Knitting Pharm

I don't want to knit socks

I don't wanna!  I'm not gonna!

Now that the foot stomping and general angst is over, I'm just knitting other things.

Anything else I can get my hands on.

Before total rebellion set in, I did finish Plunge Pair 47.  They were for my new boss, and his reaction made me want to knit for him over and over again.

 

[even with his size 12 feet.  He's just that sweet.]

With socks on the back burner, I finished a few things.  Sea Lettuce, for one.

 

The colour change is neither your imagination nor your monitor, but it really doesn't show when worn.  Such is life with mill ends.  I still love it.

Kiri!  My silk and camel concoction!  Click for bigger.  Better photos will follow when I can get some daytime light.

I've knit the equivalent of at least 2 pairs of socks with my Posh, which fortunately is none the worse for wear from repeated frogging.  I can't seem to find a pattern that's perfect for it.  I'm looking forward to working the Marina Piccolo pattern in a different yarn sometime, but I'll wait for inspiration to strike.

Thermal is chugging along, with the body and facings done.  She needs sleeves, buttons and a little block.  I'm very happy.  Click for bigger.

 

The facings (not shown) are in twisted rib and really pull it all in nicely.

Next up is a Flower Basket Shawl in some Knitpicks Shadow from the KOL swap.  Photos to come.

Speaking of KOL:  girls, I worked 8-4 brought the kids home from daycare, fed and dressed them for dance, then sent them to dance with T and went to a CNIB board meeting.  Returned from there at 7pm for bath and bedtime.  So sorry I missed you again.  And Ms. Patient, the Knitpicks order hasn't arrived yet, but I do have high hopes for the end of the week, and will deliver over the weekend if it arrives. (And your e-mails re. the order are adorable.)

Off to cheat on my socks.  Bye for now!

Retraction, and a Knitty-riffic week

With lots of blog hits, the addition of Back to Basics to many Ravelry queues and even some new subscribers, it's been a great blogging week.  Unless you count the total lack of blogging.  Picky, picky.

First off, thanks to all for the nice comments re. the Back to Basics pattern.  It percolated in my wee brain for some time after meeting Cat Bordhi, who first proposed moving around a sock's construction elements.  Several prototypes later, voila!

I'd love to see photos of your finished socks, and will start a gallery if I get enough FO photos.

I'll also post a slightly smaller version of the pattern shortly.  My feet really are larger than all of yours!

In other sock news, I hereby retract my goal of completing the Plunge at the 6 month mark.  Could I do it?  Probably.  Could I do it without going out of my freaking mind?  Not likely.  I'm so bored with socks, I could poke a sock needle in my eye.

But in the interest of sharing, here are the projects provoking such sick thoughts.

Pair 46 in their eye-gouging glory, Cookie A's Titania's Revenge in Louet Gems Pearl, citrus orange colourway.  Keeping the pattern while shaping was a major bitch, but I love the wandering mock cable and will use it again.

[Don't feel badly if you don't like the look of them.  They're a bit on the fugly side, I must admit.]

47, plain, slightly ribbed socks for my manager at work.  He has a size 12 foot, so there's a great deal of real estate on the feet of these.  I am bored beyond description, but the yarn (obtained at KOL swap night) is nice to work with.

48 is in my new Posh Lucia from the Toronto caper.  I love the yarn, I love that the colourway makes me think of pink lemonade, and I love the way Kate Gilbert writes patterns.

I think I'll give myself a sock vacation and work on some neglected projects, perhaps Thermal or Sea Lettuce.  I'm PEI bound this week, and hope to get some quality knitting done between meetings and kid wrangling.

Did somebody say, "gratuitous kid shot"?

[I thought you had.  My bad.]

The Plunge Continues

I'm getting really, really close to finishing.

Now that it seems my goal is reachable, I will share it.  (That way, if I don't make it, I can know with certainty that I will be ridiculed by my tens and tens of readers.  *snort*)

September 30th.  6 months.  52 pairs

Can it be done?

Pair 42 says yes.  Opal Rainbow.  Vanilla stockinette, toe-up.

Pair 43 chimes in with a "hell yeah!"  Jaywalkers in Regia Canadian, Quebec colourway, toe-up.

44 agrees.  These may look familiar to some.

[I heart them so.  I may wear them until they fuse to my feet.]

45 is unbloggable and just about finished.

46 will make an appearance once I've changed the batteries in my camera.  I'm using Cookie A's Titania's Revenge pattern and Louet Gems merino solid.  Really fun pattern, but a real test of my ability to maintain pattern while shaping.  I love the wandering faux-cable panel that starts from the gusset, and will definitely use that again.

The mailman was kind once more today, bringing my e-bay treasures and not looking too scared when I squeed at him.  I now have three skeins of STR in the stash, all in lightweight and from the storm series  (Downpour, Stormy Weather and Mudslide).  They're all combinations of neutrals and perfect for fall knitting.)

In stash enhancement, I visited Suzy at Sunrise Mercantile and picked up a cone of Louet Gems sportweight in Caribbean Blue.  Since this year will truly be the year of the gift shawl, I'm amassing gift yarn without guilt.  Again, no photos until I replace the camera battery.  Think blue and very, very pretty.

Waiting for Fall Knitty?  Me too.  I know it's coming soon, and I know of one pattern that I hope you'll really like.  Set aside a skein of Fleece Artist Merino sock and we'll chat later, 'mkay?

A very, very large day

Toronto, as always, totally rocked.  It was so bizarre to be somewhere, anywhere, by myself, with the freedom to just do my thang.

Where to begin?

How about a dorky self-portrait, taken just after the giddy realization that I was in Toronto, alone, with 22 hours before my meeting?  I snapped this on the tram between terminals 1 (where I arrived) and 3 (where I was staying).  I had a tram car to myself, and I very loudly and very badly bellowed show tunes and even woo-hooed a little.  Not even kidding.

I ditched my bags at the hotel and went out to the arrivals area and caught the "Airport Rocket", the express bus between the airport and the western end of the subway line.  From there I went one stop east and hoofed it over to Village Yarns.  It's a terrific shop, but they were a bit torn up in preparation for a large festival this weekend (I totally forgive them).  I called this my warmup shop, where I stretched and slowly took in the yarny goodness.

Back to the station, where I headed east to Spadina, then hopped a streetcar south to the Kensington Market area.  Just a block or two in?

[my bag is there to prove I was actually there, not just plucking random photos off the 'net.]

What a beauty.  Cozy, friendly and, most importantly, yarn-filled.

I found a few things.

Megan, the owner, was lovely and helpful and very obliging when asked to pose for a blog photo.

[She's totally not that type, but if it were me, there would have been dollar signs in my eyes.]

The haul?

The bluish stuff above is Colinette Jitter Bug, which has now been set aside for an unbloggable project.

Some Koigu KPPPM, my first!

Posh.  Let me say it again.  POSH!  (Lucia, 70% merino, 30% cashmere)

Lorna's Laces in Glenwood, longtime member of my wishlist.

[I seem to be on a pastel kick with my yarns right now.]

And some Alchemy bamboo for good measure.

and patterns for Alice's famous Lace Wings Shawl and Cookie A's Titania's Revenge (from last years BMFA Sock Club).

I also had a great visit with a cool knitter.

[who may look familiar to those of you who don't live under rocks and twigs.]

We had a wonderful time.  I love when I meet an online friend and it's like seeing an old friend.  Amy also treated me to the best organic fruit smoothie, perfect for the mind-numbing heat.

I hopped the streetcar to Queen St. West, where I meandered past the fabric, bead and boutiquey shops to Americo and Romni.  No purchases at Americo, but their selection of exotics was incredibly beautiful.  Romni is a sight to behold.  More yarn than I thought existed in the world.  (I'm barely kidding).  I think I was too tired to really see it all.  I need to return fully rested, fully fed and fully caffeinated some other day.  I did find some cotton that is destined to be funky hats for my girls.

[Brown Sheep Cotton Fine.  Love it.]

Hopped the bus to go a bit further west to the Knit Cafe, which I'd heard had a nice selection of Koigu.  I was not disappointed.

I rested and regrouped for my evening.  Knit night at Alterknit!

The girls were wonderfully welcoming, the staff friendly, and the yarns sublime.  I was just about yarned out, but I found some nice sock yarn in a sale bin.

[2 skeins, 2 samosas and 2 cold drinks:  $30.  Traveling to Ontario and finding out that one of my fellow knitters is the daughter of the owner of my favourite Nova Scotia LYS:  priceless.]

Total transportation costs were $11.25.  Yarn was perhaps a bit more.  If sock yarn "doesn't count" as stash, I was a very good girl.  If it does, I'm still a good person.

Just a person with more sock yarn than you.

Plunging into Fall, Grudgingly

Fall.  Autumn.  Back to School.

Holy shit.

Nothing to do but knit.  And pack.  And knit some more.  And did I mention pack?

Tomorrow is a big day for me.  A day alone.  A yarny day.  A day that begins with a brief flight.  Toronto, baby!

Officially, it's a work trip.  I'm representing pharmacy on a national working group, developing treatment guidelines for....  Crap, I bore even myself.  Suffice it to say, I need to be in Toronto for work on Friday.  However, I need to be there tomorrow for yarn-crawling!

I have a loose plan for the early part of my day, some unplanned time, then more plans for the evening.  I think I have the TTC system worked out to fully eliminate cab fares, which can only mean more yarn money.

The "Airport Rocket" leads to one station, the Bloor Danforth line leads to another, then a short walk will take me to Village Yarns.  It appears to be chock full of goodies, and I've gathered from my e-mail correspondence with her that Karen is very, very nice.  (She even offered to store my bags for me while I continue on my yarny journey!)

From there, my next plan is to subway to points east, exploring Lettuce Knit and Kensington Market, and even a coffee date with a very cool knitter.  Amy and I have e-mailed a lot, and it will be great to meet her in person.

My unplanned time will likely lead me to Romni, which I understand is a sensory overload experience.  From there, if I'm not too exhausted, I'll hit Alterknit for their SnB.

Must.  Remember.  Friday's.  Meeting.

Seriously.

Just one more backdated post

Forgive me, I'm packing and planning.

And knitting.  A lot.

Plunge Pair 42, Opal Rainbow.  Love.

Pair 43, Jaywalkers in Regia Canadian.  Second sock traveling with me tomorrow.

Pair 44, Garter Rib from More SKS, Fleece Artist Sea Wool.  Really soft and spongy pattern.

Pair 45, the reason all else has been dropped.  The BMFA Club sock.  It's delish.  It's worth the wait.  It's my new favourite, like they've all been so far.

Last week was KOL swap night (thanks, Ninja, for your hard work!), and I really scooped.  Among my spoils was a full skein of 65% silk / 35% camel from Tangled Skeins.  I rock-paper-scissorsed my way through two extremely well-tempered competitors to earn it, and I cast on with it the minute I got home.  The pattern is Polly Outhwaite's Kiri, and I'm now well past this point.

Another day week brings another backpack, this one in Patons SWS.  I had a pretty major felting disaster with it.  The bottom rolled down and felted to itself, losing about 2 inches and necessitating the painstaking clipping away to unroll the edge.  The result is just fine.

I'm Toronto bound in the am, and a little excited about it.  Bye for now.

Dede's girls

I can't believe it's that time of the year again, where the air gets cooler and Grandma's anniversary approaches.  She passed away three years ago now.  Our yearly visit means a great deal to the women of our family, and we're hoping to give my own girls a sense of their family history.

Here are the years in pictures.

2003, with newborn Amy, my mom, her sister and Grandma.

2005, the first anniversary of her passing.

This time last year.

And this past Sunday.

I think she and Grandpa would be terribly proud.

August's Head to Toe

Pardon the backdating of posts.  I am just that far behind, with no end in sight.  In any case, here are August's yummies.

For the feet:

• Waving Lace socks in Sisu
• Amy's Opal knee socks
• Socks for Knitty, details soon
• Regia Sierra socks
• Regia Sierra Socks
• Millie socks in Sockina Colori
• Regia Canadian socks
• Laceless Thelonious in Tofutsies
• Coupling socks in STR lightweight

For others:

• Diamond Fantasy Scarf for BFF Nancy
• Emma's backpack
• SWS backpack
• Pomotamus cap in Knitpicks Mainline

Continuing into September:

• Sea Lettuce
• Poor, neglected Thermal, which won't make it to Toronto tomorrow, but will be done soon after the Plunge has been completed.

Plunge status after 5 months:  41 pairs.  I've set an ambitious deadline for the Plunge, which I'll keep to myself until I deem it remotely achievable.

Real post(s) to follow, in which I squee over an upcoming coffee date and plan an exhaustive yarn crawl.