riizu.blogspot.com

I finished the triangle/swatch part of the Miss Saigon (ravelry link) last night. I’m confident that it will look great once blocked, but right now it looks a little small. It’s going great though. The yarn is soft and lovely (a nice break from the acrylic wrap I’m working on otherwise), and I think I may have decided who I’m going to give it to.

This is the first of lace bridesmaid gifts I'm knitting for next fall. I ordered the knit picks lace sampler a few months ago, with them in mind. I don't think they will all be scarves. I'm just going to let the yarn tell me what they want to be.



It's also been awhile since I photographed Muir (ravelry link). My last update was a while ago, in knitting time, and I have almost twice as much knit up as before. Miss Saigon is a wonderful break from the acrylic (even if it's nice acrylic), but now I'm feeling guilty that I'm neglecting Muir lol.



There is also cause for a bit of celebration. The company I was working with on a trial-basis, has decided to offer me a full time job. Not only does this solve most of my work-related problems, but it's also right down the street from Knit Knackers (hooray!). So, I treated myself to some yarn. It's nothing overly special; I picked up some sock yarn for myself and for a Christmas present for my mom, and some yarn from the sale bin for myself. But boy did it feel great to be able to buy yarn again!

I'm going away for a week to visit my parents, so I won't be blogging until I get back. Maybe there will be knitting news when I return… and maybe there will be photos of the aforementioned yarn. You will have to wait. In the mean time, you will have to be satisfied with my hastily taken WIP photos.

And in the nature of spontaneity, I decided to de-stash and do some birthday knitting. Hope I can get it done by Saturday.

The Muir (pattern)(rav link) stole I am working on for my sister-in-law is moving, but very very slowly. I've only been able to work on it while on the bus, since I've been so annoyingly busy that I can't see straight. How did I miss the fact that knitting a lace chart on a bus is next to impossible? Argh. And the people on the bus are so very uncooperative with the whole thing. I mean, why can't I get you to hold my chart while I knit? That's not a problem is it? Some people! lol (jk)


Once I got past the first repeat, I was able to see more clearly what was going on with the pattern. It seems I way doing one of the stitches incorrectly. Well, at least I was consistent! I'm doing it correctly now, and have sped up quite a bit since I started since I don't need to keep going back and looking at the pattern notes to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong.

These photos were taken at the 10% mark, I have about twice as much knitted up now.

1. If I could be a fly on the wall I would be dirty.

2. Jealousy is an unfortunate fact of life.

3. When I see a shooting star my wish would be that things keep getting better, not worse.

4. I'd rather be sober than drunk any day!

5. Certain songs when I hear them make me wanna yell out loud.

6. If time were in a bottle it would be hard to get at.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to Steph and Alex's going away party, tomorrow my plans include laundry & brunch with Steph and Ve, and Sunday, I want to finish hanging those curtains!

The Muir stole I am working on for my sister-in-law is moving, but very very slowly. I've only been able to work on it while on the bus, since I've been so annoyingly busy that I can't see straight. How did I miss the fact that knitting a lace chart on a bus is next to impossible? Argh. And the people on the bus are so very uncooperative with the whole thing. I mean, why can't I get you to hold my chart while I knit? That's not a problem is it? Some people! lol

Since Muir isn't really in a proper state for photos, I will find other excuses for photos. Here we go!

For some reason, I'm extremely excited about my new curtains. I know it's nothing really special, but I've never had them in my own home before (since I moved out of my parents' house, anyway). So, I must share the awesome. Please excuse the mess ^_^;



I just love them!

In other news, I'm participating in a swap, and since my recipient is in Canada, I decided to bake them something, instead of sending them 'Canadian' food. Mmm chocolate chocolate chip cookies. I hope she likes them!



And since you guys are OH SO INTERESTED! lol For dinner, I made this awesome Malaysian Curry. It's so great, and so fast. Yum!



I promise knitting photos in my next post!

These took me just under 1 week to finish. They're my very first socks, and super comfortable. The pattern was pretty awesome too.

Selfish Footies (ravelry)
Pattern: Mom's Fast Florida Footieds by Lynn DT Hershberger
Source: ColorJoy!
Recipient: Myself
Occasion: First socks
Finished: July 12, 2008
Yarn: 0.5 skein of Lang Yarns Jawoll Cotton Aktion
Needles: US 1.5 or 2.5 mm circulars

---

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. I've been listening to a lot of Danko Jones lately. Good stuff. But more interestingly, I've made progress on the second anklet I'm knitting,



Even better, I almost have photo-worthy knitting done on a lace stole I'm working on for a Christmas present. Now if you're wondering if this knitting looks familiar, that's because it probably is. I frogged this blanket last week, because the fabric and the yarn and everything was not turning out the way I had hoped, so I started something new. I hope this goes better than the first attempt.



In work related news, I guess posting about job stuff is good luck, because I might have work in the near future. I'm doing a 3-week probation with a the firm I interviewed with last week,, and if all goes well, they might offer me a full-time position. This is great news!

I've decided to dive into the 365 Project. I don't know how well I'll keep up, but it will be fun to try. The weekly challenges will help, I think. Here's my Flickr page, for those interested.

In knitting land, my socks from the camping trip are hibernating. I stole their needles and used them to knit up one of these!



I have one complete anklet! I also am very proud of the toe on this sock. It's actually comfortable, which is unprecedented with me and foot-wear. Now I have to make a second one … this is much less exciting, though when I do I can wear two socks instead of one. Wearing one sock is fun on it's own special level though.

If you were interested in the pattern, it is available at lynnh.com. She's has it up for free in size 5 ladies, and all other sizes are for purchase. It was easy enough to just make the size 5 longer for my size 9.5 foot. I guess it could be worth purchasing just to support her and her patterns. Check them out! I knit this one up in about three days.

I have a question for my readers out there. Am I posting too frequently? What do you look for in your blog reading in terms of frequency? I would really like to know!

Monniblog is having a contest to celebrate 1000 posts! Head on over and celebrate with her, it's quite an accomplishment!

---

After talking about it with people and amassing advice, I frogged my socks. They just weren't going to fit, and if they shrank at all, I would never get them on my feet. So I'm starting over, and probably with a different pattern just to keep myself interested.



In my disappointment, I'm taking a break from that project, and have started some shortie socks. They're kind of cute ^_^

I started some slippers for my dad (Christmas knitting in July) at the end of June. I finished the first one on Sunday night. They're pretty good, I think. It's hard to know if they'll fit, though his feet are only half an inch longer than mine so I can guess based on how they fit me that they should be alright. The yarn I bought is enough to do five slippers. I've decided to do three for him (so he has a spare) and a pair for myself, but probably in a different pattern. I don't know if I can bring myself to knit five of the same pattern without going insane.

Anyway, here's the first slipper.



And completed slippers!

Toe Warmers — Footlets for Dad (pattern) (ravelry) by Patons
Source: Yarn Lover's Room (knitting-crochet.com)
Recipient: My Dad
Occasion: Christmas
Finished: July 7, 2008
Yarn: 0.5 skein of Lang Yarns Jawoll Cotton Aktion
Needles: US 2 or 2.75 mm circulars





This also marks the beginning of my Q3 Challenge knitting. It feels great to get such a good start on it. The rules were to knit an unfinished gift, start and finish a new gift, and knit something for yourself. This is probably the easiest of the three parts, and I'm probably making it more of challenge than it needs to be, but I really don't want to have any leftover yarn lol.

Now for my sock. I am trying to decide whether to keep knitting or to Frog. Go take my poll!

Applied I-Cord Bind-Off:

CO 3 sts
K2, K2togtbl, Sl3 (from right needle to left needle)
* K2, K2togtbl, Sl3 (from right needle to left needle) *

repeat from * to *

---

I went with poeticknits to Wool 'N Things Thursday. She was doing a yarn run and I had some yarn shopping to do as well, so it was great to both go to an awesome LYS as well as hang out with an awesome person. She's a riot.

I successfully picked up the missing yarn for Arbor, and finished off the bottom of the piece at home that evening. Picking up the stitches along the neckline is taking FOREVER but it'll be worth it. Once I finished off the bottom, the rest of it fit better, so I was much less worried about how the bodice would fit. I did do an extra decrease row since I have pretty narrow shoulders. I shouldn't have worried, the neckline ended up WAY too small. I ripped it out once and did it again, and I'm thinking I may rip it out a second time too *sigh* At least it's wearable in the mean-time, just not as open as I would like.. Learning the I-Cord bind off was a bonus though! I must have glazed over that part when I read the pattern the first time through. One complaint about the pattern (though, not bad if there's only one) is that she doesn't mention how much the i-cord bind off pulls in the neckline. It's ridiculous.



I also managed to pick up some sock yarn for christmas slippers at the yarn store, as well as some cool toys for the swap I'm participating in. All-on-all a very successful day!



Friday I had a job interview. I think it went pretty well. I don't talk about what I do much here, mostly out of respect for fellow employers/co-workers. Since moving to Ottawa I've had a lot of different jobs in my field, but recently have really enjoyed contracting out to firms, rather than full time employment. Full-time is still my end-goal, but I'm happy with how things are going right now (even if that means I'm broke). Regardless, maybe this interview will turn into something, maybe not, but I'm trying to be flexible about it. No stress!

Back to the knitting! Not much progress has been made on the sock. I did turn the heel, and though it's quite tight, I think it's wearable. I think if I do this pattern again, I'll have to adjust the numbers a bit, make the sock a little bigger. Anyway, here's a progress pic.



I'm very excited about finishing Arbor. I'll be able to start something else. I've had some projects that I've wanted to do for awhile, and I have all these possibilities going around my head. I love this hobby ^_^

This first photo demonstrates the tight neckline



Another from the front, after a day of wearing (it hasn't stretched at all, which is awesome!)



And one from the back, where there might have been some slight stretching, but I'm not overly concerned. I still think it wore very well.



I was able to wear it Saturday for the first time. It wore well. I was happy with the amount of stretch over the course of the day; not too much, but a little in all the right ways. I stand by the fact that the neckline is still too tight. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but I need to rip it out. Again. I'm very happy otherwise. I'm glad I decided to make the arm holes smaller, since they're perfect now. I'm happy I decided to lengthen the twisted rib by 2 inches, and think another inch wouldn't have been a bad thing. I think after opening up the neckline, I will have a near perfect item of clothing. What a fantastic experience!

Last month was some close friends of ours' first wedding Anniversary. To celebrate, I wanted to take them out for dinner. They suggested a movie as well, so we went to see Kung Fu Panda. It was a riot. You should all go see it if you haven't already! It was well above my expectations, and one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. On that note, if you can find a smaller theatre showing it, BenX is another fantastic movie that isn't getting nealry enough attention. It's Finnish with English subtitles and is one of the first movies I've even seen address bullying in a realistic light.

Look at this picture again



Verrry tight on the heel. Do I keep telling myself they're fine and keep going? Or do I rip them out and start again? They're wearable (most likely?), just tight. Please take this poll.

Wow, now that the Q2 Challenge is over, I can start to concentrate on other knitting. That was a marathon! I think some selfish-knitting is going to take place this month, but I do have some knitting plans for gifts:

1. Gift Item: Green Slippers in Mission Falls 1824 Cotton (pattern) (ravelry) by Sarah M. Hughes
Source: Pop Smear
Recipient: Dad
Occasion: Christmas
Deadline: December 2008
Other info: I should be able to finish these fairly quickly. Maybe I can make two pairs?

2. Gift Item: Cozy stole in Bernat Super Value Solids (pattern) (ravelry) by Danielle Schoonover
Source: Knitty, Fall 2004
Recipient: Chantelle (Sister-in-law)
Occasion: Christmas
Deadline: December 2008
Other info: Using up some stash yarn!

3. Gift Item: Bridesmaid Stoles in Knitpicks Shadow
Recipient: The bridesmaids; Anna, Rin, Lise, Elsa and Kim
Occasion: Christmas
Deadline: December 2008
Other info: I haven't decided on the pattern(s) yet, but my hope is to at least start swatching them out this month.

Q3 Challenge!

I'm happy to say that most of the items on this list already qualify as Q3 challenges.

1. Finish a work-in-progress: The slippers for my dad (pattern)(ravelry) were started last week, and I will need yarn before being able to get to them again, but I'm reasonably sure I can finish them by Sep 30.
2. Start and finish a gift item: The cozy stole (pattern)(ravelry) will fit into this category nicely!
3. Knit something for yourself: I'm currently working on Arbor (pattern)(ravelry), and again, need more yarn before I can continue. But I think I can finish this. I do however want to make something else for myself, and have some Fiddlesticks lace yarn that could make a lovely wrap (ravelry)(pattern) for me ^_^. There's also the socks I'm knitting as well, which are going really well.

Here's the most current photo of Arbor. I don't have one with me in it as of yet, and it still needs a lot of work (1.5 inches added to the hem, finished sleeves, and finished yoke. And the yoke might be too big and have to be ripped back a bit.)



And the latest on my sock!



And I know I'm not American, but happy Independence Day to all my American readers!