Might Be A Bit Longer Actually...

Pink Insanity blocked beautifully. BEAUTIFULLY... except something didn't feel right. The ends were wrong. The sides were lovely, the ends were all wrong. And the crochet didn't cut it. I couldn't put my finger on it, so I took it to the ladies at my knit group to see what they say. Sylvia saved the day. She made a suggestion that is absolutely the right one- I just have to do it. (And yay, it's not hard!) The only problem is that I'm really not that motivated to work on it. So- um... you're still waiting to see it in it's final glory. Stay tuned.

I did, however, finish Baby Manda Ruth.

Pattern: Manda Ruth by Jane Richmond (Ravelry Link)
Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy in Marlin (leftovers from blanket disaster)
Needles: US 8
Notes: Cute Pattern, but I really hated the shoulder/arm increases. I know there's no real way to avoid screwing up the stitch pattern by making the increases, but it bothered the OCD in me. Other than that, the pattern is painfully simple and requires very little seaming, which is HUGE benefit.

I also finished the April Dishcloth Mystery:

Pattern: April KAL by KrisKnits
Yarn: Lily Sugar & Cream Solids in "Hot Green"
Needles: US 3
Notes: I still like not having any idea of what the pattern will be when it's done, but this design in particular didn't exactly thrill me.

Also distracting me from making a finished item out of Pink Insanity is that I got my Knit Picks order the other day and immediately was inspired. Say hello to the beginning of Twisted Knots...

You'll notice that I've highlighted all the cables a different color in the chart. I had to do this, or I would have gone cross eyed. There's a lot of cabling action going on and I knew that color coding them was going to save me some real heartache later. I already love this project. It's going to be a stunning. And since it's new and exciting, I'm already completely head first into getting it worked up.

I also got some Rainbow striping sock yarn (Felici). I don't know why, but the colors in this THRILL me. They stripe as a rainbow and the yarn is so soft and I couldn't resist and I bought 4 more skeins on Friday. I don't know why, I just wanted to be sure I didn't run out of it. I have lots of plans for this yarn- so prepare yourselves for a plethora of rainbow socks this year.

So as usual, I'm distracted away from the task at hand and you'll have to wait just a little bit longer to see the final product on Pink Insanity, but trust me, it's going to be worth the wait!

Won't Be Long Now...

"Won't be long now..." said the monkey with his tail caught in the lawnmower.

(Thanks to my dad who always used to say this... I can never hear someone say the first part of the phrase without thinking the last part.)

Progress on the pink insanity blanket is beginning to finally, FINALLY, to really churn slowly towards the finish line. It went from this crumply mess last weekend...

To looking like a blanket voodoo doll with all those blocking pins this Friday...

(Perhaps the art of blocking is in fact so you can get a little revenge on the project that has tortured you for so long? Sticking pins in the project gives a whole new meaning!!)

Do not rejoice for me just yet. There is one element on this blanket that remains. A familiar foe...

So we meet again crochet! SO WE MEET AGAIN!! Pink Insanity needs a super cute picot crochet border and so I must take up with the most hated hook and crochet me a border. *sigh* Who will win the epic battle of Jen vs. the crochet hook? Stay tuned....

Truthfully, since I seem to be putting a lot of crochet borders on my blankets these days, the actual crocheting part isn't all that daunting. It's nothing I haven't done before. It's just more the fact that I want this project DONE already- that has me feeling a little meloncholy.

Keeping me busy while the blanket is drying is the Ellington socks, which are starting to show actual progress!

I'm midway down the foot now and feeling, truthfully, a little bored. It's going to be a lovely project when it's finished. Hopefully a real show stopper. BUT, my brain just wants a mindless project. Honestly? I think it's just all the pink I'm knitting with. I want to knit with another color and just get out of this Pepto Bismal funk!

Thankfully there's another baby blanket that's sitting in the queue that is NOT pink. (Yarn is in transit to me!) Hopefully you'll be seeing my version of this real soon! Say hello to "Twisted Knots"!

Do You Have A Favorite?

After the massive argument I had with knitting last week, you'd think I'd break up with my beloved hobby, but you'd be wrong. Thankfully, shortly after my post the issues began resolving.

Firstly, Webs yarn store was VERY gracious and helpful and wanted to rectify my issue very quickly.. Even though I was past their 60 day return policy they took my yarn back and offered to pay my shipping out to them. That? Is good customer service and I am very greatful that they admitted that it was their error and they wanted to fix it. So everybody- shop at WEBS... okay? (Also shop at the Loopy Ewe they are the gold standard in customer service....)

I also finished the baby sweater I've had sitting around here for the last month.

Pattern: Baby Poonam by Norah Gaughn

Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy Sport in "ivory" (left over from Baby Beef blanket)

Needles: US 4 (ribbing) and US 6 (body & sleeves)

Notes: This turned out really cute, and I very much liked the idea of the buttons at one side of the neck, making the neck opening bigger. (Very practical) However, this pattern was not great to work with. There's a discrepancy in the measurements on the schematic and the pattern itself. (I followed the schematic.) I knit to gauge and things didn't line up properly. This pattern would be very challenging for a beginner or someone not familiar with basic sweater construction. Cute results, but kind of a pain to knit!

Other than that- it's mostly works in progress (wips) around here.

The current baby blanket that feels like it's never going to end is on panel 7 and I think I will knit one more before I consider it close to finished and ready to block.

Since there isn't much more exciting to say about the current blanket- I thought I'd discuss a couple of past blankets and get your input on them. I have three blankets on Ravelry that inter-change as being my most popular project with other knitters.

1) Baby Beef

2) The Green Leaf Blanket

3) The Watermelon Blanket

So, I thought I'd ask- What's your favorite?

*sigh* back to knitting the current blanket. Who knows- maybe this is going to be the new favorite project?! (If I ever finish it!)

It's 1:49 AM

It's 1:49 in the am and I can't sleep. WHY? Knitting and I had a big, BIG fight tonight and I'm totally mad at it. (There are no pictures to post because my hands are shaking too much in sheer rage.)

Honestly how can a craft I love so much be so BLOODY infuriating!!??

It began simply enough. I knit the remaining 12 rows on my blanket and met my "1 panel a week" deadline. Thrilled that it was only Saturday and that I had a day and a half of "fun knitting" ahead of me I began some other projects.

First I knit the first clue in the Mystery April Dishcloth. That went fine... and fast. What will it be? I don't know. But it will be green.

I finished up the dishcloth and decided to work on the leg of my Ellington sock. Despite the complexity of this pattern- I am L O V I N G it. And readers, this is going to be simply SMASHING when it's done. The yarn suits the pattern beautifully and GAH... there isn't enough good things to say....

... which is why I'll stop saying them. After devoting an approximate 4 hours of dedicated and concentrated knitting the little nagging voice in the back of my head got louder and louder.... "It's too small, you need to go about a size." Instead of listening to this voice, I proceeded to knit further and further down the leg. Then, 15 stitches from being done (this is a LOOOONG leg 90+ rows), the nagging voice wins out. I finagle the needles over my heel and pull the sock leg up and I am BARELY able to get it on. *Sigh* The ribbing was stretched so tight I bet my blood could hardly circulate. The pattern was stretched so thin it went from "HOT DAMN that is amazing" to "HOT DAMN YOU HAVE FAT CALVES". (For what it's worth, and because my mother reads this blog and worries about these types of comments, no, I don't think I have fat calves. The sock made it look like I had fat calves.)

This I could handle. Yes it's disappointing to get so far along on a sock and realize that you're in trouble. I've ripped back much further. So, without a slight sigh of anguish I ripped the thing out and started again. I both went up to the medium size and went a .25 needle up. I knit about 8 rows of the ribbing and the nagging came back, "now it's too big". (Please picture the nagging voice to sound like the really crazy side of Gollum.) I ignored it. And when the cuff was finished I felt like the once delicate pattern was going to look sloppy. I was also worried about having enough yarn. So I ripped it out again.

At this point I knew it was time to give Ellington a time out. Sometimes when I'm mad at a project- I put it in a corner and let it think about what it's done. Usually after a day or two we get back together and move along at a happy pace. I've decided to go back to the needles I was using before and count on the fact that I've added 8 more stitches. I think the 8 more stitches outta make a big difference.

With Ellington in timeout and feeling a little dejected by my knitting, I pulled out some yarn that's been calling to me in my stash and decided to swatch it for the glorious Fireside Sweater. A fun swatch to knit on big needles that will hopefully be a little less finicky than my other current projects.

I knit the gauge swatch and was mildly disappointed to discover that I'm about .5 stitches over gauge. Now, I know I tend to knit tightly, but I usually can knit to gauge... (and yes I swatched for those socks up above... I don't know what happened there except to tell you that swatches are BIG FAT LIARS!)

I couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting gauge. As I always do now, in the face of a new project- I went to Ravelry to read the pattern notes other Ravelers have made. (One of the 90 zillion BRILLIANT features on Ravelry.) I read the notes along and noticed that two people, who are used the same yarn I was planning to use noted that WEBS, the yarn store where I also ordered the yarn from, sent them the "Bulky" version of the yarn instead of the heavy worsted version and were getting curiosly the same gauge as me. (Berkshire not Berkshire Bulky- I'll admit the naming is easy to screw up.)

I had a sick feeling in my stomach when I read that. I'm not a huge fan of big bulky knits. I far prefer the smaller, fine stitches in a project. This project already has the makings of being reasonable bulky, without the addition of super bulky yarn. Sure enough I read the label and the sick feeling washed over me- I had Berkshire BULKY... not the regular Berkshire.

*Sigh*

At this point I just wanted to give up knitting, light my entire stash on fire (yes even the Wollmeise) {My MIL just gasped at that} and run screaming down the street in agony. Deciding that it would be expensive for my husband to bail me out of the looney bin, trying to explain to the cops "her knitting gets her a little worked up sometimes", I Instead just said a bunch of words that I'm pretty sure my mother would faint upon hearing and sat and seethed about being such an idiot for ordering the wrong yarn.

The thing is, I'm usually pretty meticulous about my yarn orders- wanting to avoid this very feeling. So while I sat seething and telling myself that I shouldn't be allowed to buy anything without supervision again, another little voice creeped into my head, "what if this wasn't your fault?" Hmmmm... interesting.

So I logged into my account and found the online receipts of purchase and it turns out that I didn't order the Bulky... but the regular Berkshire. I'm not the big idiot I thought I am. The thing is- I bought that yarn waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in November and have just noticed today, that I was sent the wrong item.

Now before we send a bunch of hate mail to Webs I feel it's only fair to defend them. I have only had very positive experiences in the past with Webs. Their staff is friendly and helpful and they made a mistake. Mistakes happen. I make mistakes too. Thankfully, nobody died, there are just some nervous looking skeins of Wollmeise in my stash. I plan to call Webs on Monday and explain the situation. It is my fault for not confirming my order when I received it. To be fair, upon a glance you would think that my order was correct. The very slight difference in this yarn name is why I didn't notice and why there was probably an error in the first place.

I'm going to find out if there's away to send back 9 out of the 10 skeins. (I knit the swatch, cut and washed it from one skein, so I know I can't return it.) I might just ask for a credit as I find their shipping rates to Canada a little ridiculous. Then, next trip down to the US, I'll order again- hopefully with better results. This is not a big hate on Webs.... we'll chat on Monday and see if we can come to some mutally agreeable solution. Please send me good vibes when I chat with the staff on Monday that they're agreeable about sending it back. (My idea is that I send it back... at my cost- get a credit for the 9 skeins and the next order I place they send to me- and not charge me shipping. I think that's fair?)

In the mean time- I can't sleep because I feel like an epic knitting failure and that everything I touch turns into crap. I have my knitting class tomorrow and I only hope that my bad knitting juju from today will be replaced with "ALL POWERFUL MOJO" tomorrow and that I don't turn into a lunatic, mistake their stock yarn for my stash and light the whole thing up.

I'm going to try to sleep now. I'll probably have dreams that I'm knitting Ellington out of Berkshire Bulky....

Cheap Thrills

Thanks to another thrilling Masters tournament, (yay Phil!) I can once again bring you a thrilling blog post with ACTUAL FINISHED ITEMS! (Be still our hearts!) Aren’t you, well… thrilled?

First off the needles on Friday, I finished clue 6 of the Mystery Knit Along (KAL) hosted by Kris Knits. I noticed the always inspiring mags had signed up to do this and decided “what the heck! I have cotton, I have the needles, I can handle this.” And so- I finished the March dishcloth to discover it was a bunny and easter eggs in a basket.

Pattern: March KAL by Kris Knits
Yarn: Lily Sugar and Cream in "Cornflower Blue"
Needles: US 3
Notes: It’s oddly thrilling to not know what you’re knitting and just TRUST the pattern and the designer. (Plus it’s also thrilling to know you’re using up stash yarn that’s been sitting around the house collecting dust.)

With the dishcloth off the needles I knew that I wanted to get something else off the needles, namely my Maelstrom socks that have been in my purse and slowly seeing progress since January. (I’m pretty sure my regular lunch time knitting crew were preparing to abandon me due to being SICK to death of looking at the socks.)

Pattern: Maelstrom by Cookie A (I've been on a Cookie A kick lately… the last few socks I’ve made; Monkey, Marlene have all been Cookie A incarnations and the newest purse sock is also a Cookie A.)
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock Multi in “Autumn Wine” (Color made special for the M1 Fall retreat in 2008)
Needles: US 1.5
Notes: This is a lovely pattern that is actually deceptively simple to knit. (Seems to be the way of Cookie A… looks challenging but it really a simple pattern easy to memorize.) It looks stunning in plain yarns, but also can be worked in variegated. I’m less and less in love with verigated yarns these days as my eye far prefers the even nature of lightly variegated or straight colors. But, the pooling isn’t too awful in this yarn, so I’ll let myself enjoy these.

(Color most accurate in this photo)

With that purse sock finished- I cast on a new Cookie A pattern: Ellington. I don’t have photos of my progress yet, but this is proving to be considerably more challenging than Cookie’s of the past. I'm hoping that a finish to the current baby blanket is coming swiftly, so that I'm able to take a wee break and actually knit these up in between. I'm thinking they have the potential to contend as entry #2 at the Stampede.

The thrills didn't stop at the socks- oh no! I finished all the pieces of the Baby Poonam sweater I'm working on. (Ugh, the less said about the actualy pattern the better... it's not very well written at all.)

I knit this so that I can have a sweater, WITH shoulder seams, to take to my finishing class on Sunday. (Whoops, that's coming up this week, not last Sunday! Thanks to eagle eye Mary for catching that one!) The yarn actually worked out great with the sweater and I have enough that I might even attempt a cute little matching cable hat.

And it doesn't just stop there! I also kept on track and finished panel #5 of my baby blanket of the MOST TINY YARN EVER. (Okay... not really the tiniest yarn ever, but I have days when my brain is just like "WHY ARE YOU KNITTING SUCH A FINE GAUGE YARN?? YOU WILL NEVER FINISH THIS- EVER!!!)

Truth be told, despite my doubts, and okay, BOREDOM, this project is actually moving along at a decent pace. I have decided to knit more than the 6 panel repeats, as I want the blanket to be a longer size- but I can't commit to how many more repeats, that will all depend on the yarn I have remaining. I'm still on pace of knitting one panel a week. I'm anxious to put this blanket out to pasture and knit with a yarn that isn't teeny tiny.

So yes? Pretty thrilling weekend? I was able to cram a lot of progress into my weekend, and with any luck we'll continue on the streak of finished knits next week. Stay tuned....

Good Friday... For Knitting

There are so many things to tell you about here at La Maison du Nennie, that I'm not even sure really where to begin. I think it's maybe best to celebrate the season by showing you what captured my imagination this week and became a week long obsession.

Bunny Nuggets!!

Pattern: Bunny Nuggets by Rebecca Danger (free pattern link!)
Yarn: Various scraps of DK and worsted that I had lying around
Needles: US 4
Notes: OH MY GOD CUTE!! I had them in my office this week and every person who came in couldn't help by squeal over the cute. Even the men. This pattern is really easy and fast to knit up- and they don't have to be perfect. In fact the less perfect you make them, the more adorable the results!!

Not convinced that I have made something adorable? This will put you over the edge...

I told you!! CUTE!

The blanket is chugging along at it's regular pace, and I'm hoping by Sunday that I will have the 4th panel done. I'm still surprised at how quickly the teeny tiny yarn is knitting up, but I suppose that's a good thing so I won't complain. I'm already thinking ahead to the next blanket I need to work on for a baby due in June. It's for a boy and requires sail boats. Any suggestions??

Also on the needles and getting some attention this week... a cute baby sweater knit up in some leftover yarn from the Baby Beef blanket.

MiL and I are taking a finishing your knits class next week and I want to learn to set in sleeves. I decided to forgo knitting an adult sweater (there's not enough time!) and knit a baby sweater. I can't decide what else I want to learn- although I'm wondering if I can skip the blocking part on this sweater?

Rounding out my exciting week- guess what I got in the mail yesterday?

WOLLMEISE!! (SQUEE!!!) Yes, the most impossible yarn to get two fingers on! I had twitter open 2 weeks ago at work and noticed a note about wollmeise being available at the Loopy Ewe. (For those not in the know, that stuff can sell out in as fast as 2 minutes. It is impossible to buy without resorting to stalking!)

I know I said I wouldn't be buying more yarn but I did make an exception for Wollmeise. (See the exception at the bottom of this post.) Why are knitters going crazy for this yarn?? I can't speak for the community as a whole, but I can tell you why I love this stuff. 1) Color saturation. Claudia, (the woman responsible for Wollmeise) is able to get the most amazing colors on her yarn. The pictures don't do it justice. They're just vibrant, and multi-dimensional and gorgeous. She excels in jewel tones and I can't help myself... I just want more! 2) Her base yarn. I appreciate that she isn't specifically responsible for this- she buys base yarn from a supplier and colors it. Her source for base yarns is lovely. The yarn knits up beautifully, it's smooth and soft and knitting the wollmeise is almost as fun as looking at it. Now to find some "wollmeise worthy" projects. (You can't just knit any old project with the wollmeise, I want to make something special with such special yarn!)

Speaking of finding "wollmeise worthy projects", pretty sure I can find something in the new issue of Twist Collective. Stop whatever you're doing and go flip through the new issue. I have never seen an issue where I have wanted to knit so many different projects. EVERYTHING on there is lovely and gorgeous and I WANT TO MAKE IT ALL NOW! (Particularly loving Celandine, Anney (mom get better at knitting fast, you have to make this), Sally Rand, Kadril, Goose Rocks (this has my sister's name all over it), Timpani (OMG love!), and Amaranth (MiL you must make these! I decree it!)

I'm planning on spending th entire weekend making progress on the needles. I'm ready to cast on new projects, but need to clear out the old first!

Something New to Obsess Over!

The Magnum Opus is done y'all! I've been sitting back and enjoying the feeling of knowing that there is nothing else that needs to be done on that blanket. In fact it's so done it's not even in my house anymore. It's on it's way to a special little girl- and well, I'm relieved.

Magnum Opus took a lot of me!

Being the process knitter I am though, I couldn't just leave the blankets alone, I bit into my next big challenge. The "Pink Insanity" blanket. Why did I give it that woeful sounding title? Simple- when I started I thought I must be INSANE to knit a blanket on yarn with such a small guage.

In fact when I first did this gauge swatch my rational brain said "NO. This is not going to be the project you recover on. NO NO NO NO NO NO." Thankfully I rarely listen to the rational side of my brain and I cast pink insanity on.

It turns out that even though this is knit in the finest, most whispy of yarns, I actually really sunk my teeth into the project. And despite thinking that it would take an eternity to knit... it actually starting moving a long really fast.

A week later from that photo? I was nearly halfway!

My pattern notes suggest that I need 6 "panel rows" of patterns. I'm nearly done 3. I think we can safely assume that I'm going to finish this for Stampede this year. So, as long as I stay focused, and committed to not making errors, (because there has been some unpleasant ripping back sessions already), this blanket is turning out to be quite a great little project!

Maybe I should listen to my irrational side more often?

Dear Sophie

Dear Sophie,

We haven't met yet- but I already know how special you are. You see, I know your mom and she's a very special person to me. In fact, I consider her and your aunty Renell as special members of my own family. I have been waiting rather impatiently to meet you because I'm convinced that I'm already going to love you. (Yes, even if you barf on me when we meet. You and your cousin Ky are one of the few people I will make this exception for.) When I found out that you were going to join us I wanted to do something really special to welcome you into this world.

You've probably figured this out pretty quickly, but your mom and dad really love you. I hope you've also already noticed that they really love each other too. Your mom and dad have a great story before you came along, and I thought maybe I could tell you that story since I'm one of the few people who knew your parents when they first met.

Because you're small, I thought you'd prefer a picture story instead of one with many words. This is the story of your parents and how you came to be in this world.

The blanket reads like most stories- and starts at the beginning. Once upon a time there were two people, one named Brandy and one named Blaine; you know them better as "mommy" and "daddy".

Mommy and daddy grew up in different towns, but when they were old enough to leave home, they moved to Saskatoon to go to university. It was at the University of Saskatchewan where they met each other for the very first time. (I know how much you like puppies, isn't it neat that the U of S mascot is a husky??)

Your daddy REALLY liked you mommy when he first met her. A LOT. He used to tell me all the time how much he liked your mom. And, when I was spending time with your mom, I would tell her how pretty your dad would say she was. Very soon your dad got the courage to ask your mom on a date. Your dad, who, whether he'll admit it or not, is a big romantic, took your mom to the symphony for their first date.

That first date must have been pretty great because soon your mom and dad were spending lots and lots of time with each other. And, when you spend lots of time with someone you get to know each other pretty well. Your dad learned that your mom was not only very pretty on the outside, but also on the inside. Your mom learned that your dad was a very special person who cared very deeply about life. Before they knew it, you mom and dad fell in love.

Your mom and dad were in love for a really loooooooong time. They loved each other so much that even when they were apart, everyone around them knew that they really wanted to be together. One day your dad surprised your mom with a trip to Mexico where it's nice and warm. (Your dad loves surprises.) That was a really a great surprise... but an even bigger surprise is that he also asked your mom to marry him on that trip!

As you've probably already figured out, your mom said "yes" to you dad. And, on September 25, 2004 on a beautiful fall day in Saskatoon, the city where your parents met, your mom and dad got married.

After your mom and dad got married, they went back to Toronto where they set up their new life together as man and wife.

Because your mom and dad have so much love to give to others, they adopted your furry friends, Benny and Teddy who brought lots of excitement to your mom and dad's lives.

Even with your puppy friends adding some excitement to your family the story wasn't complete. Your mom and dad loved each other so much, that they decided to make you. (Please, please, PLEASE don't ever ask me to tell you how.... unitl you're maybe 46 years old!) And, on a crsip late November day, you were born and everyone was so excited that we couldn't stop smiling and being happy.

While the blanket stops here, I can tell you that the story doesn't, it just begins a new chapter. There are so many people; aunts, uncles, friends and family who love you and will be there for you whenever you need it. On top of all this love and support, you are so lucky to have such great parents who love each other so much and love you because you represent their love together. I hope this blanket wraps you up in the love that I'm sending you, but also serves as a lifelong reminder about the two people who brought you here.

I can't wait to meet you Sophie and tell you this story in person- but for now, just feel the love I'm sending with this blanket and know that I'm so excited to welcome you to this world!

Love,

Aunty Jen

(PS... please come for a visit really soon, I'm really impatient to meet you!)

*************************************************************************
For the knitters reading this- blanket details as follows:

Pattern: Story by Blaine & Brandy, concept and math by me, all dishclothes (except stork) by Lisa Millan (Digknitty Designs) and stork by Lisa Vienneau and Allison Barrett. (Dishcloth details and patterns are listed on Ravelry)
Yarn: Knit Picks Comfy in "ivory", "flamingo" and "lilac mist"
Needles: US size 6
Notes: Special thanks to Lisa Millan, who upon reading my idea for this project was immediately supportive. Not only did she modify the design for the first square to reflect new names, but she also designed, from the ground up, the Toronto square. Without her help, I wouldn't have been able to complete this project and tell the story.

Here We Go Again

With the excitement of the Olympic knitting over and the shakes from Olympic watching withdrawl subsiding, it's time to turn my focus back on the regularly scheduled knitting.

First up, Brandy's blanket aka "the Magnum Opus". It was off the needles before I left for Hawaii, but everyone who saw it agreed that it needed a border. The first thing I did upon casting off Grandma's socks, was pick the blanket up and weave in all the ends. (Ugh... is there ANYONE who actually LIKES weaving in ends out there?) And then- I faced a familiar foe- crochet.

I spent the entire weekend this last week fighting with crochet. I OWNED the hdc (half double crochet) and I fear that I can actually read a crochet pattern now. (I'll try and forget that knowledge asap.) Sunday evening the border looked like this:

I decided NOT to do the second color border, as I think the first color finishes this off nicely. The blanket is going to be blocked, heavily, and hopefully next week I'll show you the finished product and have it in the mail to my very patient friend.

With the blanket essentially done, I picked up a project I have been practically chomping at the bit to start. Behold! I give you "Pink Insanity!"- hopefully my entry for Stampede this year!

Doesn't look like much does it? Perhaps that's because I have chosen the tiniest yarn and the tiniest needles to knit it with. (Hence the reference to insanity, because I am clearly insane to attempt this.) I'm knitting this blanket on fingering weight yarn and size US 2 (3 mm) needles. To give you an idea of how tiny the stitches are, I took this photo.

Why yes, I am crazy. Thanks for asking!

The husband keeps calling this project my "Stampede 2012" project after seeing the tiny needles and stitches and doing the math on how long this could potentially take. Despite all of his doubts, and quite frankly mine, I have taken on this challenge with great enthusiasm. I'm so excited about knitting this project, and if everything goes as planned, this going to be a BEAUTIFUL blanket when it's done. I'm projecting, and aiming for an 8 week finish. I know I can do this!

Cross your fingers. (And maybe have the men in white coats on stand by... this could be a slightly bumpy ride.)

Gold Medal for Canada!

Guess what world?

That’s right- I’m a gold medalist! I knit 2 pairs of socks in two weeks and I just managed to finish on time! Knitters participating in the Olympics were asked to select something that would challenge them. You’ve seen me knit countless pairs of socks, but the challenge I knew would be time.

AND HOO BOY, it was close. I finished Sunday, the 28^th, around noon. (Thank goodness because there’s no way I would have knit a stitch during that hockey game nail biter.) Time was even more of a challenge than I thought. I didn’t really start until the Sunday I got back from Maui (Feb 14^th). I jumped right in, knitting Grandpa’s socks first- and man they were huge! Unfortunately I was presented with a challenge when I got back to work. There was a tsunami, (because tidal wave is just not adequate to express the size) of work waiting for me. There were late nights at work that took away sock knitting time. And yet, somehow I finished Grandpa’s socks in a flurry of efficiency.

Just when I thought I could manage Grandma’s socks, because I had caught up with work, life threw me another obstacle- namely a nasty cold. I knew that the end of my week I’d be helping my sister with her move, so I had planned for efficient knitting in the earlier parts of the week. Except I became a one man snot factory and when I wasn’t blowing my nose, I was feeling too tired to think about knitting. (The fear of another work tsunami kept me in the office, but I won’t lie, I wasn’t an A+ employee last week, I was working on a C average.) And yet, with maybe a few late nights thrown in, I did manage to finish grandma’s socks.

Pattern: Nutkin by Beth Lapensee

Yarn: OnLine Supersocke 100 – Florida Color in “1131” (Gah, I hate when yarn doesn’t have names!)

Needles: US 2, I purposely made sure to knit these a little bigger since I knit rather tightly and really wanted these to fit on Grandma’s legs!

Thoughts: I modified this pattern quite a bit- and outlined the changes here on Ravelry. I just did a ribbed cuff, heel flap and a regular toe instead of the pattern’s changes. Nutkin is a ridiculously easy pattern to memorize and I know why a lot of people have knit this one! I'd recommend it to beginners- but with my modifications.

I’d like to thank my sister for allowing me to sneak a few rows in while I was helping her move and my husband, the supplier of Kleenx, for his patience in not making any plans on the weekend so I could knit. I’d also like to thank my country, and the team I knit for, Canada, because you put on one hell of a great show. Today is the first day I haven’t watched Olympic coverage on television. For the last two weeks I have been RIVOTED to my television, jonesing for “hit” after “hit” of Olympic coverage.

I cheered with Alexandre Bilodeau who seemed so deserving of the status of being the Olympian who won the first gold on Canadian soil. And I cried like a big sap when he hugged this brother. I cheered, (and cried again), when the Canadian ladies of the speed skating track brought in their medals. I cried for Jeremy Wotherspoon who just wanted a medal so badly, and deserved it, and walked away empty handed. I cheered through every Canadian hockey game, I celebrated the Virtue and Moir skate, I cried at Joannie Rochette and didn’t breathe during the entire third period of that last hockey game. (Sydney Crosby for Prime Minister!) I watched everything there was to watch! I have cheered harder and cried more during these games than I have ever before. I am just so proud of my country and how we presented ourselves and who knew it would make me so emotional!? Anyways- thanks Canada, it was fun to be on your team, even if you haven’t recognized the knitting “sport”… yet.

I’m so proud of my "Bob" from the Ravelympics:

AND, my medal from the Yarn Harlot:

*In all fairness to myself in this photo- my sinuses are still kinda swollen!