is spun from the alpacas on this farm (very local). Here's what I got:

Two skeins of 100% alpaca lace weight
100% alpaca worsted.

After the visit with the alpacas we headed for McMillan Orchards. I got some really nice pictures.

We got a big bag full of beautiful apples which I'm sure will be used for deliciousness.

On the way home I happened to see a flock of sheep by the side of the road. JF turned the car around so we could see them, there were apple trees near by so we decided to see if they'd be interested in some apple:

JF feeding them apple.

One of them got really close to check us out.
JF took this one as we were leaving. I just thought it was neat.

Overall a pretty good day. I really enjoyed the two activities. I will be sure and check it out again next year.

My Birthday

For my birthday this year JF offered to take me on a road trip. I desperately wanted to see the Ocean (I miss it so much), so I decided to go somewhere in New England. After a little bit of research I almost chose Boston, but then decided on Maine, since it's so pretty and apparently has quite a few yarn shops.

We took the scenic route down and drove into Portland to check out yarn shops (Central yarn Shop, Knit Wit and Seaport Yarns) and in the evening we took a little Ferry Cruise around Casco Bay. We decided to stay at a B&B about an hour outside of Portland in Kittery where the Outlet Malls are (we were within walking distance to the mall).

On my birthday we went to one of the beautiful beaches along the coast (I can't remember which one) and we shopped at The Yarn Sellar. I had seafood for both lunch and dinner (MMMMM!!!!). In the evening we did some outlet shopping, but only had 2 hours so we didn't actually get a lot done. (I hit Old Navy and got an awesome argyle cardigan in pinks and green Oh my!). We did the rest of the outlets on our last day and then drove all the way back home.

Here are some highlights:

Beautiful sunset on Casco Bay.
There was a spinning wheel in my B&B room. (hehe)

Knitting on the beach.

I did a lot of yarn shopping because I set out to buy most of my yarn for Xmas knitting (everyone is getting something knitted this year, yes I'm that crazy). Here is the haul:

Berroco Ultra Alpaca in (l-r) Plum Mix, Salt & Pepper, Cardinal, Peat Mix, & Winter White.
The purple and green are to be the Icewine Mittens for my Aunt and the rest I just had to have.
Cascade 220 in green for a hat for my cousin.
Rowan Felted Tweed in Phantom for a hat for my brother's bday.
Some Baby Cashmerino in blue for my mom for gloves and the red is mine.

Plymouth Galway Colornep for Koolhaas hats for JF's parents and Galway Paint for some felted slilppers for my grandmother and JF's grandmother.
Berroco Touché for an Anouk for our friends baby girl.
Sock yarn (l-r) Oasis Aussi Sock in grey for my dad, Colinette Jitterbug in October Afternoon for myself (I just loved the colours) & Jojoland Melody superwash for me(interesting and cheap).

My birthday also brought an awesome gift from Robyn. I only photographed the yarn but included was also some awesome Sheep themed oven mitts and pot holders, some candles, a couple of interesting drink mixes, a wip/notions pouch and this awesome pendant:

from http://jessejanes.etsy.com
the yarn. Some lovely green mystery merino and Colinette Jitterbug in Ginger cinnabar (I was eyeing this in her shop).

Thanks so much Robyn I love it all!