Off the Clock

And I can't even really call it "snail" mail; I only ordered it Thursday evening, and it's here on Monday! It's Sirdar Salsa in Moss, a 50/50 Merino wool/acrylic blend in DK weight. It is REALLY soft. (I can't keep myself from petting it!) I'm going to make a top based on Tempting to go with my green leather pants (background in pic). I can't wait to have at it! Must... finish... second... sock...

This is the before shot taken last year. The sweater is way too short and loose in the waist (which explains why I'm holding it in). So I added 2" in the front but 2" was not enough in the back, so I added another 2" in shortrows (a scathingly brilliant idea if I say so myself!) for a total of 4". Then I reknit the ribbing on smaller needles this time. Check out the "after" pic; I'll actually wear it now! ;) Thanks for frogging the ribbing for me Mom!

I've been off work this week and making lots of progress on the solid socks. This is sock number one. I did the extra row on the shortrowed heel in the middle and it's the best fitting heel I've ever done! I'm really pleased with how this is turning out. I've only used this yarn for heels and toes before and I knew it was a little thicker than the sock yarn I've been using, so I had to work out a pattern from scratch. The other thing I'm working on is fixing the sweater I made last fall. It's a little short and too baggy at the waist and it never looked "quite right". So Mom frogged the ribbing for me (yes, she's awesome!) yesterday and I'm adding a couple of inches to the length and working the ribbing on smaller needles to bring it in a little. I'm hoping it will fit better so I'll actually wear it.

Ok, I know this isn't knitting, but this is the birthday gift I got from my best friend tonight. Is this not the coolest or what?! Not to mention that she FLIES! She's going in my office at work. That'll give the guys something to talk about! lol And what's that say on her stand? "Justice League"? Somehow seems appropriate for the office, I'm thinking.

But first a word from our sponsors. My girlfriends took me out for my birthday tonight and spoiled me rotten, including getting me "The Cool Girls Guide to Knitting". Do I not have the best friends in the whole world? This adds to my blossoming knitting library that Mom started for me the other week. Now back to our regularly scheduled program- ming. I've joined another "Along" with the Solid Socks Sock-Along (button on the sidebar). I've chosen a skein of Briggs and Little Sport sock-weight wool in light green out of my stash. I'm getting better at this de-stashing thing! ;) I haven't made up my mind about the pattern yet, but it'll probably be either a basic rib or else the lacey pattern I did on my last two pairs.

And not a minute too soon! It's 39F and rainy outside right now. I call this the 26 year scarf because I originally bought the yarn 26 years ago to make a scarf which didn't turn out, and have started many different projects with it over the years before finally making it into the scarf it was destined to become. Here it is posing with the beautiful flowers my honey bought me for my birthday! Here's a close-up. I used about 140g of Donna by Wendy, 77% acrylic, 15% mohair, 6% polyester and 2% nylon and it measures about 6" by 7'6" including 5" of fringe at each end. I wasn't originally planning on making it that long until I saw Cameron Diaz' scarf in "In Her Shoes"; I loved it! I just did a basic k2 p2 rib over 32 sts with 4.5mm (U.S.#7) needles. I cut the yarn for the fringe before joining the last ball so I could just knit until I ran out of yarn. Isn't that great? An FO with NO leftover yarn! B) And here's the "

I've finished "Diced Tomatoes"! Since I've had a couple of requests for the pattern already, I've posted them here . I have to say I'm looking forward to making a couple more; it's the perfect size for me, and I'm really pleased with how it's holding it's shape with no added support.

So I took my little numbers and made my calculations and have actually come up with a pattern. These were my inspirations: Winecozy from Knitty, my favourite little green purse I bought in the Eaton Centre in Toronto, and a can (or two) of Diced Tomatoes. Can you see where I'm going with this? Do you think the wine in Winecozy had anything to do with why I ended up with the Diced Tomatoes being part of this project?! Then I knitted up this baggy thing and 10 feet of I-cord for the handles that I finished knitting this morning watching Corner Gas" dvd's. Emma knits and crochets on that show, not to mention that it's Canadian and it's FUNNY! Eric Peterson who plays the crotchety old man in it is also in a serious video I use for harassment training at work. Now I can't do a training session without getting the giggles when I see him on there! The purse is in it's first run the wash right now, so hopefully I'll have more to report soon. But while

Since I've got a couple of balls of Paton's Classic Merino left over from Blaze , I've decided to make another felted purse. I picked up some more yarn last night in black and off-white to go with it. I'm working with two strands of yarn on U.S.15 needles and I'm making it up as I go. So first I'm making a swatch. I've got 20 stitches and 28 rows, and that gives me 7 3/4" wide by 8 1/2" long. Now I'm throwing it in the wash along with my Booga Bag since I've decided it needs more felting too! To the right it's gone through it's second "heavy duty" wash cycle with a squirt of dish soap and one rinse and now it's felted up all nice and tight. I didn't put it through the spin cycle, but I'm thinking I probably could have. It now measures 6" wide by 5 1/2" long. Now it's time to do the math and come up with a pattern. Stay tuned, kids, there's more to come!

I have three WIP's at the moment; the VK Lacey Shawl, the 26 Year Scarf and the 4x Homespun Top. I've just figured out how to do the little "progress bars" at the side of the page, have a look-see! So I've been thinking about doing some stash-busting. The 26 Year Scarf is yarn I bought 26 years ago when I was at my first full-time job, travelling and selling magazines door-to-door (ugh! It was an AWEFUL job! lol) Anyway being very bored during the endless hours on the road and more than a little homesick I bought some very pretty purple tweedy mohair-blend yarn and some needles to knit a scarf. It didn't work out and I ripped it. Over the years it's been started into a whole bunch of different projects and frogged as they each didn't turn out the way I wanted for whatever reason. I recently figured out that I've moved 10 times since I bought this yarn and it's still with me! It was a very extravagant purchase for me at the time as I had virtual

And is it ever soft. And pretty. And thin! lol I was thinking this would be like sock yarn when I ordered it, but this lace weight is about half of that. I might still have a go at socks by doubling the yarn, or I might see how it works for Clapotis . I ordered this from handpaintedyarn.com on Tuesday and it was at my door on Friday; that's all the way from Uruguay to Canada. I'm very impressed with both the yarn and the service. It's the laceweight in Lorro Barranquero on the left and Citrus on the right.