A bit of this and a bit of that...

Well, I realized that it's been quite some time since my last posting here. I've accomplished quite a bit (in my humble opinion anyways!)
My Irish Hiking Scarf was finished some time last week and I've been awfully glad to have it done! After much concern about it being un-wearable due to scratchiness, I am relieved to report that as promised it did soften after washing. I think it could still come out nicer, but the mercury took a nose dive again and it's been too bloody cold to be without a nice big scarf here in "WinterPeg." In the pat myself on the back category, I have had lots of compliments on the scarf and it's colour, so yey me! I'm tickled especially given the fact I wasn't overly thrilled with my first attempts at Kool Aid dyeing. As for Samus, well I am mighty pleased to announce that I made it! I actually accomplished my goal of getting the body finished by Robbie Burn's Day (January 25th)! I'll save pics of Samus until I'm completely done, so you'll have to wait on that one!

I had to take some time out of knitting last week to make G a new National costume for her highland dance competition that was on Saturday. I'm a little embaressed to admit that I bought the Dress Red Scott fabric back in July in Calgary at InterProv and just never got around to it. Was a little panicked when I realized it was Wednesday night and she needed to wear it on Saturday, but it got done and looked really pretty! It's a nice change for her seeing as she's worn the same Royal Stewart costume since she was eight! I even took my camera to the competition so that I could take a pic of her in it with her hair all done, but as per my ususal, I left the camera in my purse the whole time and didn't think of it till later that night when she was in her jammies, just out of the shower. Maybe next time.

Back to all things knitty.

As I had suggested earlier, I've been quite busy lately! During Friday's bus ride to and from work, the dance competition (of course when G wasn't dancing), waiting through the show she had to dance at on Saturday night, and about another hour on top, I managed to finish this!
Yes, it is one sock! Rather funky yarn if you ask me. It's Bernat Sox in Hot Tamale. I really couldn't decide if I liked it at all, but it was in my stash (my sis had unloaded it on me from her stash) and I figured, well... why not? I think G will be the likely recipient of them when I get sock #2 done. She seemed to be quite taken with it, and I'm tired of her being the sock thief!

Tonight, whilst watching Coronation Street, and two episodes of friends I made a camera bag for G's digital camera.

All in all... a good knitty week! Now, to plan some goodies for my SP8 swap partner, as well as figure out what pattern I want to make for my International Tote Exchange partner.

Neglected UFOs

Earlier I forgot to post the picture of my UFOs. A requirement of the Stash and UFO Bust-Along. So here they are. Samus and my Irish Hiking Scarf. I'm really pleased with Samus, and I've neglected my IHS for so long I now feel a sense of guilt.

Also, in other news, I've been trying to take pictures of my FOs from 2006 and add them here on my blog. Today I had J's girlfriend K bring over my version of Pasha. I made him last year for J to give K for Valentine's as he couldn't find the perfect stuffed penguin for her. I am still quite proud of Pasha as it's the first project I was ever brave enough to change the type of yarn on. He is made out of two differnt types of eyelash and then crafter's cotton. Apparently he's been well loved.

I really don't think I've got a big problem

So, as discovered and already mentioned on Stash & UFO Bust-Along, I don't think I have nearly the stash problem that I feared I did. Really, I only have 128 balls of yarn. That's not really that much. (at least not in my humble opinion) I even found a couple surprises of yarn that I'd forgotten I had. Like Christmas, it was!

You see? It all fits nicely on my bed...

(BF)G apparently thinks 128 balls of yarn is alot. Little does he know. Ha ha ha! He'd probably be afraid if he knew just how bad this little addiction could be!

In other news, I finished two pairs of wristwarmers for G. They took no time at all really.
Fetching only took me two days. I started them Wednesday morning before work and had them done Thursday evening. I want to make more. What's not to love about a quick pattern like that? And G loved them so I was even happier.

I showed the girls at pipe band on Thursday evening and we were thinking that maybe it would be good if we made each a pair to wear when piping outside in the winter. Our bass drummer who is a knitting fiend like myself was making her own pair of wristwarmers, from Dr. Who, I think she said. She'd already made fetching in the fall, but the new pattern was really nice too! Hmmm.... I see many, many wristwarmers in my future! Ha ha!

Well, here's G's hands posing with one of each wristwarmer. The colour isn't as bright as it should have been so you can't really get the idea of the pattern, but I thought I'd post it anyways!

In other news, I almost forgot to mention, now that G's wristwarmers are done, I am back to focusing on Samus and my IHS. These are both projects that I'm using for the It's Not A Gift KAL. I needed something to draw my attention back to those two projects... after all, I think they've been on the needles since November. Is it wrong to use the same projects for multiple KALs? I wonder? I hope not! Especially since those two are definately on my Stash and Bust-Along KAL as well. I think that what ever it takes for inspiration should be fine!

Well, I should go on upstairs and do something about organizing that stash of yarn (that not terribly large stash), so that at some time I can go to bed tonight!

No willpower

Earlier today I signed up for Stash & UFO Bust-Along. Sounds like a fantastic idea and goodness knows I need to start using up my stash rather than buying more and more yarn. However, that being said...

I am weak. Very weak. I went to Ram Wools this afternoon for buttons. But alas. They have a 30% off everything sale and I folded like a cheap shirt. (And none of it for my bf's sweater, which was the one exception I was going to make) However, let it be said that the wool I got was for something for my G. Maybe that falls within the gift category, that according to the rules is perfectly acceptable if you don't have the required yarn in your stash already.

But there I stood in the line up at Ram Wools feeling somewhat guilty about my serious addiction to yarn, when all of a sudden a rebellious sort of thought came over me. It was as if the proverbial light bulb whet on over my head and I thought, "Well, I can buy this Cashmerino Aran. No one can stop me. It's only one ball, and besides the bust-along doesn't even start for another few days, so there."

Agggghhhhh. This is truly a sign of a problem.

I think I am just going to slink off upstairs and get that pattern for the armwarmers for G...

Happy New Year

2006 went out with a bang, or more aptly a smash as vandals broke my rear window of my van sometime between early evening December 30th and the morning of December 31st. Now these would be thugs are really quite adventurous given that during that time period we received 30cm of snow approximately here in the 'Peg. What a mess. Not only had to shovel the drive so the van could get out, I had to shovel the van out itself. Today's endeavor was to get a new window put in. Oh what fun. I've now paid almost as much to Manitoba Public Insurance in deductables over the last year as I do for insurance. A whopping $900.00 for 2006. Sigh.

However, 2007 is bound to be better. I used some insurance in the manner of the custom of first footing by making sure my eldest son was first through our door after midnight! He fits the tall (over 6ft. now), dark is definately covered by his almost black hair and well I certainly find him to be a handsome devil if I do say so myself! Now, I realize we didn't really follow tradition (I had nary a lump of coal, bun, or whiskey), but J is definately not a doctor, minister nor grave digger and his eyebrows do not meet in the middle so I figure that his being such a fine candidate for first footer cancels out the fact that I was lacking in the other necessary parts to the custom!

As for our postponed Christmas celebration we did not, as someone had kindly suggested after my last post, wait until Ukrainian Christmas, but instead celebrated on December 30th, the morning after the kids arrived back from Calgary. We had a lovely morning, and the kids all agree that it had been worth the wait! It was good to have some noise back in the house! (BF) G and I had found it awfully quiet in here while the kids were away!

So, tonight is the last evening of my Christmas holidays. Sigh... Hi ho, hi ho, it's back to work I go tomorrow morning. I don't relish doing my ususal crazy running dash for the transit bus between transfers once again, especially as the forecast calls for +4 and rain tomorrow. Could be mighty slippery - and goodness knows I don't run well to start with. Picture if you will a mad flailing about and huffing and puffing and you will have an approximate image in your head of what I tend to look like when running. I'm a disaster! Although, by summer I may become an excellent sprinter after all at this rate!

As it's my last night to enjoy holiday freedom, I am getting back into Samus. I've finished the bottom cabled band, picked up the stitches and have started to the stocking stitch body. (One can accomplish much whilst waiting for a rear window to be replaced!) I am going to sit in front of Coronation Street tonight on the telly, and knit to my heart's content. Well really I suppose in the next half hour before CS comes on I should make some supper for the kids. Apparently they place eating much higher than "Mom's knitting time" Such nerve! ha ha!

Wishing one and all the very best for 2007!

PS: Was totally foiled in my TV watching desire tonight. Coronation Street was replaced with.... urrrggghhhh.... hockey. BAH. (OK. I know it's like blasphemy here in Canada to not appreciate hockey or to at least not keep my lack of appreciation to myself, but we're talking about Corrie here darn it.) Got lots of knitting done anyways though. Whoo hoo me! A good several inches of stocking stitch has materialized on the needles for Samus. A good several more to go. Setting a wee little goal for myself... let's say have the body done by Robbie Burns Day. I figured since I'm knitting Samus and have already discussed other Scottish customs, I might as well stick with a Celtic theme! So yep. Here I go! I decree that the body of Samus (ooohhh that sounds actually kind of gruesome) will be done by January 25th!