It's Been a LONG Time!!!

I know it's been a very long time since I've blogged.  I have been very busy and just didn't have time for blogging.

A lot has happened since my last post. Circumstances occurred that made me take a look at myself and I didn't like what I saw when I looked in the mirror.  This has lead me on a journey that I've been through before.  I'm hoping this will be the last time I go through this. 

On March 18, 2011 I started a weight loss program under the supervision of Dr. Brown in Thornhill, Ontario.  To date I have lost 142 pounds on his program and 177 pounds from my highest weight.  At the end of November I decided I needed to add exercise into the mix.  If I don't do this the chances of putting the weight back are astronomical and I never want to do the yo yo again.  I walk but try to do jogging intervals when I can.  I exercise most days and try not to miss more than a day or two a month.  In April I walked 102.8 miles and so far in May I've walked 107.25 miles and I still have 4 days left in the month!! 

The first picture is at my son's wedding in December 2005. The second one was taken today after I completed the 5K at the WIN Marathon. I don't have my official time yet but I know I completed the 5K in under 45 minutes.  It was so fantastic I can't even put it into words.  Next year I want to do at least the 10K and if they have the half marathon as a walk I want to do that.

Next step is the Relay for Life that takes place on June 15th.  It's a fund raiser for the Canadian Cancer Society.  I joined the Downtown Knit Collective team and will be up all night knitting, spinning, or just trying to stay warm.  Last year I tried to stay but was not prepared for how cold it got that night and I ended up going home around midnight.  Being a member of the team this year I have to stay the night as the event runs from 7:00PM to 7:00AM.  I'm looking forward to it and helping put an end to this horrible disease in all the forms it takes.

I'm glad to be back and hope to post more often, as time allows.  If anyone wants to make a donation you can find out more about the event here on the Downtown Knit Collective team page. http://convio.cancer.ca/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFL_ON_even_?pg=team&fr_id=10616&team_id=266160

Blogaversary And A Day

I tried to post yesterday and the universe just didn't seem to want it to happen. I typed a blog post up and then lost it all and I was just too hot to try again. So here is the blogaversary post a day late.

I can't believe it's been 5 years since I started blogging. Granted I've been a bad blogger for a while and with the insanity of life that doesn't look like it will change any time soon. However, I still wanted to acknowledge the day (even if it is now a day late).

There has been knitting going on and even some FO's most of which are socks. I have more WIP's then I care to admit. Here is just a small sample of what's on the needles right now.

I'm knitting the Patchwork Shawl from WollZauber 01/2010 by Gerhard Schoppel. I'm using the yarn and colour that is in the pattern book because it's got purple and if you read my blog you know just how much I love purple. I've only completed 3 squares so far but as you can see the squares are knitted as you go so there is no sewing together at the end (just ends to tuck in).

The shadow shawl is past the halfway point. It's been so hot in Toronto recently that I just can't work on this right now.


These socks are just plain socks but the yarn is lovely. It has angora in it and the softness can't even be described.

Now I just hope the heat and humidity improve because +37C temps and feeling like +49C is just too hot for me.

Shadows

I have so many projects on the go it isn't even funny. That hasn't stopped me from getting sucked in to even more. I'm taking a glove fitting class at Creative Yarns and was there last week and saw someone close to finishing this lovely Shadow Shawl. I fell in love and had to knit it. I'm using Trekking XXL colour 418 and Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in colour 12171 (a plumy sort of purple). I pretty much have to keep knitting until I reach the end of the first ball. I'm at the point now where it doesn't feel like it's growing much even though I know it is. When this is done there are so many other patterns I want to knit from Wooly Thoughts. Being a huge Dr. Who fan the Dalek and David Tenant/Dr. Who are very high on my list of must do patterns. I think the first one I will do is their free pattern for the Tiger head. Instead of brown and cream I'm thinking of using orange and black.

Two At A Time - I Think I Like This

I've been knitting socks for a long time and never liked knitting two socks at once. I always thought it feels like it took too long. I didn't see progress and just decided it wasn't for me. Fast forward to me trying to knit my sock inside a sock again. I ran into a problem and had to rip back to the end of the cuff and when I picked the stitches back up I decided to continue side by side instead of once inside the other. This is now my third pair knitting two socks at once and I'm quite liking it now. The yarn for these socks is the Fliegende Untertasse (Flying Saucer) by Schoppel-Wolle. Both skeins are dyed at the same time so you can have matching socks. I love the way the designs are lining up on each sock. I finished the heel last night so these socks should be done this weekend.

The Fruits Of My Labour

As most of you know, I love to knit. However, I rarely knit for myself. This winter my son asked me to knit a hat for him and it ended up being hats for the family. Because I am in Canada and they are in the US it is a little difficult to make sure the fit is right. So I knit up 3 hats and sent them down. The ladybug hat is just adorable on my granddaughter and probably will be too small by next winter. My grandson looks equally cute in the sheep hat but if it is too small next winter he gets to wear the third hat I knit for either his mom or dad. I know why it's too small for my son or DIL. On one of the rounds the stranding was too tight. I'll have to fix that for the next set of hats. Thankfully the winter is over so I have some time to get it done. When I see pictures of the knitting in use it makes it all even more worth while.

Slouchy

I'm busy knitting chemo caps and was asked to try and knit one out of wool instead of cotton. I decided the Four Seasons Tanis kit I bought was the perfect choice. I'm pretty pleased with the results. I'm also working on the Tvåändsstickning (Twined Knitting) mittens. Saturday is the last class and I finished both mittens except for the gloves. Pictures to follow once the mittens are completed.

Before & After

Today was the last of the Felted Fair Isle Tote class I was taking. We all went to the instructor's house and felted our bags. This is the before. And this is the after. I can't believe how much the bag shrank in the felting process. I love it. I'm going to have to make another one.

To Busy Knitting To Blog

I can't believe it's been almost two months since I blogged. The time flies by way too quickly. I've been busy knitting away. Here just some of the stuff I've done.

The first pair of socks are knit with the softest yarn I have ever knit with. It's Debbie Macomber's Petal Socks. There's 20% angora in them and as much as I love knitting socks I don't think I've ever enjoyed knitting a pair better than this pair.



Sunday is the last of the Felted Fair Isle Tote class I'm taking at Creative Yarns. The class has been a blast. On Sunday we get to felt this bag and I can't wait to see how it will look once it's felted.
Tomorrow is session two of the Twined Knitting class I'm taking at Creative Yarns. This is a totally new experience for me. Having to knit with my right hand makes it slower but I'm glad I do two handed fair isle or I never would have been able to knit the mittens. I'm using Berocco Ultra Alpaca.
The hat is blocking on a plate. The yarn is Debbie Bliss organic cotton. I have enough to knit at least two more hats. I'm just trying to find suitable colourwork patterns. The pattern is Nordic Winter Tam. I bought it from Ravelry.
I'm also working on two sweaters. One is another Vancouver Olympic set and the second is a sweater set for DH's great nephew. It's on hold at the moment while I get socks and chemo caps done.

Hats

When I went to the Woodstock Fleece Festival in October I bought a kit for the Ladybug hat by Barbara Telford. I wasn't really pleased with the yarn that came with the kit so I decided to substitue. The sheep hat from my previous post was done using Louet Riverstone and this is the same yarn but different colours. I knit the sheep with 4.5mm needles and felt the hat was too big. So this hat I knit using 3.75mm needles and, of course, it's too small. I also didn't realize I was supposed to knit antenna for the hat as well as the tassels but that's alright. I think it looks great just the way it is. This one is going to go to a friend's daughter. I also have orders for hats for my son who loved the baby set I sent down for his daughter. My grandson wants a sweater too because why did granny knit somethins for Sara Liba and not for me, so I am going to be very busy knitting hats and sweaters for the next little while.

Back At It, I Hope

It's been a long time since I blogged. The time goes by so quickly and I just haven't felt like posting.

I have been busy knitting. Last Friday I went to The Purple Purl and picked up yarn to knit The Sheep Hat by Barbara Telford of Woodland Woolworks. I didn't really like the colours that were in the kit. Being a purple person myself, I bought some lovely colours for my version of the hat. The yarn is Louet Riverstone and I like it much better. It's still a 100% worsted weight yarn but it's not harsh even though it is feltable yarn. I am so please with the way it came out I want to try and knit another one and use a smaller needle to see if it will stay on my head better. I have that problem no matter what hat I tend to wear. I'll make longer ties on the next one so I can tie it down when needed. I also have the Ladybug pattern and kit but I haven't had a chance to knit that one yet. I bought the Riverstone yarn for that one as well.

Over the year end break I managed to finish all the baby projects I'd been working on except one. This is a Dale of Norway baby set but I can't remember which book it's from. I used Sandnesgarn Mini Duett and the results are gorgeous. This is for my new granddaughter that was born in September. Better late than never and I knit a size 24 months so I'm sure it will still be very big.

Oh and if anyone ever uses Mini Duett, make sure you DON'T put it in the dryer. The Vancouver sweater set I did for my grandson accidentally landed in the dryer and it no longer fits him due to shrinkage. So I'm knitting another set in a 24 months size that I hope to finish before he gets to big for it.

This is another Dale pattern. If I knew where I put all the Dale "books" I have I could tell you which one it was from. I put them all together in one place so I would know where they are and that's a sure fire way to misplace them since I still can't remember where I put them all. Thank goodness I copy all my patterns instead of working directly from the book or my goose would have been cooked. The yarn is the Dale Baby Ull and when I bought it I did not realize there was a darker purple. It didn't really patter since the yarn store I went to didn't have the colour and now that there isn't a supplier for the Dale Baby Ull in Canada any longer, I'm just glad I was able to get more so I was able to make the hat.

Now I have to finish the Vancouver set again. The body is done and one sleeve is almost done. I've put it aside for about 2 weeks while I work on a pattern for someone that needs to be completed in 2 weeks.

Life Is Very Difficult Sometimes

I can't even put into words how I feel anymore. This post should have been done weeks ago but I just couldn't do it after having lost my dad on October 10th. My Mother-In-Law passed away on October 23rd. I suppose we knew it was coming but I never thought it was going to be as quick as it was. In the end, the only thing I can say is God was merciful. The last two days of her life was full of incredible suffering. But Lindy accepted it as she did everything else in her life.

Thank you for being a second mother to me. Thank you for all the love you gave to my children when they came to visit, especially Henny. I will never ever forget and am so thankful for her last visit when you got to meet Elmo. You were so happy to see him.

You were the most incredible grandmother to Joseph. I think from the time you saw him in the hospital and he "smiled" at you, he had a special place in your heart for the rest of your life. You were an incredible woman. In all the years I knew you I never ever heard you raise your voice. You never had a bad word to say about anyone. There is an emptiness in my heart that will never be filled.

RIP Mom. I love you and miss you.

I Miss You Dad

I've never been very good expressing how I feel, especially in the written word. English was always the most difficult subject I took in school.

On Oct. 10th my dad left us. We may not have always seen eye to eye on things. We had many clashes over the years as children do with their parents. In the end none of that matters. I think we both figured that out about 15 years ago. I know he is at peace now. The last years were not easy for him as his health declined but it's still so difficult.

This picture was taken about 34 years ago. The little one is my oldest daughter. Daddy always smiled when he was with his family and he had a large family. There were 6 of us and he lived to see more grandchildren then I can keep track of and then there were the great grandchildren. He left a wonderful legacy.

I know dad is up there with mom and he's singing with the angels. Singing was such an important part of his life. As a Cantor he sang with so much feeling. You felt it in every word he said. Now I'm thankful for the videos and mp3s so I will still be able to listen to his voice.

Dad, I miss you more than words can say.

Knitting For Babies

I'm currently working on baby knitting. The great part is even if it's colour knitting it still goes fairly quickly because the sizes are small. I finished the sweater from the set I am making for my newest granddaugther. I love the way it came out. Now I'm working on the pants and I'm almost ready to start the hip increases and then I'll be ready to split and work on each leg separately. The lice pattern is easy since there is only one row of colour and then 4 knit rounds in the main colour. The only patterning in the pants happens close to the cuff on the bottom of each let. That makes it pretty mindless knitting and easy to work on the go because I don't have to worry about the chart.

This sweater is from the same book as the sweater above. I'm using Dale Baby Ull for this (the yarn called for in the pattern) and even though it's not as much of a colour contrast as in the sweater above, I still am very happy with the way it is knitting up. I just couldn't find girl colours that I liked that I felt worked as well together as these. Most of the Baby Ull the store had in stock were pastel or brown and I wasn't about to use brown. I'm now working on the first sleeve and I'm hoping I'll get at least one done by the weekend so I can cut the steeks. If I have enough yarn I will also knit a hat. I wanted one more ball of the purple and the shop didn't have it in stock. None of the stores that carry the Baby Ull had it either.

So Much To Tell

So much has happened since I last posted I don't even know where to begin. It's been a busy summer. My daughter came for a visit at the beginning of August and she brought her youngest along. His nickname Elmo and he is just adorable and a handful as you can well imagine. He gets into everything. I brought him to visit my friend and she has a dog. At first he was a little scared because Bianca was barking. Then she fell asleep and Elmo got pretty brave.

Meet my newest grandchild. She's a beautiful little girl. Her name is Sara Liba. She was born on Thursday and she looks just like her brother Mati.
Don't believe me? Here he is when his dad took him to a Brooklyn Cyclones game this summer.
Yesterday was my oldest son's birthday. I don't know where the time goes. This is Shmuel with his daughter. I've been blessed with wonderful children and lovely grandchildren. What move can a person ask for?
On the knitting side of life, I've been in a colour knitting craze of late. I gave Henny the first Dale of Norway sweater set I made for Elmo. Now that the weather is getting cooler I'm sure I'll have a picture of him wearing the set sooner rather than later.

This is another Dale of Norway set I'm working on for Sara Liba. The pattern is from book number 208 and the pattern the 10th in the book. Here it is before steeking. I did steeks for the front and back of the neck since there was really only one long cast off at the neck for both the front and the back.
Here's what it looked like post steeking.
Now the sleeves are in. This morning I picked up the stitches for the front button band. Once that's done I'll do the buttonhole band. Then there's the pants and hat to go but those won't need to be cut.
If that wasn't enough colour knitting, I'm also working on this pattern from the same book. This is pattern 7. It's for my girlfriends daughter. She had a baby girl on August 26th, I think, and this is going to be another steeking project. I'm only planning on doing the hat and sweater for this but after this I should be an expert at steeking.

Another Year Gone

I can't believe my blogoversary is here again. I've been a very bad blogger over the past year. Even worse than I have been in a long time.

It's been so hot this summer so not a lot of knitting or spinning has been going on.

I'll try and be better in the future.

Mu daughter is coming for a visit next week so I'll have stuff to blog about and pictures of the little one. I am so excited I can hardly wait.

Not Bad!

I know it's been forever since I last blogged. Me very bad. I've just been so busy that I haven't had the time. Now we are in the middle of a disgusting heat wave here in Toronto and it's too hot for me to sit at the computer. However, I finished the sweater set for my grandson this weekend and I had to show it off.

This is the Dale of Norway Vancouver sweater. It's my first colour sweater and my first STEEKING!!!! That's what took me so long to finish it. I was freaking out about cutting the steeks. I took a steeking class towards the end of June and decided it was time to finish this. I am so happy with the way it turned out. Now I have to keep my fingers crossed it will actually fit the child it was intended for. If it doesn't I will pass it on to the baby that will be arriving sometime on September. I think the colours are alright for a boy or a girl. Now I'm trying to figure out what I will knit next. This colour stuff is addicting. Who knew!

One Thing Leads To Another

It's funny how lately I've found that one thing seems to blend into the next. Those that know me know that I've avoided colour knitting for years. All I was willing to do was stripes and that was it and even that I didn't do often. The only colour that I had in my knitting was what came from the yarn I bought. Enter the Fiddlehead Mittens into my life and I had to give colour knitting another try. That experience got me used to two handed knitting for Fairisle.

When I decided to learn how to knit a sock inside a sock the two handed knitting I learned was very helpful in my knitting the two socks, as you can see here. I found it very difficult to work this technique holding both strands of yarn in one hand. So to make sure the yarns don't get mixed I hold one in my right and one in my left. These socks I started yesterday. I decided to give these with some new Knit Picks Felici yarn I just got since when I am done I will have a completed pair of socks. The yarn I was originally using was Patons Kroy 3 ply doing one red sock and one purple sock. When that "pair" will be done I'll still have another pair to knit. By offsetting the stripes I'm hoping I'll be able to finish this pair without any problems. I'm very comfortable with the technique now so if I have the same colours come together I think I'll be alright.

On Thursday I bought Double Knitting by M'Lou Baber. I was reading the book yesterday and I came to realize that this isn't going to be that difficult since I learned how to knit one sock inside the other. The technique is very similar. This is so cool. Who would have thought that the Fiddlehead Mittens would have opened so many new possibilites in my knitting? Not I that's for sure. You live and learn.

Where Did The Month Go?

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I posted. I knew I had not posted in a while but I thought it was more like two weeks. I guess I've been busier than I thought.

On Sunday I took an advanced sock knitting class at The Purple Purl. Why advanced you might ask? Because you knit two socks at once but not side by side. One is knit INSIDE the other. I tell you this totally blew my brains out. It's mind boggling and FUN once you get the hang of it. The ribbing is a bitch and I still need to remember things so I don't screw up and end up attached the two socks at some point. Yesterday I finished my first sample socks. This is my second attempt. It's still going to be a sample and I messed up doing the ribbing twice but it's still good and fun. Faster, I don't think so. However, just being able to do it makes up for the slower part.






When these are done I'll post pictures before I take them off the needles. I have to work on my tension for the heels so I don't have huge gaps. That's what I want to get right before I attempt to knit real socks.

Who Are You....

...And what have you done with Rochelle. That's what a friend of mine said last week when I showed her all the colour knitting books I bought. Why? Because I hated colour knitting. I tried it about 15 years ago and I couldn't stand it. Then the fiddlehead mittens came my way and I knew I had to knit them. So I took a class at The Purple Purl and voila. Here are my completed Fiddleheads and I've already started my second colour project.

In case anyone noticed, the colour sequence is opposite to the one I did in the first mitten. When I finished the second mitten I realized the gauge was totally different from the first so I ripped the first mitten and knit a third one. I like it reversed better. It's what I had originally planned but I messed up when I started knitting after the cast on and knit the colour squares with the dark and the white squares with the lavendar. These are now the way I intended them to be. The dark are lavendar and the light are the purple. It took a little getting used to but I finally was able to get the hang of it.

I am having a lot of fun with this colour knitting and that totally surprises me. Now I have to try and knit colour socks but I think that will be a little ways off.

Gold Medal Received

Since it's been SO long since I did anything with my template I seem to have forgotten how. I was going to put this on my sidebar but it's not working. That means it's here in a post instead or until I can figure out what I'm doing wrong.

Thank you to Mr. Frank Habit for the lovely gold medal.

Gold Medal

My knitting for the Knitting Olympics is complete!!! I finished the second sock from the blue socks yesterday. Now I am attempting to finish the 2nd sock from the other 2 childrens pairs I started before the Olympics. I finished the first one this morning and I am on the heel of the second one now. If I can get it done that will mean I've knit 2 adult pairs and 2 children pairs of socks during the Olympics. In a way I'm glad it's over and I've got my gold medal. I haven't touched my wheels since the Olympics began and I miss them. Tomorrow will be devoted to spinning.