Yoga, and more catching up
March 4, 2009 at 7:47 pm | In CIU 2008, Fiancé, Knitting, Sweater | Leave a CommentHello again!
Since I’m being good at updating my new exercize blog every day, I figured I should take some time to update this blog too. As you can tell from the title, I’m giving Yoga a try right now. I used to do a lot of dance that focused on stretching and abs, and I’m hoping that Yoga will do something similar. I’m even planning on going to a class on Sunday if I get up early enough.
The new reason for this being that I have a wedding dress to fit into in just over a year. One that CANNOT be altered and that currently fits me like a glove.
Therefore I need to stay in the same glove shape that I am…
Anyhow, on with the knitting content.
First on the list is C’s sweater. I wrote about the origin of this on my old blog here (and really need to get it copied over to this blog so I don’t lose it…). In that post I talk about the numerous things that C wouldn’t let me knit him for fear of losing, and that I’d decided on socks, and he then asked me to make a sweater.
I end the post saying he was coming with me to buy the yarn. So flash forward about 6 months. We’re now engaged, it’s just after Christmas, and we’re in Toronto for a weekend away.
He surprises me by taking me to Lettuce Knit (bestill my heart) where we spend more than 2 hours in a TEENYTINY little store with me grabbing a yarn, holding it out to him and going “HERE, what do you think of this one?”
and him saying “it’s nice” and shrugging his shoulders.
I kept trying to get him to touch the yarn, to feel it, rub it on his arm and make sure it was soft and not itchy or bothersome.
Finally I gave up, grabbed what I thought was a good yarn, one that he’d said was nice WITHOUT the shrug of the shoulders and bought it (along with $200 worth of other things that we won’t mention).
I procede to cast on the sweater which I’m making from a mixture of a few patterns and my own design. I knit away up the front of the body, checking it on him to make sure it’s the right length to the armpits and everything. Then I got to the raglan decreases… and stalled.
I looked and looked but couldn’t find raglan decreases that worked for my gauge and with the fact that I was knitting it flat. So I set it aside in favour of other projects.
Flash forward again to last summer. I hit a “Duh” moment. Over the couple of years that the sweater had been marinating, C would every so often ask about it, then chuckle and tell me that it was ok and there was no deadline (I think he was actually starting to fear the finished project).
I was at work and happened to log onto my local library’s website to see what knitting books they had in and noticed “The Big Book of Sweaters” and thought “hey, I have that book”.
Yeah, I’m a little slow on the uptake.
So I decided that I needed to get the sweater done for Christmas and that it needed to be a surprise. I was worried that I wouldn’t really be able to do this as C and I had the same periods of time off.
Then in October, I got let go… time wasn’t a problem any more.
But yarn was.
I could see as I was finishing the front and sleeves, that I was running a little short on the light gray of the sweater. Considering I had purchased the yarn 2 years prior, in a store in a city an hour’s drive away, and me with no car… I had an issue. I had to make it work some how.
So, I finished the sleeves and worked up the back. I knew it was going to be close, and then I ran out. However since this sweater was in multiple colours, I figured I could just change the cast on edges to dark gray. It wouldn’t be hard to pull out just the cast on edge.
Except that I had done it in ribbing. 3 hours later, the cast on edge from the front was done, and the yarn knitted into the back… still not enough.
Off came the cast on rows from both sleeves… still not enough, but just by barely!
Finally I took the cast on row from the back and JUST made it to the end.
But it was close… I ended up making the neckline in the dark gray too, but it worked out ok.
Considering that there were so many different strands of the yarn right up near the top of the neck, I think it ended up looking decent.
The seams were done with the dark gray as well, but you can’t see it at all, I’m really, very pleased with the raglan decreases!
Over all, the sweater turned out wonderfully! It fits C very well, I’m really proud of the quality of the knitting, and the fact that I slogged through and figured out the pattern and decreases all on my own. I also managed to finish it in time for Christmas, just barely!
However, I’m sure you’ll notice one major thing about the pictures of this sweater… it’s not on C.
That’s because C apparently is very sensitive to mohair, which happens to be in Lamb’s Pride Worsted, which is what the sweater is made out of!
Even wearing a shirt underneath it, he ends up with a mild rash.
So this poor little sweater will be spending most of its days like this, in a treasure box or something, unless I decide to wear it as a dress or something…
*sigh* At least I have some 100% wool in my stash to make him another sweater that he will actually wear…
Till next time
Tying up some loose ends
February 21, 2009 at 11:19 am | In Uncategorized | 1 CommentSo I had knit morning today. It was wonderful, when I get a job again I’m really going to miss this.
As of right now though, it looks like the Knit Mornings may be held at my house. Our group has kind of out grown the corner of Starbucks and we’re starting to have to sit on the little side tables. I offered up my living room in passing because it’s big, we’ve got 2 futons and a comfy chair plus other padded chairs, it’s very open with lots of daylight… and a fire place. Plus, it’ll help me keep the place clean!
So that could be fun, it may be starting next Friday, but I have to keep an eye on Ravelry for that. We also may be taking a field trip up to Spinrite for their sale… heee!!! Bags of Regia, and other yarns for CHEAP! Now if only I had money… hmmm…
Anyway, I figured I would tie up some loose ends I have laying around, like that lovely list of Christmas Gifts I have to the side.
I don’t have all the pictures of stuff yet but here’s the end result.
I got everything except Alistair’s blanket done… so I didn’t give Jude’s blanket either, instead I made 3 baby hats with the initials of my 3 pseudo-nephews engraved on them.
The blankets I’m giving to my Mom on Saturday to give to the moms of the boys.
So I have a couple of pictures right now ( I do have more, but I haven’t got them on the computer…) of some recent projects, I just want to say that this year is probably going to end up being a year of socks for me… I’ve decided to work through my sock stash if only to get to have more yarn for my blankie (which I’ll talk about in another post).
Here we go…
First up are my Dad’s slipper socks (Karin’s look almost identical only they’re green-gray and smaller).
Pattern: Slipper Socks from Paton’s Website (Free Pattern)
Yarn: Classic Merino Wool
Size: Small
Needles: 4.5 mm dpns
Started: September 17 2008
Finished: October 2008
I’ll just put this bluntly, I HATE this pattern. These socks were originally supposed to be for Karin, my Dad’s wife, I made the “small” size and it came out big enough for C’s feet. I may have had an issue with gauge but I don’t think so.
Now I did learn a new style of heel for these socks which was really quite interesting. However, there are two little 2×2 cables that go down the side of each foot. Up on the cuff/leg the pattern tells you to twist them one direction, but after the heel, it tells you to twist them another.
Then the amount of stitches you are supposed to kitchener from the top of the foot to the sole isn’t even so you either have to instinctively know to decrease at a certain point, or do what I did and fudge it by moving stitches around.
It makes a nice sock, I will say that, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, find a different pattern because this one will give you a headache.
Pattern: Selbu Modern by Kate Gagnon from Ravlery (Free Pattern)
Yarn: Black: Paton’s Kroy and Variegated: Artsygal Yarns in Phoenix
Size: Small
Needles: 2.5 mm dpns
Started: December 10 2008
Finished: December 17 2008
Granted, I had a lot of time on my hands to make this, but it was truly a really fast knit. This pattern is written for 2 solid colours, but I had some left over Artsygal yarns from my monkey socks and decided to try it out.
This actually had a very simple chart to follow and it turned out beautifully. However mine doesn’t really look like the beret style it’s supposed to be, and I think this is because I used slightly thinner yarn than called for in the pattern.
Still this has become my daily hat, and is totally a favourite… it’s going to take something major to bump this off my first grab list.
So that’s a quick catch up, hopefully I can get some new pics on the computer soon… because heck knows I’m going to have a ton of socks to show you in the near future.
So with that, I’ll leave you with a picture of my demented Hydrangeas who don’t want to grow properly.
Till next time.
I give up!
February 19, 2009 at 10:47 pm | In random | Leave a CommentI give up on ever posting on a regular basis… heck I haven’t even updated my Ravelry notebook in forever *fail*.
Anyway, I found this really cute relationship meme on All and Sundry and I figured I’d fill it out.
Enjoy, and hopefully I will actually remember that this is a knitting blog and post pics…
What are your middle names?
Mine is Lynn, his is Lawrence
How long have you been together?
Well we don’t have an exact date for when we began dating. We met in Highschool (1996, when I was in Grade 9 and he was in Grade 12), then didn’t see each other for 5 years. Met again in 2001 when I was a college drop out, and jobless. I bugged him for 6 months to let me get a job at his place of employment and when he did, I started driving to and from work with him… that much time with one person can either make you hate them… or love them… in our case, it’s love.
How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Hmmm well if you go from the second time we met (2001), we were ‘just friends’ for a while, then in… 2005 I think, January anyway, we ‘dated’ for about 2 weeks, then in the summer of 2006 I was going through a very tough time and C was the only one who seemed to be helping me… we started taking it slow yet that December we got Engaged… it’s now over 2 years later and we’re hoping to get married next May… but I really don’t know exactly how you would count that.
Who asked whom out?
The first time we tried, it was him… this last time.. I think it was mutual agreement
How old are each of you?
I’m 26, he’s turning 30 on Monday
Whose siblings do you see the most?
Mine because C is an only child.
Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Currently it depends on which mother is driving who nuts.
Did you go to the same school?
We went to the same Highschool for about a year.
Are you from the same home town?
Yes and no, I was born in Kitchener and moved to Cambridge when I was 11, C has always lived in Cambridge.
Who is smarter?
Well, if you’re talking math skills, it would definitely be C, but if you want random facts… that’s me.
Who is the most sensitive?
Geeze this is hard… I’m on an emotional roller coaster, but C cries at kids cartoons so it’s kind of a coin toss.
Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Samura ,which is a Japanese restaurant in town that has sushi, all you can eat lunch and Teppan Yaki which is really cool to watch.
Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Hmm, well we’ve gone to Orillia which is about 3 hours north of us, we’ve gone to Tobermory which is about the same… but we went to Belville too… Or how about Detroit… I’m so horrible with distances.
Who has the craziest exes?
Well I have an ex referred to as “Big Hairy Jerk” but he has an ex referred to as “Ethel” as in the character from the Archie’s… I guess it depends on the day.
Who has the worst temper?
I do without a doubt.
Who does the cooking?
When I was working, C did because I did the dishes. But since I lost my job I do both since I can get dinner ready for when he gets home.
Who is the neat-freak?
Well that depends on the day and the situation. We’re both very good at ignoring mess for a certain amount of time and we’re both very good at flying off the handle because we CAN’T STAND THE MESS one second longer.
Who is more stubborn?
It depends on what’s at stake and what the situation is, but C usually caves more than me. When I cave it usually involves me sighing loudly saying “FINE” and storming off to another room.
Who hogs the bed?
C without a doubt. I have had a number of nights where I’ve woken up because the cat was laying on one side of my legs, and C had curled up on the other side of the bed and I couldn’t move either way. He’ll swear I’m exaggerating, but don’t believe him… I’m tiny and don’t take up room… I also grew up sleeping on a Twin bed… he’s always had a Queen.
Who wakes up earlier?
Me, but I think it’s because C works such a hard job that he catches whatever sleep he can.
Where was your first date?
Hmmm… this is hard because we don’t exactly know when we started dating… I’m tempted to say going to the movies though.
Who is more jealous?
Neither one of us are, but C and his friends won’t let me live down my reaction to a certain girl from a computer game he played on years ago… she was clingy and whiny and caused a lot of crap and I got very angry about it.
How long did it take to get serious?
If you count the friendship, 4 years about.
Who eats more?
C, he’s nicknamed “Jughead” from the Archies (hence why the Ex is called “Ethel”.
Who does the laundry?
When the washer was busted and we were going to the laundromat, he did the laundry and I stood around knitting. Now that we have a washer and dryer at home, I’m doing it daily (and leaving it folded on the futon in hopes he’ll take it upstairs… it’s been a week, I may give up soon)
Who’s better with the computer?
Me, I am wise in the ways of google-fu. He can’t find anything on the net for the life of him. I also have secondary education training in Microsoft Office, and I’m currently learning Webdesign.
Who drives when you are together?
C, I don’t have my G-2 yet, and I’m a very nervous driver. I just prefer to be in the passenger seat, I can enjoy the trip more that way.
Yay, so that’s that. Hope you enjoyed it. I have a knitting meet up tomorrow so maybe I’ll try to write about that when I get back, we’ll see.. I’m not promising anything anymore.
Till Next time
I Live!
January 15, 2009 at 10:22 pm | In Uncategorized | 1 CommentHonest I do… just with moving and Christmas and all that, I’m still trying to get my life under control.
Once I get my house clean again I may see about wandering through it with my new camera (which I believe has a mic on it so you can hear me chatting during the videos) I just need to get a special memory card to hold more than 1 minute of video.
Either that or figure out how to work MicrosoftVideo or whatever it is.
I am still knitting (to the point of having a very sore wrist) and I have been given books on quilting (to which C rolled his eyes and groaned “aNOTHER hobby???”) so we’ll see what I do.
Right now I’m just trying to get better after taking a tumble down the stairs… luckily my feet just slipped out from under me and I slid down them, but I still jarred my back and I’m all stiff (thank goodness I missed my tailbone)
Anyway, I’m looking forward to actually showing you what I’ve been up to and what the future holds.
Till next time…
Phew!!!
December 3, 2008 at 4:42 pm | In Family, Fiancé, House | 1 CommentYAY!
So we got the move done, well.. mostly. We’ve got the stuff from my Mom’s that we’re going to get this weekend (mainly my dining room set) and then there are a couple of boxes at my Gramma’s…. and my piano… that’s staying where it is for a while… at least until summer when I can get a piano mover in to get it into the house. We’ll also have had time to decide where to put it.
Now I’m just…. unpacking >.< the hard part about it is I don’t know where to put C’s stuff… so I’m trying to just put boxes of his stuff in the rooms where I think they’ll go, and just let him unpack them when he has time/energy (it’s hard on the guy now that I don’t have a job *cry* he has to work all hours he can… and it’s quite labour intensive… not to mention we’ve been sick as dogs for the last week)
Now I have two deadlines right now… I need to get the dining room empty and I’d like to have the kitchen cleaned up and the living room in a more organized state by the weekend… because my MOM is coming to see the house with stuff done >.< not fun… but anyway.
The other deadline is December 13, that’s right NEXT SATURDAY!!!
We’re throwing an open house/Christmas Party and have invited all our friends and family (and co-workers etc.) to come see the house and get into the Christmas spirit… however that means that the house, the WHOLE HOUSE needs to be unpacked and set up (as much as possible). The basement I’m not too worried about, but I’d like upstairs and the main floor to be nice… it’s getting there… but it’d go faster if I could have the bookshelves upstairs so I could unpack those boxes … yeah I won’t get into all of it.
Anyway, with this being the Christmas season and all, and with me throwing my first party next week (!!!), I have only one Christmas CD and it’s like… 20 minutes long and was a freebie.
I’d love to see if I could make a couple of CD’s either from public domain music or by scavenging from my family, that I could play at the party.
So tell me…
What’s your favourite Christmas song, either generic as in “Jingle Bells” or specific like… Elvis Presley’s version of “Winter Wonderland”.
Let me know.
Till Next Time!
Why we didn’t make it to the lawyer’s today
November 19, 2008 at 7:14 pm | In Fiancé, Serious, random | 2 CommentsSo today we were supposed to head out to the lawyer’s to sign the last few papers before we close on the house.
We didn’t make it… here’s why:
Luckily neither Chris, nor the girl driving the second car that hit him are hurt. We’re assuming the car that started this mess was fine because the guy drove off after a quick check of his bumpers.
Now we have to get the door replaced tomorrow because it won’t open.
Please everyone, drive safe in bad weather!
Till next time.
Psst.. hey… I got something to show you!
November 19, 2008 at 9:02 am | In House, random | 2 CommentsHey, wanna see something cool?
It’s my first house… we move on Friday, and we got to do a double check through it yesterday. I took the video camera along and did a tour of the house and the back yard. The quality isn’t very good and there’s no sound because it’s just the video function on my digital picture camera, but it works.
I hope you enjoy seeing my new house!
and here’s the back yard:
I’m so excited! Friday can’t come fast enough!
Till Next Time!
Christmas Insanity Update #2
November 6, 2008 at 10:39 am | In CIU 2008, Knitting | Leave a CommentOoookay, so I was totally going to do this earlier, but I got a bit side tracked…
So I just want to say YAY!!! My list is more Green than other… I’m moving along pretty well I think. Let’s go through and check things out. I will eventually (not giving a time or date or anything) post pictures of these projects, however if I was going to add pics to this post, it’d never get finished.
So let’s begin:
FINISHED!!!
Something I feel Strongly about
October 19, 2008 at 5:26 pm | In Family, Fiancé, Rant, Serious, random | 4 CommentsPlease excuse me as I derail the blog for a moment to speak out about something that really bothers me.
I don’t normally do this because I feel that there are a number of things one shouldn’t talk about that could spark anger, frustration and the like in others. Some taboo topics with me are religion, politics, sexuality etc.
However, after having a very busy week filled with more family than I usually care to acknowledge I would like to use my blog to spew some frustration that I cannot spew at my Mother.
One of the biggest issues/fights/disagreements that my mother and I have is to do with my weight.
She thinks I’m becoming fat.
Every time I see her there is at least one comment made revolving around my weight, a specific part of my body and its size, or whether or not I’m on a diet.
Now I need to put this into some perspective. See, up until I was about 22, I was what you would call skinny.
In fact, I was more what you would call…. anorexic. I was 5′5″ and 95 lbs. Don’t believe me? Here’s exhibit A and B.
Frightening isn’t it… I’m 21 in those pictures and I’m dressed like a child because pretty much the only clothes that would fit me were children’s size. I was a size 0, by society’s standard I was perfect!
I was thin, average height, and I died my hair blond (I actually have mousey brown hair). However, I wasn’t happy.
I had a very bad body image because I was so skinny, I felt disgusting in a bikini because of how my ribs stuck out. My mom loved showing me off to people, taking me out. She and I always fought because I refused to wear makeup or dress pretty. I didn’t see myself as she did. She thought I was perfect, beautiful and ready to become Paris Hilton (before there was a Paris Hilton).
Me, I’m one of the boys, plus I thought I was horrifically ugly and that no one would want to have someone who was skin and bones as a girlfriend. Not to mention that I was unhealthy. I would get a cold at the beginning of October, and be stuck with it (in varying severities) until April at least.
Then when I was 22 I went on the pill. This was more to do with a very serious hormonal imbalence than with the pill’s more standard purpose. And lo and behold, I suddenly hit puberty. My body got the memo and realized that I was an adult. And my mom went berzerk.
First thing that happened was I “ballooned” up to 130 lbs in about 6 months. I gained my figure and became regular (HALLELUJA!!!!)
Over the next 3 years to now I have plateaued with my weight, I slowly continued to gain weight to 150lbs *GASP*, however I’ve been steadily between 145 and 150 for about the last year at least.
This of course sends my mother into conniptions. I’m obviously fat, or at the very least heading in that direction.
I tried, at one point, to reason with her. I was moving and had my friend helping me get my bed out of her house, and this was the first time she’d met him. I took a couple of moments while he was taking his shoes off to follow my mom into the kitchen and the following dialogue ensued.
Me: Mom, I was taking my measurements for a costume yesterday and I noticed something. You see here, this part of my thigh, it’s 20 inches around… that’s how skinny my waist used to be. (I foolishly thought it would make her realize how horrifically skinny I had been)
Mom: (looking me straight in the face and with no sense of humour at all) Well you are a bit of a thunder thighs Jess…
My friend’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe my mom said that, not only straight to my face, but in front of him when she’d known him less than five minutes.
He still mentions that moment, my Mom states it never happened.
Recently I was buying clothes, and I had naturally migrated to the 3-5 size section because, when you’ve bought that for the last 10 years of your life, it’s hard to step back. As I was trying on clothes I realized something.
Not only and I no longer a 3-5 size, I’m actually a 9-13… and I’m ok with that.
I have a very good body image now, I have CURVES! I have a fiancé who loves me and loves the way I look. I’m healthy (I went to my doctor’s and they didn’t bat an eyelash at my weight), I have one, maybe two minor colds a year, and I feel good!
As I realized this I decided that I was going to take pictures to keep in my memory that just because I’m no longer a size 0 means nothing when it’s compared to how I feel about myself.
I’m just amazed at how women are not only destructive to themselves, but to others. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard one woman describe another as a “bertha butt” or some other derogatory name regarding her weight.
I honestly think that body image and the illness of Anorexia and Bulimea are started at home. If we were more supportive of each other, in the house, in school, on the streets and at work, then maybe we would realize that 150 lbs is all right.
Honestly, the amount of times the topic of weight came up at work and an otherwise healthy, happy woman would say she wants to lose 15 pounds, when in reality, her issues were with toning and she really just needed to do some crunches, I can’t begin to tell you.
I just think that a lot of issues for women could be helped if we would only look at the beauty that is there. If you’re healthy, what does it matter if you have ‘birthing hips’ or what not, why does size have to be such an issue.
Like I said, I’m now, on average, a size 10, and I would rather be here than be a size 0 any day. If only because I’ve been there, and I know how horrible it is.
Besides, if at a size 10 I can still wear an outfit like this and be comfortable (and get boyfriend bonuses) then there really isn’t a problem, is there…
Till Next Time!
FO – Striped Jacket
October 9, 2008 at 1:36 pm | In FO, Knitting, Peari | 1 CommentYay! I have pictures for you today as promised!
Just one FO today because I’m going to stretch these out as much as possible so it’s more interesting.
Also… I have a LOT of pictures for this one because C likes doing photoshoots.
So here’s today’s FO:
Specs:
Pattern: Stripe Jaket from Vogue Knitting Winter 2008
Yarn: Classic Merino Wool
Size: Small
Needles: 6.5 mm circular
Started: July 2008
Finished: September 2008
Thoughts: This jacket is an instant favourite, I finished it just in time for the start of the fall chill and have been wearing it daily since.
This jacket knit up incredibly fast probably due to the fact that you knit it holding two strands of yarn together, one of the colour and one of black.
Of course when I finish a very chic jacket out of Vogue Knitting what do I do? Put on a cute chic outfit and way too high boots and walking around the neighbourhood for an hour. (I won’t show you the pictures of the biggest blisters I’ve ever had in my life).
I modified this pattern slightly in that the pattern only called for 4 stripes of colour and I used 8. The reason for the change was that I wanted to use up the left over Dr. Who Scarf yarn. I figured a big jacket like this would be perfect to use it all up and was even a little worried about not having enough.
The way I chose which colours to use where was to figure out what I had the most of. Since I only had one ball left of the grey-green, I decided to use it last since that’s where the decreases were and no yarn was needed for the sleeves.
Then I went down the jacket with what I had more of.
I love the long shawl collar, however I’ve figured out that I’m not too partial to full garments like this knit in one piece. At least not cardigan/jackets. I find that it wants to slip off of my shoulders some times, however that could be because I had issues with the zipper.
I’m not sure if you can see how puckered and bunched it is. I got a zipper that was 4 inches longer than what was asked for in the pattern, and the zipper now ends 2 inches short of the top of the jacket.
This was the first time I had ever installed a zipper, and while I tried to follow instructions I found online, I found that my sewing instincts took over and I just installed it how I normally would on a garment I sewed. Unfortunately I didn’t realize how much the knitting would stretch even with the amount of pinning I had done.
(and on a side note that’s my old High School in the background… I’ve moved so far…)
Even with those issues I still love this jacket, however if I were to make it again I would probably make it a size bigger because I can barely wear a thick shirt and suit jacket underneath it, much less a sweater.
Also, this thing is SO warm that I will probably be able to wear it for the first part of winter with no problems.
(C is getting better at these photoshoot things… now I just need to make better faces…*sigh*)
On the whole I would definitely recommend this pattern to garment beginners because it’s an easy knit, on big needles. You get to learn new techniques (what with the colour changes, the decreases and the creating a garment in one go and so seams, not to mention the zipper), and it’s a very cute jacket to wear dressed up or casual.
And with that, I’ll leave you with a picture of Peari being weird (she’s taken to laying in very odd positions lately, at least she loves the blankets I knit for her.
“I’m only settling for these because you’re wearing my favourite…”
Till next time!
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