Category Archives: Knitting

Knitting, Reading

“So this is the new year, and I don’t feel any different.”

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– Death Cab for Cutie, “The New Year” (No, really, I haven’t used this title before. Really. See? Similar, but different.)

I realized that I was running out of time to do a 2009 in review post and not have it be utterly silly. So, allow me to present my year in reading and knitting.

Reading
In 2009, I read a lot. Really. A lot. Um, 811 books is a lot, right?! Here’s the complete list, sorted by rating and then by author. You’ll notice that there are some books that look as if I read them in 2010 – those are rereads that I also read in 2009. (For reference, I read 388 books in 2008.)

My now beloved ebook reader had a huge impact on my reading last year. Although I didn’t get the reader until April, I read 500 ebooks last year; 445 of those were m/m titles. At this point, I would rather read ebooks than print books!

Please note that part of the reason for what looks like a crazy number of books read last year is because ebooks tend to be shorter overall than print books. While I tagged 79 books as shorts (all were ebooks), I didn’t start using that tag until a few months ago.

In 2009, I completed two reading challenges by joining them after I had met the requirements: 2009 Support Your Local Library Challenge and 100+ Reading Challenge. That’s apparently the secret for me and challenges – find out about them after I’ve completed them without knowing I’ve completed them. 🙂

Knitting
This was not a good year for knitting, due to neck/back pain and lack of inspiration. (And, sadly, 2010 isn’t off to a great start knittingwise.) I completed a neck cozy, a baby blanket, a sweater that was mostly already knit, some bibs, and seven pairs of socks.

“Um, Mom? Those knitters aren’t stupid. They’re going to remember that you posted this same sock done to the same point already. But whatever. It’s your blog, your shame. Doesn’t mean I have to stick around to witness it.” -Chaos

Knitting, Randonymity

In which I discuss stories about black cats and include a knitting picture

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  • I think I’m only going to have nightmares about one or two cases.
  • Forgot about that one! I actually have Catnap, the first book, which combines knitting and black cats.
  • Then I remembered another black cat book – a free ebook by Cat Johnson called Black Cat.

  • Mayhem’s definitely not old enough to read that one!
  • Speaking of knitting (I did! Really! Look back a few bullets and you’ll see!), some of you have expressed concern that I no longer knit.
  • Not true!
  • I do still knit, albeit very, very, very slowly.
  • I continue to have neck and back pain; knitting for more than very short periods definitely aggravates things.
  • So, allow me to present the Eternal Sock of Eternity that I’ve been working on for, um, six weeks or so.
  • I’ve started the cuff ribbing!
  • Why, yes, this is the first sock of a pair.
  • What’s your point?

“What the heck is that thing on the floor?!” -Chaos

“Oh, look, unattended yarn. My favorite!” -Mayhem

The yarn is Trekking 100 and the stitch pattern is Charade. I think. It’s been such a long time since I started it… 😉

Knitting

Could the non-knitters stand behind the knitters, just in case the knitters pass out from shock?

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Thanks. Let’s try to blog safely here and minimize injuries, shall we?

Yes, ’tis true – after over two months, I have finally finished the socks I started at Brigitte’s house while I was on vacation.

“What do you mean, move? If you didn’t want me on them, you wouldn’t have them in the condo.” -Mayhem

“See how concerned I am about moving? Not.” *groom groom groom* -Mayhem

*time passes and Mayhem gets bored and wanders away*

At last! Allow me to present you a cat-free picture of my gradient socks!

“Doopity doopity doopity do!” -Chaos

Oh, never mind.

Knitting, Randonymity, Reading, Those Cats, Tunes

“See that girl, watch that scene, dig in the Dancing [Princess]”*

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  • Congrats to elaing, GSM, CrystalGB, Estella, and Little Lamb Lost, who all won copies of Kate Perry’s Chosen by Desire in my recent contest!
  • At long last I have finished notifying winners in the Completely Out-of-Control, Over-the-Top Book Giveaway (and should finally mail books on Monday). Congrats to Moonsanity, Eve S, blodeuedd, Guinifer, Anne Marie, and KitKatKnit! Amusing trivia about the winners: two winners were from Finland and one winner lived close enough that we met for coffee yesterday so I could deliver her books! *waves at Guinifer* And I even knit a few inches on my second sock (no longer a protosock!) while we had coffee and chatted. (Hey, can someone pass Jeanne some ice? Looks like she bumped her head pretty hard when she read that I was knitting.)
  • I’m taking today off from work to enjoy the hopefully warmish and sunnyish weather – have a great weekend, everyone!

“I am a Dancing Panther Princess!” -Mayhem

“Get your ghost paws out of there, May. I’m locked and loaded – that toy is toast!” -Chaos

Dyeing, Knitting

In which I run out of distractions and am forced to post knitting

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Earlier this year, Jeanne and Deb and I got together at Deb’s for a fabulous day of yarn dyeing and conversation. I dyed a KnitPicks sock blank to make some more gradient yarn. (Bookfolk, just skim over this part and nod and smile.) Hmm. And apparently took no pictures of the sock blank, nor of the skeined yarn. Anyway, here’s the first sock and the proto-second sock (ie, the other ball of yarn). (Brigitte’s now noticing that this sock is about an inch longer than it was when I was at her place last month. Umm…)

“Does this photo make my tail look big?” -Chaos

Hmm. Let’s try that again.

“Oh! Yarn! And needles! Yum! My favorites!” -Mayhem

No yarn or needles were harmed during this photoshoot, but as usual, it was a near thing.

Knitting, Those Cats

Canadian bounty

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No, no, not a bounty on Canadians. 😉 (Did I just hear a collective sigh of relief from the north?!)

Sadly, I am not receiving all my comment emails, due to webhost issues. I have been reading them on the blog and if they ever do arrive, I shall respond to them post-haste.

Onward. I’ve had a number of questions about what purchases I made while in Canada, so here goes. While Lorraine had Brigitte and I out and about for our yarn store crawl, we also stopped at Blue Banana Market. I restrained myself and only got a couple things.

The magnet says “I only wear black because they haven’t invented a darker color yet.” 🙂

Here’s most of what I purchased from Romni:

Can you tell what my favorite sock yarn is?! They had types of Meilenweit I’ve never seen before. Really, how could I resist?

I purchased enough yarn at the Purple Purl for a February Lady Sweater. (Look! Part of Lorraine is in the picture! I was trying to see how many clashing shades of purple I could get into a single photo without exerting undue effort.)

The yarn is Tanis Fiber Arts aran weight, Plum colorway.

Lorraine also presented me with a fabulous bag of goodies! That keychain in the lower left? The eyes light up and it meows. The magnet says “Be truthful. Does this outfit make me look TOO gay?” And isn’t Socks That Rock’s Rocky Horror colorway about the most perfect October/Halloween colorway ever?! Thank you so much, Lorraine!

When I met up with MamaTulip, she, too, presented me with a fabulous bag of goodies! Thanks, MamaT! (Since I photographed these at home, I had quite a bit more feline involvement than in the pictures with the black background above. Let’s just say that Brigitte’s kitties are much less aggressively curious than are Chaos and May.)

“Big kitty, what do you think this is?! It’s so interesting!” -Mayhem

“I think it’s a kitty who caught a horrible disease, May.” -Chaos

“Oh no! Big kitty, what can we do to help?!” -Mayhem

“Don’t you think you should be more concerned with avoiding its fate?” -Chaos

“Oh no! Is it contagious?!” -Mayhem

“You can’t be too careful, May.” -Chaos

“Oh! Look at its cute toes!” -Mayhem

“Darn, I really had her going. Too bad she has such a short attention span…” -Chaos

Gluten Free, Knitting, See the Sights

At long last, one (mostly) for the knitters!

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Brigitte and I spent a lot of time walking through the Beaches, which is a lovely neighborhood in Toronto near Lake Ontario. *scrabbling sound*

There we go – Lake Ontario! The first Toronto yarn shop we visited was the Naked Sheep.

I do love their naked-butt sheep logo. Just down the street, we discovered…

…Wild Earth Cafe, which had some tasty gf treats!

The next yarn store we visited was Romni Wools a few days later, when Lorraine volunteered to show us some sights. We just peeked into Lettuce Knit (we already knew we’d be coming back for Knit Night), then hopped into the car and checked out Romni Wools.

All I can really say about Romni is “Whoa.” I’ve never seen so much yarn in a single store before. Obviously, I was too overwhelmed to take a picture. When Brigitte and I had recovered a bit (from yarn fumes and spelunking in the basement), we headed over to the Purple Purl.

Isn’t this an amazing dress?! I’d never knit it or wear it, but it was pretty cool to see:

Purchases? What purchases? … Look! Over there! A streetcar!

“I feel very philosophical today. Hmm. I think… I feel really sleepy.” -Chaos

Knitting, See the Sights

Yesterday in pictures

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How’s everyone doing?! I’m more than a little afraid to check my Google Reader at this point… 🙂 I’ve been having a wonderful time with Brigitte and the Little Dudes, and meeting Lorraine Tuesday was fantabulous (as is she, of course!).

Yesterday evening, Brigitte and I went on a little jaunt on the streetcar.

We had dinner at Fran’s…

and then walked over to Kensington Market.

We had a very specific goal.

It was great fun to meet Merika and Michelle (below), along with Dr. Steph, Megan, and Molly (not pictured).

And that other Stephanie, of course. Nope, I’m not giving you any context for this picture. Isn’t it more fun this way? Stephanie, please forgive me for the maniacal glint that Picasa seems to have added (or merely enhanced?!) in this photo…

“Mom? Ok, the joke’s kind of stale now. You can come out from wherever you’re hiding, Mom. Mom????”

Contests, Knitting

Socks on the Floor (with apologies to John Denver)

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But first, a few contests of interest.

Vicki Knitorious wonders what your favorite bedtime ritual is. Leave a comment about it before midnight CST, July 12, for your chance to win a fabulous and mysterious prize.

CursingMama’s giving away a copy of the contemporary romance Misery Loves Cabernet. For your chance to win, leave a comment by 3 pm CST, July 15.

I finally completed my Wollmeise Tidepool Socks! Looks like I started them in early August last year. Why the heck did it take so long for me to knit this pair of socks?! Well, I love the pattern (I’ll definitely be knitting lots more pairs of Tidepools) and the colorway (Pfauenauga), but had to knit this yarn on US00 (1.75mm) needles. I used Addi Lace Needles and boy, are they ever sharp. So sharp that I kept poking holes in my fingertips and would have to stop knitting for weeks to let my fingers heal. Then (and why do I know that some of you will laugh your heads off at this?), I apparently wore some sort of protective coating off the needles and they started to smell strongly of brass. Blech. That further reduced my desire to work on these socks.

“Wow, it’s been a long, long time since I found a pair of socks on the floor.” -Mayhem

“Socks on the floor make me so happy!” -Mayhem

“Socks on the floor won’t make me cry!” -Mayhem

“Socks on the floor are ever so tasty!” -Mayhem

“Socks on the floor on which I’ll writhe!” -Mayhem

And for those of you who’d like to see a cat-free photo of the socks (although odds are that I lost those readers long ago!):

Knitting

To appease the restless knitting knatives…

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So I couldn’t help but notice in the comments yesterday that some of the knitting knatives are getting a bit restless over my lack of knitting. I’m not sure that my most active project is going to appease anyone… Behold, the boring sock.

Pretty impressive for, um, five or six weeks of work, eh? 😉

“That’s it?! I have to admit, I was hoping for something a little better than Meilenweit Cotton, Mom.” -Mayhem