knittable kitten

Garden Update

2011-07-09T10:25:00.001-04:00

The first signs of ripening in my balcony garden have appeared! Very exciting! My other tomato is heavy with fruit, but they're very green.

Cheese update

2011-07-08T19:43:00.002-04:00

Two weeks in the fridge, and my cheese has developed a good, if patchy, halo of fuzz! For the next four to six weeks, I need to keep turning it regularly, and the fuzz should be compacted into the 'crust' of a good Camembert.

Blanket Progress

2011-07-04T18:33:00.004-04:00

So, I really slowed down on my creating in the second half of June, because I was knitting furiously on this blanket! I have 8 (almost 9) of 14 squares, but I'm really not sure I can finish by the deadline (it's a gift).

It's funny, because I knit all the time, yet I rarely feel like I'm creative. Mostly because it takes so long to actually produce anything. I really did enjoy the challenge of trying to make something new every day, even if I didn't make it to the end.

Day 26: Cheese! #30daysofcreativity

2011-06-27T08:41:00.004-04:00

I made cheese!! (well, actually, I watched someone else make cheese, and got to take some of the results home)

I have assisted in the making of mozzarella, and a failed batch of mozzarella that became ricotta, before but this required far more steps. It will become camembert (after 6-8 weeks in my fridge). I have to say that pressing cheese with a mold is a much easier process (instead of wrestling with a sheet of cheesecloth).

(Yes, I'm aware that Cheese was actually a few days ago.)

Day 18: Feet #30daysofcreativity

2011-06-18T18:56:00.001-04:00

I made something, but it's for the neck. Nothing much to do with feet, but it's pretty!

Day 15: Sea Creatures #30daysofcreativity

2011-06-16T07:57:00.002-04:00

Or syrups!

I made lemon & rosemary syrup and some rhubarb syrup. I haven't tried either yet, but think they'll be tasty!

Day 14: Picnic #30daysofcreativity

2011-06-16T07:52:00.003-04:00

I started cutting squares for the picnic blanket I'm planning. I'm using old sheets and cutting 13" squares for an easy first quilt, and I have another sheet for the back. However, my eyes were drooping at 8:30, so I put myself to bed by 9. Not too many squares cut, but it's a start!

Also, I saw a turtle on a log on my way home!

Days 10, 11 & 12: Losing track of themes

2011-06-12T18:03:00.002-04:00

I've made stuff the last few days, but it hasn't been along the suggested themes, nor is it particularly picture worthy. I made a soup with broccoli rabe today that isn't pretty to look at, but tastes ok. My next tasting will include cheese or cream as an experiment...

I did take some photos yesterday, which was a very lovely day indeed.

Breakfast was spectacular, on the balcony with my plants. The salad is actually the first produce from my garden, since I finally thinned the salad plants.

Suki cat wants some too!

And then there was a lot of walking! There is some nice public art in Ottawa!

A happy tiring day!

Day 9: Cowbell #30daysofcreativity

2011-06-09T18:58:00.003-04:00

Well, another project not quite finished, but it is cute! This will be the first page of a fabric book for my nephew!

I was able to use my cutting mat and rotary cutter when cutting up the pair of jeans I used, but even so, the rectangle isn't straight. Straighter than the cuts I made in the men's shirt I repurposed for my last project, at least. ;) I still need to finish the letter embroidery, sew the cow down and add some embroidered grass.

Day 7&8: Recycled Fashion #30daysofcreativity

2011-06-08T21:20:00.003-04:00

It's not very fashionable yet, cause it's still a work in progress, but it looks better on me than the original. It's based on this tutorial. I am improvising the shoulders with shoelaces, but am thinking that ribbon is the way to go. Also, I plan to use some tucks to add some shaping to the body, so it doesn't look like I'm wearing a sack.

I've learned a few things from this project. I can't cut a straight line to save my life. Particularly when cutting on fabric that hasn't been ironed. So, I need a pressing surface. But, I'm learning about my sewing machine, and I may now actually do something with the material I've been moving around for years!

Day 6: Argyle-ish #30daysofcreativity

2011-06-06T21:32:00.003-04:00

So, this isn't quite Argyle, but it was definitely a learning experience. I'd never done strip piecing before, and it's quite a neat technique. I could definitely have used a bit more precision, including in measuring to end up with a square for a true argyle shape.

It was getting late by the time I worked out how to connect the ends and keep the pattern in line, so I didn't decide how to finish the edges. Some day this will decorate a plant pot of some kind, but for now it's being a jar cosy!

Edited to add: I would have posted this yesterday, but picasa refused to upload my photos. So I went to bed and let time deal with my tech issues. ;)

Day 5: Unibrow #30daysofcreativity

2011-06-05T20:22:00.003-04:00

I made pizza dough...

and pizza...

and cake!

Now I'm going to eat some pizza and knit.

Day 4: Cat Meme #30daysofcreativity

2011-06-05T12:23:00.002-04:00

This has nothing to do with my cat.

I bought a bunch of plastic bangles to cover with knitting when I was in Turkey a few years ago. This is the first one I've actually finished! Another benefit being that I've got a much better handle on keeping my stitch count constant in crochet.

And, for interest, an atmospheric photo from Tour la Nuit last night.

Day 3: Chrome #30daysofcreativity

2011-06-04T08:24:00.003-04:00

Chrome kind of got away from me today. I was planning to work on the chrome accents on my bike for this, but by the time I finished the book that was due back at the library yesterday(!), it was after 8. So, I made dinner and did some knitting.

I'm making a Mitred Crosses out of Cascade 220 Superwash. In theory, it's a gift for a wedding this summer, but that will depend on how my enthusiasm holds up over time. I'm only three squares in.

Day 2: Ice Cream #30daysofcreativity

2011-06-02T19:09:00.000-04:00

No, this is not ice cream.

Day 1: Bicycles #30daysofcreativity

2011-06-01T21:53:00.005-04:00

Before - Top with odd stain, mostly noticeable to me.

After - Top with beginnings of embroidered bicycle, flowers

So, I got started on my project for today, but I didn't finish. This is probably going to be an on-going issue. There's only so much I can finish in the few hours between work and bed. So, I will have to decide tomorrow if I'm going to start something new for tomorrow (ice cream), or continue working on this.

Obviously

2011-05-31T13:18:00.003-04:00

I must now start saving yarn bits to make a blanket like this...

30 Days of Creativity

2011-05-29T11:11:00.018-04:00

So, as a bit of a challenge, I signed up for 30 Days of Creativity! I also figured out how to post from email, which should make blogging slightly more frequent.

There are themes which I will try to follow, in theory.

1. Biking
2. Ice Cream
3. Chrome
4. Cat Meme - cat bed?
5. Unibrow
6. Argyle
7. Fashion
8. Recycle
9. Cowbell
10. Toaster
11. Crayons
12. Abe Lincoln
13. Albert Einstein
14. Picnic - picnic blanket
15. Sea Creatures
16. Hipsters - screenprinting with birds
17. Superpowers
18. Feet
19. Beachball - fabric ball
20. Platypus
21. Cheese - cheese-making?
22. Neon
23. Plaid
24. Lawn Gnomes
25. Boardgames
26. Unicorns
27. Extinct Media - floppy disk book
28. Pirates vs. Ninja
29. Cardboard Boxes - trivet
30. Charlie Chaplin

Other ideas
- Paper cherry blossoms
- hat - like Ida's kitchen
- Screen printing/stencilling (e.g. address on recycling bins, curtains, clothing)
- cross stitch on metal screen
- embroidery/cross stitch
- plant pot covers
- cushions for folding chair (patchwork?)
- cushion covers for couch cushions
- quilt top?
- potholders
- remaking/updating clothes (e.g. skirt from sweater, pillow-case dress, fascinator)
- baby mohawk hat sort of like this
- origami
- light fixture for bedroom
- photography (e.g. project photography)
- stuffed animal
- something with wine corks?
- slippers
- reusable bowl covers
- shrinky-dinks from #6 plastic

Just to show I still knit

2011-05-25T19:40:00.000-04:00

And I haven't disappeared from the face of the earth...

Dan Mangan held my sock!

2010-10-31T10:06:00.003-04:00

I was lucky enough to go to the Dan Mangan concert at the First Baptist Church in Ottawa last night. My new crutches (visible in the sock photo, a la The Yarn Harlot) were a pain (particularly when trying to leave in the snow!!!), but the music was amazing! Churches do indeed have great acoustics. The final song was a highlight, with the entire band in the centre aisle of the church, playing accoustically, and the entire audience singing our part as well!

My favourite song is Robots (watch the video below!)

We ended up buying the newest cd on the way out, as well as a cd from one of the opening bands, The Crackling. So lucky to be able to support artists I love!

Rhinebeck 2010 Part II: The Place

2010-10-26T14:18:00.001-04:00

So, I made it to Rhinebeck this year (aka the New York Sheep and Wool Festival)! In an effort to focus on things other than the products, I took my birthday present to myself (a digital SLR). Here are some of the shots from the grounds.

Rhinebeck 2010 Part I: The people

2010-10-24T19:04:00.005-04:00

I got shot by Gale

and I shot her too!

Dr. Steph in blogger blogging blogger

Natalie and Amy!

Juno and Jo

and so many more...

Ms. Suki wants you to know...

2010-10-18T21:31:00.001-04:00

Ms. Suki is a talker
Originally uploaded by knitter_tara.

...that she is not impressed by the level of service around here. Going away for a whole weekend leaves things in such a state. I will maybe get around to blogging about Rhinbeck next weekend.

I am quite enamoured of my new camera, though!

Rhinebeck!!

2010-10-09T11:11:00.001-04:00

Yarn Statue
Originally uploaded by knitter_tara.

The photo doesn't have much to do with this post, other than the sheep on top! The local Business Association for Little Italy installed a bunch of statues along Preston St, and this one struck my fancy.

Anyway, I thought I would actually post to say that I will be at Rhinebeck Bingo! I will be at the Ravelry meetup on Saturday, and maybe the Ravelry Party (although I make no definitive claims on that one, as the last two times I was at Rhinebeck, we were too exhausted to make it to any of the after parties...) Anyway, hopefully I will see some old friends, and meet some new ones, and maybe buy a little yarn!

Blog Life?

2010-10-02T16:38:00.000-04:00

Yes, It's been a while since I've blogged. Stuff happened. But I feel like it might be time to start up again. See if I have something interesting to put out into the blogosphere...

Gold!

2010-02-28T20:58:00.001-05:00

Gold medal Milo's 2
Originally uploaded by knitter_tara.

Yay! I finished! I was a little concerned when I was casting on the second sock on Friday, but I buckled down, and knit a whole sock in two days! My hands are a little sore, and the blister on the back of my right ring finger is a little unfortunate, but I did what had to be done! ;)

Knitting Olympics - Milo socks

2010-02-22T11:18:00.001-05:00

Milo past heel turn
Originally uploaded by knitter_tara.

I am indeed participating in the Milo socks from Sock Innovation), but now that I've determined that what I've done so far will actually fit a human being, it's going much faster. I'm now coming up on the toe decreases of the first sock.

I really do love this pattern. It's actually a pretty easy chart (or 3), but by changing the order of the charts results in a sock that looks much more impressive than it would otherwise be.

Urban Cozies at Parc Jacques-Cartier

2010-02-15T10:53:00.002-05:00

Urban Cozies at Parc Jacques-Cartier
Originally uploaded by spins & needles.

This one is also mine. Very bright acrylic mitred squares.

Urban Cozies at Parc Jacques-Cartier

2010-02-15T10:51:00.002-05:00

Urban Cozies at Parc Jacques-Cartier
Originally uploaded by spins & needles.

I found my cozy on the Spins and Needles flickr site! It's pretty cute, with it's new pink addition (mine is the gargantuan white lace that's been in progress for years without any real goal. I'm just glad it's in use and no longer in my WIP basket! ;) )

Sick Knitter

2009-12-12T17:09:00.002-05:00

I keep trying to organise myself to post here more regularly, but I'm finding it difficult. Not that I have any knitting to show right now. Between crazy times at work and a nasty cold, I haven't knit anything other than a dishcloth in over a week (I'm on number four - who knows when it will end?).

So, I've got a dilemma. I've been bad. Since I've been sick, I've been drinking tea non-stop. I didn't have an electric kettle before, so I picked one up (a red one!) to facilitate the provision of boiling water. But, I had already included a kettle as a possible Christmas gift on the list I provided my family when they asked me for suggestions. My current dilemma is whether or not to let them know that I bought myself something from my list. The complicating factor is that my sister is very pregnant (due in mere days), and she asked for the list so she could buy things early. If she did get me a kettle, it's going to be a pain for her to return it. And since I'm the one who caused this problem, shouldn't I be the one to deal with the repercussions? (If I don't tell her now, I definitely won't be mentioning it later, whether or not I get a second kettle) What would you do?

Cleaning House...

2009-11-22T19:32:00.003-05:00

... is not my forte, but I actually did some today. I have never reached my mom's standards of cleanliness, but my apartment still has a lot of construction dust, plus the sand and little bits of shredded paper from my shipment, so I decided to get to work today. I only worked in the bedroom, and there's still a lot more organising to do in there, but it definitely looks better. I washed the windows and the window screens, vacuumed, removed all non-bedroom materials, changed the sheets and cleaned the bathroom. I also moved two of my stash rubbermaid boxes in as temporary bedside tables. Nice.

I've been doing lots of knitting, but I don't have pictures fo any of it. There are a few gift items, but mostly I'm just never home during daylight hours. I'm lucky enough to be able to walk to work in the light (assuming I am organised getting out of the house), but otherwise I almost never see the sun. The next sunny weekend day, I'll have to do a whole photoshoot, for the blog and ravelry.

Yesterday was the Wellington West Wassail, and I met up with some newish friends for a wander that ended up lasting all day! We started off with Folka Voca at the Great Canadian Theatre Company, a horse-drawn wagon ride and free apple cider. There was also a craft fair and two yarn shops before we decided to get lunch, which ended up being pizza from Colonnade Pizza. It is, indeed, good pizza. Then drinks and pie at A's house to round out a lovely day. And now, I'm off to have more pie!

Upcoming Events

2009-11-01T22:28:00.002-05:00

There are so many things going on in my "neighbourhood" that I can't decide what to do first! (And how I'm going to fit that in as I continue to open boxes!)

MainWorks Artists Studios Open House

You are invited to attend the annual MainWorks Artists Studios Open-House at 200 Crichton Street in New Edinburgh (please use Avon Lane entrance). See artists at work in their studios and view art in different mediums and styles; oils, acrylics, mixed media, painting, and installation.

Date/Time:
From November 6, 2009 to November 8, 2009
Friday, 5 to 9 pm; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 pm

Location:
MainWorks Artists Studios
200 Crichton Street
Ottawa

260 Fingers

260 Fingers is an invitational exhibition and sale of the work of 26 outstanding clay artists and potters from eastern Ontario and western Quebec.

Our participants have all won recognition for their work; some are emerging artists and some are veterans of the craft scene. Their work can be found in galleries and collections all over Canada and the world.
Time and place

The show opens at 6 p.m. on November 6th 2009.

The show continues 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free.

The Glebe Community Centre is located at Lyon and Third Avenue, one block west of Bank Street and two blocks east of Bronson Avenue. The closest Queensway (417) exit is Bronson South (turn left on Third).

SPAO OPEN HOUSE

Join us for a celebration of photographic achievement and education as we open our doors to the public to commemorate our 4th year anniversary.

Tour the darkroom, computer lab and studio spaces, and view displays, slide shows, demonstrations, live shoots and exhibitions of images by our full-time students.

Come see what’s up at SPAO!

Friday November 6th, 2009
15:00-21:00

Photo Credit: Joël Côté-Cright

Red Wall Gallery at SPAO 168 Dalhousie
613-562-3824
info@spao.ca

Sofa Shopping

2009-10-05T20:43:00.003-04:00

Uh, yeah, I haven't posted in a while. Moving seems to have eaten most of my free time and brain capacity. Add the lack of computer/internet access until very recently, and you get blog silence.

So, while I am knitting, the main topic on my mind these days is furniture shopping. I am in a new place now that I'm back in Ottawa (my first *own* place!), and I need to furnish it. Since I'm tired of sitting on the floor, the couch is first on my list!

I have a pretty big living/dining area (the schematic says 17'5" by 18'1", but I haven't measured yet to see how that compares to reality). But, the couch, entertainment/storage and dining all have to fit. So, I thought I'd blog my choices and see if anyone else has any comments.

First, I'm basing my decorating on a rug I love that I got in Turkey last fall.

I'm looking for something gray (medium to dark) with metal legs and some clearance (so you can see through under it). I would like a sectional, but would consider other styles.

1) Philip Van Leeuwen - the Aspen
It's available now, and very reasonably priced, but this one is huge! As in, not even another chair would fit. Very comfy, and could seat 5 people, but not very flexible.

2) EQ3 - the Salema in Urban-Vapour
The worst thing about this couch is the order time - 6-12 weeks! The scale, options and price point are all good. The fabric, since I can't find a good sample on-line, reads as a browny-gray in a similar tone to the Aspen.

3) DWR - the Albert in Slate
Much more expensive than the other options, but this couch is beautiful! The only reason I haven't already ordered it is that it only comes in leather, which I find a bit cold. Although I've been testing out leather couches all over town trying to decide if I can live with it.

4) Montauk - Lily or Tuxedo (which do come in sofas), Kate or Catherine...
Another more expensive option, neither of which have sectional options, but they do have beautiful lines, and Montauk is known for their sustainable practices. My biggest question is around fabrics, and I think I'd just have to go to a showroom (either Montreal or Toronto).

Does anyone know of other options? I'd prefer not to have to ship anything too far, but for the most part, anything I bought would have to be shipped from somewhere.

Knitting in Paris (Knit Groups)

2009-07-31T08:39:00.004-04:00

Yes, I'm a bad blogger! I've been back from my vacation for a week already, and I haven't even posted about any of my knitting adventures, never mind any of the other wonderful things I managed to do! Since this is a knitting blog, I'll start out with a knitting themed post, and see if I get around to any additional posts.

I contacted two knitting meetups through Ravelry before I headed out, and managed to visit with both of them. Saturday, the day after my arrival in Paris, I dragged my ass out of bed to head down to the gardens of the Quai Branly Museum to meet the Tricot Opera group.

The gardens were beautiful, and I felt very welcomed! It was great to chat with other knitters again, check out their projects, feel new yarns and see new books and magazines. I've been living under a rock as far as direct access to knitting stuff for a while, so it was a great way to start my trip. FLOUB was even so organised as to bring a thermos of coffee (much needed after my travels the previous day), so it was a real "cafe tricot!"

On Wednesday night, I made my way to L'OisiveThé for TricotThé. Amy has a great little shop, and it was a very welcoming. L'OisiveThé is mostly a tea room, but it has a small selection of yarn available, and I picked up two skeins of Shibui Knits Sock in Pebble, a mixture of gorgeous beiges and blues, with a hint of violet. Admittedly, not a local souvenir yarn purchase, but it was something I'd never seen before, and it's knitting up beautifully!

I made something!

2009-07-14T13:41:00.002-04:00

My new sewing machine cover!

The seams aren't perfect, but this is the first thing I've sewn in a long while! The front and back are legs of old pairs of jeans. The sides are colourful leftovers, and are quite old. I'm pretty sure I got them from my grandma.

Yay!

Motivation

2009-07-10T07:22:00.006-04:00

So, I don't think I've talked about this here yet, but I've signed up for a half marathon in September! I think it's slightly crazy, considering I was not exercising in any way, shape or form when I signed up (in April), so I was starting from nothing. 21 km is a long way to go!

For reasons I can't talk about, April was a complete write-off for training, but I seem to be doing ok now. I have no illusions about actually running the whole thing. My goal is to train regularly (about three times per week), getting my mileage as high as I can go without hurting myself, and then run/walk the race on the day. It will be doubly difficult as I'm pretty much restricted to treadmill training until September, although I am planning to do some outside runs when I'm on vacation in a week or so.

Can I say that it's really difficult to train right now though? The room I run in does have air conditioning, but given that it's not running unless I'm in the room and the room has large, east facing windows, its often hotter inside than outside. An engineer at work told me that the average temperature for June this year was 50 degrees C!!! I believe it, even if the information I find on weather on the internet doesn't support that. (Just fyi, Weather.com says it's 39 degrees here today, and BBC is actually predicting 38 and rain (I don't know what they're thinking. I've only seen rain here two or three times in two years, and today doesn't look like the day for it.))

So, anyone that's ever lived in a super-hot climate, how does one stay motivated to run when it is so warm? I did 45 minutes on the treadmill this morning, and managed to soak through my moisture-wicking gear and had sweat running down my back and arms. I've never actually experienced that before, even in steamy Ottawa summers. There are some articles on Runner's World, but given that the sweat isn't evaporating, I don't know how much use a lot of that advice will help (a lot of advice revolves around wet hats or ice in a bandana around the neck).

FO: Ishbel

2009-07-07T12:41:00.003-04:00

See, I do occasionally finish things! This didn't take much time, only a few days, but I was knitting a lot during that time.

It's difficult to get a shot where my facial expression is normal in the very bright sun. This is the best one I came up with.

Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Sophie's Toes sock yarn Layers of Colour Collection Dark Teal from emilyparson
Needle: 2.25 mm
The yarn was very nice to work with, and looks great.

And some nice flowers in the sun.

Story time

2009-06-30T13:19:00.003-04:00

So, I was supposed to be on vacation this week, but things haven't quite worked out as planned. This seems to happen a lot to me, but at least it wasn't a work issue that quashed my plans this time.

On this occasion, my cat got sick the day before I was due to fly out. I feel a bit 'crazy cat lady-ish' admitting that I canceled my vacation for a sick cat, but that's what happened. She has giardiasis, which is not very much fun. I do not recommend it. Anyway, I'm just considering it to be preparation for when I have actual children.

So, the yoga retreat and two days of shopping in Marrakesh has morphed into a week in Paris later this month. (Part of my compensation for working where I do is an allowance that must be spent on travel outside of Sudan, which I need to use.) Not a bad outcome by any stretch. I would actually be leaving this weekend, but the cat needs a second week of treatment, as we haven't managed to kill all of the parasites yet.

So, in my spare time between shoving medication into the cat, I've been knitting on an Ishbel in Sophie's Toes sock yarn in Dark Teal. No pictures yet, as I have some tinking to do. It's become apparent to me that I don't have enough yarn left in the ball to finish it quite as I was planning. The yarn is gorgeous though, so I'll try and get some good pictures in the sun soon!

2009-06-20T07:33:00.004-04:00

I'm traveling for work this week, and I don't have my camera cord, so there are no recent pictures to be had, so I thought I'd open with this touristy shot of me at sea level on my way to the Dead Sea (Jordan side) last month.

I haven't been doing a lot of knitting, although I have a Rogue Roses sock with me from the Rockin' Sock Club from Blue Moon Fibre Arts. I fly home tomorrow morning, if all goes well, so it's about time for me to go to bed now.

Life runs away

2009-06-17T01:05:00.000-04:00

So, life (or at least blogging) has kind of been getting away from me these days. I've had all sorts of plans to post, but it just doesn't seem to happen that often.

Today is just a quick update. I found out the other day that I'm going to be an aunt! The first thing that came to mind is what I should knit for the upcoming baby. My sister isn't planning on finding the gender out until it's born, so I will have to come up with some good gender neutral knits until I find out what I'm dealing with. It should be a Christmas baby, so I will hopefully get to spend some time home with my sister and the new baby around then. Yay!

I finished something!

2009-06-04T12:35:00.004-04:00

It's not much, but it's the first thing I finished in a while. (Particularly the 'finishing' portion) Sadly, I don't have any pictures of them on the tiny recipient, but hopefully those will be available in the near future.

Pattern: Saartje's Booties
Yarn: Blue Moon Fibre Arts Socks that Rock leftover from some basic socks. (I think the colour is Farmhouse.)
Needles: 2.75mm
Buttons: Random ones from A's button collection (from the spare buttons that come with clothes)

Long Absence

2009-05-20T13:17:00.003-04:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I've done a real post! I got busy, as happens from time to time. There was a month or so where I was doing nothing except work (I worked two weeks of overtime in just under four weeks!), and it's taken a few weeks to start feeling normal again.

I haven't been doing a lot of knitting, although there has been some. Of course, there aren't any pictures. I'm easing myself back into blogging slowly. :)

I have a number of babies upcoming, so I thought I'd try out the Elijah pattern. I've got my first one done minus one ear and arm. A very cute pattern, although picking up the stitches for each new piece is definitely finicky. I have also started my Rogue Roses socks from the last 2009 Rockin' Sock Club mailing. I started a Wisteria, but haven't even finished the yoke, and it's been set aside for who knows how long. I should really just pick something and finish it!

In non-knitting news, I'm starting to get ready to move back to Ottawa! I should be back, trying to get settled sometime in early September! As you can probably tell by the exclamation points, I'm looking forward to the change. I love having the chance to live in another cultures for a while, but there are things I miss. Two years is a pretty good length of time for Sudan, and I'm ready to go home.

Wow

2009-04-20T04:14:00.003-04:00

I found this on Shan's blog, and just had to share...

I've done nothing but work for the last while, and as I don't discuss work on this here blog, that's about all I've got.

Update

2009-03-20T10:18:00.002-04:00

I don't have much of a brain to write with today, but I thought I'd at least post that I am still alive, and knitting. More soon...

Endpaper Mitts in progress

2009-02-06T04:21:00.002-05:00

So, I started a pair of Endpaper Mitts, and the pattern is great! really well written/charted, and I really liked the tubular cast on! Unfortunately, the tubular cast off is not working out so well for me... yet. I've only tried it once, and then didn't want to take the (almost completed) mitt traveling. So, it's been sitting for a bit. Hopefully this weekend I will sit down and work out that final cast off so I can start the second one.

The first picture is a bit dark, but shows the lovely variations in the Sundara sock yarn I'm using. The colours are more true in this photo.

I say that I want to get to the second one, but really, I'll likely cast on for something else. I plan to be in Canada in March, and these are not quite right for the dead of winter, so I think I may make a pair of Bella's mittens instead, and finish number two in this set for next fall.

No news is good news

2009-02-03T12:34:00.004-05:00

Umm, so I haven't posted in a bit. I'm actually traveling for work these days, and while I have a pretty regular connection to the Internet, I don't have much to blog about. (You know, since I don't blog about work stuff, and that's about all I'm doing right now.) Then again, I could try to get caught up on some of my random travels over the last three months. As far as I remember, I didn't blog any of Turkey or London.

Ok, here are some pictures of Antalya, Turkey:

After leaving Syria in October, I landed myself in Antalya, on the Mediterranean coast. I met up with a friend from Canada, and we wandered around the Old City for a few days. This is a view over the bay on our first night in town. Mid-October is the end of the tourist season there, so it was much less crowded than the height of summer.

From the same spot, looking in a slightly different direction.

This is Hadrian's Gate, which is one of the few remaining parts of the walls of the old city.

Beautiful up close!

We also spent a few afternoons at St Paul's Place, which had one of the few good lattes I had in Turkey. Turkish coffee was decent, but anywhere I tried to order a latte (cause I like lots of milk with my coffee), it was pretty bad. This place also had a cat that liked to sit on my lap!

Mission Possible 2008 Update

2009-01-13T11:57:00.001-05:00

Umm, let's just say that this wasn't my best effort...

1. long socks in Mountain Colours Barefoot, stalled a year ago by the loss of a needle (finish ribbing on two socks) I still need to redo the bind-off on one sock!
2. Souvenir Scarf (graft two pieces together, block) I haven't touched this yet...
3. ~~Baby surprise jacket (purchased yarn for several, need to make at least one)~~ finished!
4. ~~Icarus Shawl~~ finished
5. Samus cardigan (rework to fit me or gift) Still waiting
6. ~~my own scarf~~ finished!
7. ~~Gatsby Girl (sew arms to body, crochet neck edging, add buttons) hopefully in time to wear in March!~~ finished! on time too!
8. Colourwork Vest (finish or frog) no progress
9. baby blanket and the box of grandma's acrylic (?) no progress
10. make a top that fits from some of my extensive bamboo yarn collection I started a Stargazer, but didn't get far...
11. finish spinning the orange roving from Rhinebeck 2005 and knit something from it no progress
12. ~~catalog and organise stash!~~

Happy New Year!

2009-01-06T11:36:00.006-05:00

Wow! I had such plans for posting over my time away from work, but it didn't turn out at all like I had planned. I will hopefully catch up on my travels later this week, but for now, just a few things to post.

1. My New Year's Resolution: This year, I will choose more consciously how I use what free time I have. I don't necessarily work too long as far as hours go, but the subject matter can sometimes be all consuming. As a result, I tend to come home and collapse on the couch at the end of the day and turn my brain off; as a result, I don't get enough exercise, eat well enough or actually do the things I want to get done. Tonight, I made stirfry, which was pretty impressive for me. I even bought broccoli, which is not local produce, so I could have something green!

2. My cat is crazy! She is usually pretty standoffish, except for a day or so after I get back from traveling. I got back on Friday, and she's been stuck to my side like glue since. After a few hours of sleep Friday morning, I unpacked. Here is my cat taking over the Noro Iro cowl I made while I was away.

She's been sleeping beside me, or on my stuff, ever since. I'm not complaining seriously, since I love it. The only thing that would be better would be if she would sit on my lap. It's just unusual.

FO: Snowy Lady Sweater

2008-12-17T12:27:00.002-05:00

Or my Turkey Sweater!

So, this is probably the most inexpensive sweater I've ever made. I bought five balls of DK weight wool when I was in Turkey for 15 YTL, which was somewhere in the range of $11 CAD at the time, and it made a whole sweater! The ballband says it was manufactured in Turkey for sale in Germany. Granted, this isn't next-to-the-skin soft, but it works nicely as a layering piece.

The buttons aren't amazing, so they're not affixed directly to the sweater. I attached the buttons to smaller ones that can be pushed through the garter stitch. When I want to wear it with a brooch, I can just take the other buttons off.

Notes: (ravelry)
Yarn: Ayda Saf Yün, 100% wool, 200m to 100g
Needle: 4.0mm
Gauge: 20.5 stitches to 10cm
Size: XL to get XS proportions
Mods: none

Eid al-Adha

2008-12-12T09:47:00.003-05:00

So, we've just finished Eid al-Adha (also known as the Festival of Sacrifice or the Big Eid) in Sudan, so I thought I'd write a little bit about what has been going on.

The Muslim calendar is lunar, so the dates of holidays aren't fixed. Because the lunar calendar is shorter than the solar calendar, holidays fall about eleven days earlier each year. This year's Eid started on December 8th (which actually means at sunset on Dec. 7), and it runs for three or more days. Eid al-Adha follows the Hajj, which is the pilgrimage to Mecca.

The main event of the Big Eid is the sacrifice of a goat or sheep at some point during the holiday. It forms the basis for a big meal for the family and some of the meat should also be given to neighbours and people in need.

Even my local massage place got into the spirit of things, as I found when I went for a massage on Sunday evening. They had a sheep tethered in the middle of the garden, and one of the resident cats was very curious.

Although he was pretty nervous, I did get close enough to pat the sheep a bit. As you can see from the photos, the local sheep don't grow much of a fleece (but they do have a long tail!) I don't think I'll be able to spin yarn from local fleece. :(

I didn't take any photos, but on my way to work the morning of Eid, there were men sacrificing animals in front of their houses, and you could smell fires burning all day long. As it's a time for family, I didn't get to experience the feast for myself, but I did get a day off work!

Some Christmas Spirit

2008-12-09T08:22:00.002-05:00

I saw this on Concateknit's blog, and thought I'd get in on the Christmas spirit!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Well, I was very poor with the wrapping this year, since everything had to be sent by mail. I’m really working on using cloth gift bags, and recycling wrapping materials as much as possible.
2. Real tree or Artificial? I love a real tree, but I haven’t had a tree at all in a few years. There are no pine trees here, so it won’t work out this year either.
3. When do you put up the tree? I think the beginning of December should be the first sign of decorations.
4. When do you take the tree down? Shortly after Christmas, hopefully before going back to work.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I don’t actually remember getting it, but I still have my first Cabbage Patch kid that I got when I was three.
7. Hardest person to buy for? My parents are pretty tough, as they tend to just buy the things they need and want.
8. Easiest person to buy for? I don’t think I have anyone easy to buy for right now, as the ease of purchase comes from proximity. When you only see someone once or twice a year, it can be hard to pick out the things they'll really like.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. It was a gift from my cousins two years ago, and it’s simple but beautiful.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I like to mail cards… It’s actually almost the only thing I do these days.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Several years ago, I remember not being pleased with getting pyjamas (my sister asked for them, and we both got them), but I’m still wearing them today, so it obviously wasn’t all bad.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? How the Grinch Stole Christmas (animated version), although A Muppet Christmas Carol is also good.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually in November, although I haven’t been doing a lot of gifting over the last few years.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Turkey!
16. Lights on the tree? Yes, although I’ve developed a fondness for all one colour over multi-colour
17. Favorite Christmas song? I have to go with a whole album: Kenny Rogers Christmas!
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? I almost always travel for Christmas, as my family is not nearby. This year, I won’t even make it home, but I still plan to travel a bit just after Christmas. I’m thinking of London right now.
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Yep.
20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning.
21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The commercialism, without a doubt.
22. Favorite ornament theme or color? I like white lights, but have been collecting ornaments since I was a kid, so there’s really know theme to them.
23. What do you want for Christmas this year? I have a small list of things I’d like, but there’s nothing big.
24. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel
25. Favorite Christmas dinner? I require turkey, potatoes and stuffing with gravy. All other dishes are optional. This year I’ll be hosting a potluck at my place several days before the big day.

Damascus, Syria

2008-12-05T02:49:00.000-05:00

I was mostly in Damascus to visit friends, so I didn't do a lot of sight seeing, but I have a few fun pictures.

Sadly, I don't have any pictures of horse riding, which was one of the most random things I did. I had never ridden English style before, and it was very off-putting to not have a horn and trying to learn how to post.

Anyway, here's what I saw...

The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus

First, we need to go to the 'Putting on Special Clothes Room'

and here I am inside, wearing my 'special clothes'.

A portion of the old city walls

I just thought this was a cool building. I believe it's the municipal water building.

Inside the craft souq, we stopped at a store where they do these intricately painted panels in different shapes and sizes.

This is an example of tile work from the Takiyya as-Suleimaniyya, very near the Artisanat where I bought some lovely silver jewelry.

Sick Day

2008-11-26T11:32:00.002-05:00

I spent a day at home today... nothing serious, but I seemed to be in need of some additional rest. Actually, I rested in the morning and finally did some cooking in the afternoon, so I have some meals for the next little while.

I was trying to finish a meme to have something at least slightly interesting to post, but I wasn't feeling very creative. Next week will be another busy time at work, so who knows when I'll get around to posting again though.

So, I will just leave you with a picture...

The Old City of Damascus

Fall in Sudan

2008-11-09T12:32:00.004-05:00

Yes, it most definitely is fall in Sudan! It was a balmy 34 degrees outside when I was driving home from work at about 6pm this afternoon. The local pool has cooled down noticeably, so it no longer feels like jumping into a bathtub. However, I don't think the temperature will ever drop enough that I need to use my new FO!

Handspun Beret and Scarf Set

This is the first thing I've finished knitting with my own handspun! The yarn is New Zealand Romney from Little Barn, spun and plied on my Hitchhiker.

The beret is based on an idea I read about on someone’s blog once, but no idea where. I knit the band in seed stitch, but a less stretchy stitch would have been better. Then I picked up stitches around the edge of the band, increased every other stitch on the next row and knit 4.5 inches before starting the decreases. Knit with 3.25 mm needles.

The scarf is done in a simple k1 *yo, k2tog* k1 for every row. I think it’s the lace pattern used in the centre of the Ogee motif, but didn’t check. Knit with 4.5 mm needles.

I'm back!

2008-11-07T07:54:00.003-05:00

Actually, I've been home for a week now, but getting back into the routine of work and seeing friends took up much of my time. I spent the rest of it sleeping, so this is my first chance to blog.

I had a great vacation, catching up with friends and visiting some places that were new to me. I even found yarn!

The first few days were in Aqaba, Jordan, where we stayed at the Radisson SAS Tala Bay. It was brand new, and a great resort, the only one in Aqaba with direct access to the beach. Here are a few pictures for those of you looking at impending winter!

Turkey

2008-10-29T05:18:00.002-04:00

PA270442
Originally uploaded by knitter_tara.

So, I'm in Turkey right now until the end of the week. Apparently Turkey has blocked Blogger (in Syria, it was Facebook, and Sudan had YouTube blocked for a while...). But, this seems to be a way to check in without access to the site. It's been a great vacation! Lots of friends and new places. I'll try to write more when I get back, even if work will be busy. This picture was taken inside the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. I love the different lamps!

Vacation

2008-10-18T02:56:00.002-04:00

Umm, so I'm on vacation right now, meaning that my posting will be even more sporadic than usual. I am actually getting some knitting done, but I don't have any pictures to post.

I'm currently in Damascus, staying with friends. It's been lovely, but I have of course bought too much stuff! I even found a yarn store and got 10 balls of a silk-cotton blend from Switzerland for $10! I will have to show you a picture later.

Anyway, I'm on the move again today towards Turkey! Who knows when I'll post next!

I hope everyone at Rhinebeck is having fun!

Haboobed

2008-10-05T12:59:00.003-04:00

We had a dust storm today, the biggest one I've seen so far, and I managed to take a few pictures both before it hit and as we were running for the house.

Here it comes! (This is not my house.)

Look at it move!

Run!

...and the aftermath

And that's pretty much the lame-ass post you get!

Spinning

2008-09-19T01:50:00.002-04:00

Look! I do spin!

So, I've been playing on occasion with my Hitchhiker, and having a lot of fun. The fibre is from Little Barn, and the preparation was lovely.

Sorry for the blurry picture. I want to post, and don't have the light conditions to take a better one right now. This is a two ply yarn, probably between a fingering and sport weight. Now I want a tensioned kate so I can make more than two ply! There are always more toys!

Princess Spooky cat really enjoys the mildly sheepy smell of the yarn after the twist has been set.

Sock Meme

2008-09-12T05:50:00.002-04:00

When did you first learn to knit socks? Fairly soon after I restarted knitting in 2003. I bought my first sock yarn from Romni Wools in 2004 when I was in Toronto on training for my stint with Right to Play. That was the first lys I ever visited, as in Calgary I had only ever bought yarn from Lewiscraft.

What's the first sock you ever knit? The sock pattern that came with the skein of Fleece Artist sock yarn (I don't see the one I used on the website anymore. I'm pretty sure it's superwash merino, but who knows...). It took a while, but I love the end results. (See centre row right below)

Favorite Sock Pattern? I use the Turkish cast on from the Fall 2005 Vogue Knitting, and the short row heel from Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook and then whatever pattern choices I want for other areas.

Favorite needle method? DPNs. I have done magic loop and knitting in the round on two circs for other things, but don’t have the right size needles for socks.

Favorite sock needles? I’m using Knitpicks Harmony right now. I prefer plastic, bamboo or wooden needles when possible, but have used metal too.

Who do you knit socks for? Me. The only pairs I’ve made for other people have been through sockapalooza.

How many pairs have you knitted to date? More than 10, less than 20 (They're not all here...)

1. P5310031, 2. P5310024, 3. pomatomus III, 4. stuff 007, 5. stuff 005, 6. stuff 003, 7. P1230001, 8. sherbet socks, 9. sockpal

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

What is on your sock knitting to-do list? I have lots of sock yarn in the stash to knit up, and I recently bought some Sundara sock yarn in semi-solid colours so I could try some more complicated cables and/or lace.

What kind of socks to you like to knit-
Striped? Haven’t yet.
Colourwork? I haven't yet, but I'm not against colourwork socks.
Plain Stockinette? Yes.
Cabled? Yes.
Lace? Yes.
Anklets? Yes.
Knee Socks? There are a few I would like to try, but haven’t yet
Solid Colours? Yes, but I prefer a textured pattern when working in solids.
Bright and crazy? Of course. Why knit socks otherwise?
Faux Fair Isle (the yarn doing all of the work)? Mmm… haven’t yet.

Tag a few sock knitters here: Feel free to tag yourself.

Quickie

2008-09-11T02:16:00.002-04:00

Umm, I haven't updated in a bit. I spent three hours working an invisible bind off (from the Fall IK) on the pink Pomatomus that's be waiting to be bound off, only to find out that I had somehow made it too tight. Which is unfortunate, because I had decided to try it specifically because the article claimed it was a stretchy bindoff. I'm sure I just pulled things too tightly, but I couldn't deal with picking it out at that point. So, I have nothing finished to show.

I finally decided not to fly back to Canada for my vacation in October. It was a really tough choice, as I wanted to see family and friends and go to Rhinebeck and all. But, I'm probably moving back next summer, and I'm buying a condo, so once I get home it will be much more difficult for me to get over here again. So, I'm going to meet up with some friends in Aqaba for the Thanksgiving weekend, and then I'm spending some time in Syria and Turkey. It should be a nice couple of weeks.

Umm, so I don't have much else to report. I have actually been reading a fair bit, so maybe I'll try writing a book report at some point (since I don't have any knitting to show).

FO: Cozy Brown Sweater

2008-09-05T04:31:00.004-04:00

So, I started knitting this sweater on a complete and total whim. I traveled back to Canada in March for work, and in a very busy time leading up to my departure, I managed to leave without packing any serious knitting. I largely blame it on not having much on the needles that would be nice to knit in snowy Canada. I did take a skein of Cascade Magnum and needles to make a hat (having discovered during my crazed packing that all of my hats somehow ended up in storage), but I finished that on the plane.

So, I arrived in Kingston with nothing on the needles! (I might be exaggerating, there may have been a sock, but it wasn't much.)

I had come prepared, having scouted the Internet for yarn stores in Kingston ahead of time. Over the week, I visited Gwyn Griffin yarns, and another one that I can't remember right now, and I bought some nice yarns I hadn't seen before.

But in the interests of getting something on the needles quickly, I also went to the T&S (a sort of general store) and bought five balls of Patons Classic Merino in a dark brown (which they call Taupe), a 4.5mm needle, and started swatching.

This sweater is the result, and it worked out pretty well. I had wanted the fronts to be more asymmetrical, but you can actually only see that they are when the zipper is done up all the way to the neck. But it's still a great sweater, light but very warm, and I'm very proud of how I made the cables flow in and out of the ribbing on the sleeves. Also, it was my first effort installing a zipper and I think it looks good.

When I was blocking, I did notice a few small errors (a purl instead of a knit in a place or two), which reminds me that I need to slow down and enjoy the process more, as the final product is nicer when I do that.

Ravelry details

Knit Night

2008-08-21T03:50:00.003-04:00

I hosted my first Knit Night in Khartoum last night! So exciting! I didn't knit much, but I gave an intro lesson and strategised on a crochet project. Mostly it was just chatting in a very comfy way. Exactly the thing I needed.

Some days, I just want to go home…

2008-08-19T04:52:00.001-04:00

Today is a pretty good day, actually, but there are some not so stellar ones around here. Don’t get me wrong, I love living in a foreign country, seeing and doing things I would never manage at home.

But I miss my friends and family at home, and some of the things I used to do. (Oh how I miss my chiropractor!) So when things don’t work as I would like, I definitely have the occasional homesick day. I don’t usually write then, as I’m sure I’d come off as a big whiner, but there really are some interesting things that happen that tell you a lot about life in Khartoum (Sudan – I mention Khartoum specifically because, as the capital, it is very different from the rest of the country)

Let me tell you about my trials and tribulations with electricity in Khartoum. First, I am part of the lucky few that have access to both air conditioning and a generator. The AC is nice when it works, and then the generator powers lights, the fridge and ceiling fans (but not the AC or other high-demand appliances) when the power goes out. Since the power goes out at least once a day (too much demand on a too small supply, which yes, is somewhat related to the growing number of air conditioners in use), the generator is very nice to have indeed. The generator was on a switch, so it only provided power if someone was in the apartment to turn the switch when the power went out, so it wasn’t ideal, but still better than not having a generator at all. I could never, ever drink milk from my fridge without checking whether or not it had gone off though.

The first problem appeared in mid-July, when suddenly the generator was providing too much electricity to my apartment. Enough energy that it managed to short out eight appliances in one go (including two voltage regulators that are deigned to deal with the spikes of electricity that occur regularly with the city supply, the fridge, and both of my radios (for security))! It took a week or so, but the building management fixed the problem (something to do with the ground wire not being properly connected).

Then, at the beginning of August, the switch that changes the apartment electric supply from city to generator broke. Now, a lot of other people live in this city without a generator, but my building was built with the generator in mind. What else would explain the large, east facing windows in a desert country? So a nice Saturday, my only day off on the Civic holiday weekend, was spent lying on my couch while two to five Sudanese men tried to fix the switch. Unfortunately, more parts were needed, so it took a few more days, but did eventually work out.

But the worst was when the original problem suddenly came back for an encore! Three problems and at least twelve appliances broken, in less than a month! The owner of the apartment (who is not the owner of the building) decided he was tired of dealing with this, and told my employer to fix the problem and bill him for it. So, with our own (contractor) engineer, the problem seems to be solved (fingers crossed, knock on wood, and whatever other superstitions exist, as I haven’t had a good go of it yet). And, as a plus, he installed an automatic switch which allows the generator to kick in automatically! No more fumbling for the switch in the dark and less testing of the milk too!

The Rain in Sudan...

2008-08-13T11:56:00.002-04:00

... really does fall on occasion.

And since there's a very limited drainage, most of it sits on the street. It's currently the rainy season here, but this is the first time I've actually seen it rain much during the day. We've had the occasional downpour at night, but nothing else. However, the Nile is quite high right now, so it is definitely raining somewhere south of me.

So, work got a little crazy, as it is wont to do, and I ended up working nine days in a row. Not so tough, but it really cuts into the blogging time. I should have an entire weekend off starting Friday, which will hopefully give me some time to finish a few things up and blog about it too.

firsts

2008-08-02T11:35:00.002-04:00

Stolen from Everybody Loves Saturday Night

Who was your first prom date? We don’t really have prom in Canada, but I accompanied my high school boyfriend Shaun to his grad, and he did the same for me when I graduated.

Do you still talk to your first love? Yes, every so often.

What was your first alcoholic drink? Probably tastes of beer. If you mean the first thing I actually finished, I’d have to go with rum and coke.

What was your first job? Babysitter.

What was your first car? My grandpa bought me a ’90 Mercury Topaz when I moved away for university. It was a good little car, and served me well for all the time I had it.

Who was the first person to text you today? My friend Manasi.

Who is the first person you thought of this morning? I woke up from a crazy dream that involved most of by family this morning.

Who was your first grade teacher? Mrs. Elliot. Not my favourite over the years.

Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane? In grade 11, I lived with a family in Quebec for three months as part of an exchange program. It was a great experience, starting with my first ever (big) plane ride to get there. As a kid, we had a pilot friend who was teaching my parents to fly, so I have vague memories of lots of small airplane rides then.

Who was your first best friend and are you still friends? The first one I remember would be Kimberly in grade one. I haven’t seen her since then, as she moved away after that year.

What was your first sport played? I was a dancer and a gymnast as a kid. I didn’t really play any team sports until I started soccer as an adult.

Where was your first sleepover? I would guess Tamilyn’s house, as we were friends at about the right time, but it might have been Jaylyn’s or Megan’s too. It might even have been my house for all I know.

Who was the first person you talked to this morning? Abdu

Whose wedding were you first in? My sister’s. And she is younger than me.

What was the first thing you did this morning? Made coffee? Actually, petting the cat probably came first.

What was the first concert you went to? Meat Loaf, with Cheap Trick as the opener. It was a great concert, and I still love the music now (although I have a limited tolerance for the length of Meat Loaf songs sometimes.)

What was your first tattoo or piercing? My ears were pierced when I was five or so. I don’t remember the exact age, but I remember not really knowing what they were doing for the first one. I cried for a long time before I agreed to get back into the chair for the second one, and I still moved so that the second hole is crooked.

What was the first foreign country you went to? The US, although only for a day ski trip in high school. Italy w as the first one I stayed overnight in. I moved there after my first year of university to work as a nanny.

What was your first run in with the law? Unless you count a speeding ticket, I’ve never had one.

When was your first detention? In grade six, I got lunchtime detention for a week because I passed around a petition to my classmates that said that the undersigned hate insert name here (the class bully). I also remember getting in trouble for staying in and reading during lunch hour in fourth grade, but I don’t think detention was the punishment.

What was the first state you lived in? Umm, none. I was born in Saskatchewan, but lived most of my life in Alberta.

Who was the first person to break your heart? I respectfully decline to answer this question.

Who was your first roommate? I shared a room with my sister as a kid. After that, it would be Kale (?) in my first year university. I’m not sure if I’ve spelled that correctly, that’s how firmly I’ve put her out of my mind. It wasn’t a good experience.

Where did you go in your first limo ride? We took a limo from the airport once in Vancouver. A bunch of us arrived on the same plane, and the per person cost was the same for four in a limo as for two per cab. (Very exciting, I know)

Serendipity

2008-07-29T15:04:00.005-04:00

So, I was concerned the other day that I had somehow lost a ball of linen yarn, or maybe used all four balls without realizing it. (Still have no idea what actually happened… I blame the gnomes) I had a back, front and sleeve, but only enough yarn for one more sleeve (which would result in a less than useful cardigan). And since I bought this yarn in Lyon on vacation last year, it wasn’t going to be easy to get more.

Amazingly enough, I have a colleague in my tiny office (of four people) who has family in Paris! When he was going for a visit in June, I prepared a stash card with a yarn sample, quantity and address for La Droguerie, and he brought me yarn! Amazing! (It looks exactly like the other cakes of yarn, so I didn't take more pictures. And I’m beyond caring about dyelot, not that this store has them.) I am so inspired, I cast on for sleeve number two today.

In another serendipitous episode, when I was in Kenya in April, I ordered some clothes to be made for me by the design house Kiko Romeo. I paid a good deposit, with the rest to be paid on collection. At the time, a good friend was living in Nairobi, so I thought we would be able to work out delivery in some way. But, by the time the order was ready, she had moved. (she's currently in Zimbabwe!)

What to do!?! A plane ticket to Nairobi for the weekend is more than the value of the clothes. Well, last weekend I went for a walk with a friend, and was introduced to a Kenyan woman working for the UN who was just about to go home for vacation! She's picking up my clothes for me while she's there!

So, even if it's not always true, sometimes things just work out.

Semi-finished knitted something-or-other

2008-07-27T13:13:00.003-04:00

So, I finished knitting something, but I'm not quite sure what it is.

Or, since it's fairly obviously a blanket, maybe the correct expression is I don't know what it's purpose is.

I bought the yarn when I was in Canada in October, and I starting knitting something I was calling the "Airplane Cosy," since I'd spent most of the flights home freezing. I didn't have any of my books/patterns or regular access to the internet, so I was kind of freestyling. And now, I don't know what to do with the results.

I wanted something I could stuff into a bag to keep me warm on the plane. This is both a little too fragile and a little too bulky for that. I suppose I could always tuck it away until I move somewhere a wool blanket would be useful.

If I had planned more, I probably would have made the Tilted Duster. I think this yarn (Ella Rae Palermo) would be a good substitute, but it doesn't respond all that well to frogging. So, I think I'll let it marinate for a while and see.

Hum

2008-07-26T06:05:00.002-04:00

So, I don't have any knitting progress to post (or at least none with pictures ready), but I wanted to post anyway. I had family in town last week (my first visitors! Yay!), so this weekend is a lazy, laundry-doing and not much else kind of weekend. And, I'm enjoying season 1 of Heroes (to the point where I'm debating between napping and watching more tv as the show is just so engrossing!)

Umm, yeah, that's about it for today.

Icarus

2008-07-19T12:01:00.000-04:00

Pattern: Icarus by Miriam L. Felton
Needles: 3.25mm Clover bamboo needles
Yarn: Fyberspates laceweight mohair (I can’t find the yarn on the site: I won it in the prize draws following the Knitting Olympics.)

Size:
Started: Spring 2007 (I seem to have listed September 2007 on Ravelry, but I’m sure that’s wrong; in September 2007, I had just moved to Khartoum, and there’s no way I started a lace shawl then. Must correct. And maybe look at the blog archives to see when I really started.)
Finished July 2008

Mods: None. I thought about adding another repeat to the quill part (and likely have adequate yarn) but I’m glad I didn’t. I was worried it was going to be small, but the magic of blocking has made it much larger.
Notes: This yarn is lovely, but very sticky (mostly to my hands) at times. I especially had problems moving the yarnovers over the joins in the needles when I was fighting the humidity.

As shown yesterday, I did manage to move a stitch marker or two during the ‘quill’ section. I ended up not using markers for the plum bit and it ended up being easier (I’m not sure if that’s what I mean – maybe more intuitive?).

Blocking this wasn’t really a problem, even if it overflowed my foam squares a bit. I did need a lot of pins (which could totally have been avoided if I had seen brainylady’s smart photo first.

Ravelry info

Things I learned while knitting Icarus

2008-07-18T12:39:00.002-04:00

1.Mohair yarn + humidity = bad idea. Look at that fuzz! I started knitting this over a year ago, but quickly put it aside when summer hit in Ottawa. I recently pulled it out for a trip home to ‘Big Sky Country,’ hoping the cooler, dryer summers would help me through. I didn’t quite get it done, but once I returned to Khartoum, I was so far along I just couldn’t put it aside again. But let me tell you, if it’s hot enough out, you make your own ‘humidity.’

2. Stitch markers are your friends, but they still don’t replace counting.

3. Count early and count often, because fixing mistakes in mohair is less fun than it could be.

4. Blocking doesn’t fix everything (unfortunately)

5. I could use a larger blocking surface (and more straight pins, but safety pins did the job in the pinch). But you'll have to wait for the FO post tomorrow to see!

View of Turkey...

2008-07-15T12:25:00.003-04:00

...from the Airport.

Starbucks are pretty much the same, all over the world.

I thought this was a novel idea! It's a charging station for cell phones. You pay a fee to lock your cell phone up in a secure box with the appropriate phone charger. I think it would be very popular here, because people are so dependent on their cell phones.

However, I couldn't quite figure out what this sign was all about. Any ideas? (It's above the toilet in a public bathroom.)

The Terminal: 24-hour version*

2008-07-08T22:40:00.000-04:00

Most of this post was written previously, but not yet posted. Something about not having the pictures ready… ;) I still don’t have the pictures ready, but I’m in the middle of the stupidest bout of jetlag induced insomnia yet (I say that every time. I always know the jetlag is going to be bad, and I’m always shocked by how bad it is. Apparently crossing eight time zones eastwards is more than my body can handle gracefully.) and I determined to do something “useful” after lying awake for many hours over the last few days. It’s currently 5:30am, and I’ve been awake since just after 2. Maybe I’ll add the pictures another day.

-------------------------------------------
So, I had a really impressive flight home from my vacation – and not in a good way! It was already due to be a 36 hour extravaganza of traveling fun, but a strike in Frankfurt and a little mistake in the rebooking made it so much more fun.

Things started reasonably at 05:00, when the alarm went off and everyone rushed around to be out the door by 05:30. North-central Alberta is surprisingly light at that hour. My parents were driving me to the airport, just over 2 hours from our house, and I needed to check in by 08:00 or so for my 09:30 flight. We did so well that we were able to have breakfast together before I headed off through security.

Things started to fall apart when I landed in Toronto. A strike had started in Frankfurt (I still don’t really know the details on that), and my flight was already running late. I spoke to the Air Canada agent where I disembarked, but she couldn’t look up Lufthansa information on her computer, and just told me that they would help me.

So, now we come to a slight error of tactics on my part. I went off and found my gate, and, not finding any Lufthansa people to help me, had lunch. A nearly fatal error. Knowing what I know now, the correct response was to go immediately to the ticketing agent to rebook that flight. Because after lunch, when I realized that my transatlantic flight was at least four hours late and that I would most certainly miss my next flight, it was too late. There was already a line of other people waiting to do just that. A line in which I stood for three hours.

When I reached the next available person (who wasn’t a ticketing agent, but was helping out anyway), we searched for flights that would get me to Khartoum. The next iteration of my original flight wasn’t for two days, so I had to transit through another country if I wanted to get home sooner. Finally, we found a flight through Istanbul that would get me home, less than twelve hours after the original schedule!

Things went reasonably well (apparently too well) from that point on, until I arrived in Istanbul and walked up to the Turkish Airlines desk to check into my flight that evening. I was told, politely, that the paper I was holding showed I was on the 17:50 flight tomorrow… 24 hours from now.

Even that wasn’t enough to really get me down. I decided to leave the airport, get a room and have a good sleep, likely leaving enough time for a short exploration of the city before I had to check in the next afternoon. The visa official told me I didn’t need a visa, so I stood in line and walked confidently up to the passport control. He looked at my passport and pulled out a sheet of paper. He looked carefully at my passport and the sheet of paper again. And then he called his friend over. At which point, I started to get nervous. When the second agent got on the phone, I started to really wonder what was going on. Finally the first agent leaned towards me and said apologetically, “You’re a transit passenger, aren’t you?” To which I said yes, I fly out tomorrow afternoon. And he said, “I’m sorry, but you can’t leave the airport.”

I was stunned. Shocked, even. What was I going to do in the airport for 24 hours? And then I realized the really bad part: because it was too early to check in for my next flight, I couldn’t go into the next portion of the airport, and would be staying in what was essentially a hallway. There were a few metal benches, but not much else (including sources of food or water). So, I made a fuss and had the head rep for Lufthansa called down, and when I still didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, I cried. Not very noble, but it seemed the only option at that point.

That poor rep didn’t really know what to do. The airport hotel was full, and she couldn’t defy the Turkish government. Finally, she smuggled me through to the First Class Lounge, and left me there. For 19 hours. I mean, I know that living in the lounge is better than being on the streets, or a lot of other things I can think of, but still…

All this to say that Turkey didn’t really get a fair shake on my first time through, so I’ll have to go back at some point for (hopefully) a more representative experience. I did quite like the Turks that I met, though. I was a bit taken aback the first time someone started calling, “Lady! Lady!” to get my attention, but that seemed to be the norm.

I also had an interesting moment with the lounge attendant to woke me to ensure I wasn’t the person they were currently holding a flight for. After determining that I was not the person for whom she was looking, she looked at me and said, “You don’t have to sleep.” My sleep addled brain fumbled with that statement for a while, causing her to repeat herself twice. Did she mean that I thought I was being forced to sleep, but didn’t actually have to? Or that Turkish people didn’t need to sleep, so I didn’t need to either? She finally added “You might miss your flight,” at which point I reinterpreted her to mean that I shouldn’t sleep. And then I think I went back to sleep.

Eh, at least I had my knitting!

* All times are approximate in this account, and are based on my personal perception. What I do know is that I was in transit from 06:00 MDT 1 July 2008 until 22:00 KSA 3 July 2008. There’s a 9-hour time difference somewhere in there, but whatever the time really was, it was long.

River City Yarns

2008-07-08T04:10:00.000-04:00

In Edmonton, I dragged an obliging friend (thanks D!) off to River City Yarns before heading off on the rest of my peregrinations. This store, although not that easy to find, was very nice and full of light. They had some spinning supplies, and lots of nice yarn, including a "Made in Canada" corner showcasing all of the great Canadian yarns out there!

I bought some of the lovely new Misti Alpaca laceweight hand dyed in a very subtle cream colour.

The Knitting Room

2008-07-08T03:43:00.001-04:00

While in Calgary, I was also able to visit The Knitting Room. What a great store! It's got tonnes of yarn (including lots of things I'd never seen in person before!) packed in to a small(-ish) space, and the staff were very friendly. (If you look at the photo on the first page of the website, it's a little out of date. There were a lot more shelves in that space, and the table had been moved into the back room.) Also, who can turn down easy free parking?

I bought four hanks of the Estelle Cloud Cotton Eco. This yarn is so soft, I can hardly believe it's cotton! I bought the four hanks left in the colour I wanted... no idea what I'll do with it, but that's never stopped me before. And, I bought Barbara Walker's A First Treasury of Knitting Patterns. As I find myself designing more things, or combining elements from different patterns, I see more and more the value of stitch dictionaries.

Make One Yarn Studio

2008-06-24T22:43:00.000-04:00

Make One Yarn Studio

This is an amazing LYS, I just have to say! Amy has done a really wonderful job with the place. It's very bright and inviting, has a good variety of fibres and price points, and nice, friendly staff. Granted, I was there on a weekday morning, so it was less busy than it might have been, but they made me a pot of tea! And, they had comfy couches for me to sit and knit while and drank my tea, before continuing with the shopping.

And, for full disclosure, I bought two skeins of Dream in Color Classy and a few Zephyr Style patterns: Wicked, Rusted Root and Juliet.

Custom Woolen Mills

2008-06-22T14:49:00.001-04:00

So, I'm back in Canada for a little vacation right now. I was lucky enough in my travels to visit a few fibrey locations, which I thought I might profile (because the rest of my vacation will include a lot of sleep, which just isn't that exciting...)

On 19 June, I stopped by the Custom Woolen Mills. Even though it is a production mill and everyone was hard at work, people took a few minutes to walk me through the process!

First, they wash all of the materials in this huge thing! I was amazed that it doesn't felt, as they use really hot water to get rid of the lanolin, but it comes out the other side just fine.

Then, items that are dyed go through the dye bath.

After they are dry, they need to be prepared. This is the carding machine on the way in. This machine is preparing fibre to be used for sleeping bag/duvets. You can see the machines for yarn production in the top part of the picture. When carding for yarn, the fibre goes through a double carding process, with the second one perpendicular to the first, to ensure the fibres are thoroughly blended.

And this is the out end of the carder. This comes out as a sheet, whereas the yarn system cuts the sheet into a pencil roving as its finished product.

This is the Spinning Jenny, which takes the pencil roving and spins it into yarn. After this, there are a few more steps to end up with skeins for sale.

This is the sock knitting machine! It knits a continuous string of socks with two heels per sock. Then, a person has to cut them apart and finish the second heel as the toe. It looks much less time consuming than my knitted socks!

And the store, of course! I did buy a pound of woolen-spun, worsted weight yarn (as opposed to their worsted spun option... I learn new things from every knitting book... this is from Nancy J Thomas' Tweed book) in a natural grey. ~~Anyway, it's cloudy today, so I will add photos when the sun comes out again.~~ (ETA the photo is now here)

All in all, a very nice afternoon!

Book Meme

2008-06-10T13:00:00.001-04:00

What we have here is the top 106 books most often marked as "unread" by LibraryThing’s users. As in, they sit on the shelf to make you look smart or well-rounded. Bold the ones you've read, underline the ones you read for school, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina
Crime and Punishment
Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi: a novel
The Name of the Rose
Don Quixote (I own)
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
The Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel: the fates of human societies
War and Peace
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveler’s Wife (I love this book)
The Iliad
Emma
The Blind Assassin (I own)
The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway
Great Expectations
American Gods
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Atlas Shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran: a memoir in books
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlesex
Quicksilver
Wicked: the life and times of the wicked witch of the West
The Canterbury Tales
The Historian: a novel
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Love in the Time of Cholera
Brave New World
The Fountainhead
Foucault’s Pendulum (I own)
Middlemarch
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dracula
A Clockwork Orange
Anansi Boys
The Once and Future King
The Grapes of Wrath (I own)
The Poisonwood Bible: a novel (I own)
1984
Angels & Demons
The Inferno (and Purgatory and Paradise)
The Satanic Verses
Sense and Sensibility
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
To the Lighthouse
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
Gulliver’s Travels
Les Misérables
The Corrections
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dune
The Prince
The Sound and the Fury
Angela’s Ashes : a memoir
The God of Small Things
A People’s History of the United States : 1492-present Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Dubliners
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (eta: I may have read this?)
Beloved
Slaughterhouse-five
The Scarlet Letter
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The Mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake : a novel
Collapse : how societies choose to fail or succeed
Cloud Atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey
The Catcher in the Rye
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics : a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance : an inquiry into values
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity’s Rainbow
The Hobbit
In Cold Blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
White Teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield
The Three Musketeers

I might be crazy

2008-06-01T12:30:00.003-04:00

So, I've run into a problem, which has me thinking I'm going out of my mind. When I last worked on this sweater

I was sure I had lots of yarn. Now, I've only got half a skein left, and I'm not sure whether it was me, or the only other person that moves things around my house: my cleaner.

I'm aware that this is going to sound bad. Most people can't even afford a cleaner, so I'm very lucky to be able to have someone. But half of the time, it makes me mental, to the point where I can no longer remember what I've done because someone is regularly moving things when I'm not here.

Anyway, having tossed the stash, I've determined that I don't have any more of this yarn, whatever I may have thought before. Which leaves me with a dilemma: I have more than half of a sweater, and no chance of finishing it unless I find more of this yarn... which I got in France last summer. Anyone have a contact in France who can help me obtain a fifth skein?

(Handknit) Laundry Day

2008-05-30T08:39:00.003-04:00

What's a knitter to do when the water that comes out of the tap is hot enough to burn, and the clothes are always steamy when they come out of the washing machine?

A lot of hand washing! (and yes, these are the clothes I was using when I was in Canada in March. It takes a lot of effort to get me to do hand washing.)

Normally I try to do the easiest thing possible and put things in the washing machine on a gentle cycle and cold water. I don't normally have a problem.

But in Khartoum, our water comes from the Nile and is stored in tanks on the roof of the building before we use it. (I've hypothesized that it both allows sediment to settle out of the water and ensures a basic supply is available when the electricity goes off, but I'm not certain why it's done this way.) The problems is that the tanks are black, and so as soon as we use up the water that's in the pipes inside the building, we're using water superheated by the sun. In this country, solar water heating works too well for most of the year. Given that any agitation would lead to felting of most of these items, I hand wash.

In an unrelated story, has anyone seen Willie Nelson's Ballband Dishcloth hat in the video for "I am a worried man?"

Kenya part1

2008-05-29T11:55:00.004-04:00

Nairobi is a beautiful place! I think what I decided (and friends concur) is that the nice things that Khartoum has are missing in Nairobi, and the nice things about Nairobi are definitely missing in Khartoum. A few examples:

Khartoum has:

Safe streets: you can walk at night or by yourself (within reason) without worrying about your safety
Crazy, but mild, traffic – many roads are unpaved and potholed, but traffic circulates relatively unfettered

Nairobi suffers from:

High crime rates: even trips of a few blocks require a taxi to avoid robbery
Heavy traffic, which can add hours to a commute time, especially with a number of crumbling roads

Khartoum suffers from:

Hot, dry climate, which goes beyond my comfort levels
Brown, with few public spaces. Also a lot of garbage (although I admit that I only saw a small part of Nairobi)
A few good restaurants, "adventurous shopping", limited night life

Nairobi has:

Moderate temperatures, more comfortable for a (this) Canadian
Very green, with lots of public parks (which you can’t use, see number 1 above)
Lots of shopping, restaurants, bars
More diversity

Unfortunately, Sudan seems to have killed my picture taking skills, so I don’t have many from the city itself.

We did go to the Langata giraffe reserve, which was really amazing!

This is a Rothschild giraffe, which are only found in Kenya.

One of the giraffe handlers knew how to get all of the great photos, and he worked with us to get the photos everyone wants...

like the giraffe eating from your hand.

And a good kiss!

Quick update

2008-05-25T15:36:00.002-04:00

I'm back! After a random hunt for a computer store that might have an AC adapter compatible with my laptop, my computer is back in service!

I had planned a bigger post, but all of the scanning associated with turning the computer on after a hiatus has cut into my time. I just thought I'd point out some thoughts on blogging here.

Cut off

2008-05-20T07:15:00.001-04:00

P5170038web
Originally uploaded by knitter_tara.

Well, I had meant to blog about my great trip to Kenya (I stayed at two resorts that I highly recommend: www.shaantihhr.com and www.impiripiri.com), and then we had an attempted coup. And, I've been knitting! So, I've got all of this stuff to talk about, but my computer has forsaken me. I don't think it's a serious issue technically, but I have no idea how I'm going to get it fixed here. So, I'm stuck with occasionally stealth blogging from work and a colleague's computer when I can.

This is a photo fo the Sixth Cataract on the Nile. It doesn't look like much, but it is a little rapid. I drove out of town for the afternoon on the weekend to see it and go for a little boat trip on the Nile. Not overly exciting, I'm sure, but a nice afternoon.

Safe

2008-05-11T05:19:00.001-04:00

P3060098
Originally uploaded by knitter_tara.

Sorry for the snowy picture, totally unrelated to the blog topic, but my computer is having issues, so this is the only way I can post right now.

If you're watching the news, I am safe at home right now, and the situation is calm where I am. I'll try to update when I can.

Another hint

2008-05-06T14:57:00.002-04:00

Look closely... It's not Saskatchewan or the Ukraine, but I certainly did feel at home.

Where in the world

2008-04-30T16:26:00.003-04:00

was tara?

I'm back from a great vacation, so expect lots of pics to come! For now, I need to get some sleep...

A day late is better than not at all

2008-04-08T11:32:00.002-04:00

I saw this the yesterday, but I forgot to post it! Sorry!

Medical Care

2008-04-02T09:23:00.003-04:00

see more crazy cat pics

So, I finally actually had to seek medical care in Sudan, and it went better than I expected. The only real issue was peeing in a cup on a squat toilet. Let's just say it makes a difficult process more so. I am fine, but on antibiotics for the next few days.

Umm, other than that, not too much going on.

Joy!

2008-03-29T03:21:00.000-04:00

see more crazy cat pics

I'm enjoying a good day off!

Temporary disruption

2008-03-19T13:35:00.002-04:00

This blog has gone off-line for reasons beyond our control. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Prepare for a return to regular programming shortly... like, maybe next week.

What do you do with a pile of puppies?

2008-03-06T15:19:00.002-05:00

You cuddle them!

For those who don't know, J's dog Chudder

Who me?

had puppies a 9 days ago, and I was lucky enough to have a little free time to go out and visit!

And, for Nancy, a cat!

Eeyore is big!

Hope to see everyone at Bridgehead on Friday!

What I did…

2008-03-03T12:48:00.003-05:00

On my first days back in Canada!

So, I am back in the country for a little while, mostly for work, although there will be some relaxation as well.

1. I knit a hat!

Interestingly enough, even though my skin is still dry and parched, this took three or four times as long to dry here as it would have in Sudan. Since its now warming up (to a balmy –4C), I don’t know how much I’ll need it. I suppose the weather is always volatile, so it will probably cool down again at some point. ~~(There's no picture yet, because its still wet!)~~

2. I also knit a swatch.

I did a very poor job of packing before I left. (I’ve counted at least a dozen things that didn’t make it into my bag, and I’m sure that number will continue to grow. I know I can buy anything I need here, but I find it frustrating to be replacing things I already have tonnes of at home: running shoes, bathing suits, lotion, soap, face wash, hair elastics, etc.) Anyway, I didn’t pack nearly enough knitting or reading material, so I’ve purchased supplies in both of those areas. I’m thinking of a top-down cabled cardigan in some Patons Classic Merino.

3. Shopping: What is it about this country that makes me instantly want to buy everything? I have yet to shop for much beyond food in Sudan, and yet I’ve spent a couple of hours shopping each day of the weekend.

4. Reverse Culture Shock: Somewhat surprising, since it’s only been four months since I was last in Canada, but it is definitely here. It started with the lights of Amsterdam (so many!), and was compounded by entering the country as a visitor (according to the CBSA, I am no longer a resident, since I, you know, don’t live here). Everything is so big, and spread out, and I’m needing to adjust to driving in a law-abiding society (stop signs are more than suggestions, and when people honk at you here, you are probably actually doing something wrong) and there is just so much stuff! My jet-lag is wearing off, which is helping, and I’m starting to adjust, but it still feels weird to be sitting here.

FOrama!

2008-02-23T11:24:00.002-05:00

I finally finished my Gatsby Girl! It only took a few hours to seam the sleeves to the body and do the crochet and buttons at the neck edge, and it looks very good! I do think its a little short in the body, so I'm thinking about picking out the cast on edge and adding an inch or two. I have the extra yarn. However, that's a lot of work, so I think I'll wear it a few times!

I also thought I'd get around to posting pictures of a few other things. This is a little vest knit in Handmaiden Stretto! I knit it in one piece from the back, over the shoulders and down the front again. I knit the front a bit longer than the back, and then made them match up by gathering the side seam around the chest area. I quite like it, but you know, its a bit hot here for wearing.

Here's the scarf I was making with my last skein of Noro Kureyon and some Wool of the Andes. It will match the mitts I made with the first skein of Noro (although I think they're in storage, so it will be a few years before I get to wear them together). I will be wearing this in the snows of Canada in only a few days.

And, since I realised that I had never posted a picture of it, this is my finished Olympic sweater!

All project details are on Ravelry!

Feminism relies on us all

2008-02-16T04:14:00.002-05:00

I've been trolling around the internet a lot lately, looking for inspiration, and I don't know what else. This article is amazing, and I'm thinking about grabbing the book when I'm back in a place with book stores.

I'm also really enjoying the Inspiration Project.

Where do you turn to for inspiration?

13 Questions

2008-02-16T03:08:00.003-05:00

Um, I'm tired, but I haven't posted in a while, so here's a meme...

1. Childhood ambition?

Architect

2. Best/worst weather (choose one)?

Best: Cool, crisp fall day with a bit of a breeze, and a few clouds in the sky, but sunny.

3. Favorite food?

So many... right now, its probably popcorn, or these cranberry pumpkin crisps I bought last time I was in Canada

4. Current book?

I just finished reading the Inheritance of Loss (Kieran Desai)... and I'm not sure what I'll read next.

5. Guilty pleasure?

Magazines - not tabloids or People, but things like Glamour, Marie Claire, knitting or other crafts, travel, house design... I'll read almost anything, but I feel guilty buying them because of all of the paper.

6. One quirk?

Oh, I have tonnes, but... I find it really hard to skim through magazines. I usually read them straight through without skipping anything. Thus, I dislike magazines that stick the ends of stories in the back, as it forces me to jump around to finish the story and see the end before I get there...

7. Something you’ve never done that most people have:

Broken a bone? I guess I don't really know what most people do.

8. Favorite drink:

Chai latte

9. Oddest job you’ve had:

I was once hired to paint corals at a horse farm. And although I didn't get paid for it, I once tarred the outside of the basement of a house we were building.

10. Last song you listened to (on purpose, not on the radio):

Cupid's Revenge

11. Cities/towns/villages you’ve lived in, in chronological order:

(I'm leaving out the multiple moves between places, and only listing the first time I lived in a place) Moose Jaw, SK; Wainwright, AB; Calgary, AB; small town at the southern tip of Lago Majore, Italy; Annemasse, France; Jericho; Ottawa, ON; Khartoum, Sudan

12. Teenage ambition?

Um, to get married and have kids (at one point)

13. Movie you’d most like to be a character in:

The Golden Compass

Mission Possible

2008-02-16T02:30:00.003-05:00

(also known as 'better late than never')

So, I signed up for Mission Possible ages ago, and then never got around to posting my twelve goals for the year.

1. long socks in Mountain Colours Barefoot, stalled a year ago by the loss of a needle (finish ribbing on two socks)
2. Souvenir Scarf (graft two pieces together, block)
3. ~~Baby surprise jacket (purchased yarn for several, need to make at least one)~~ finished!
4. Icarus Shawl ETA:I have been working on this! 20/06/08
5. Samus cardigan (rework to fit me or gift)
6. ~~my own scarf~~ finished!
7. ~~Gatsby Girl (sew arms to body, crochet neck edging, add buttons) hopefully in time to wear in March!~~ finished! on time too!
8. Colourwork Vest (finish or frog)
9. baby blanket and the box of grandma's acrylic (?)
10. make a top that fits from some of my extensive bamboo yarn collection
11. finish spinning the orange roving from Rhinebeck 2005 and knit something from it
12. ~~catalog and organise stash!~~

Tired

2008-02-15T03:58:00.002-05:00

I got home last night from a four-day work trip, and somehow I'm tired to the bone. I had big plans to go to a friend's party last night, but instead I was in bed by nine, and I slept almost 12 hours! (After subtracting the time spent petting an anxious Spooky cat) I have a very relaxing day planned, starting with a bath, late lunch with friends and a massage! (Have I mentioned that I love the Thai massage place here? Cause I do!) At some point, I do need to do some grocery shopping and good stuff like that, but for now, not so much.

Good weekends...

2008-02-09T03:51:00.000-05:00

make for poor blog posts. At least while I'm in the midst of it.

It's Saturday morning, and I've already had a lovely dinner with friends, a day spent wandering around the pyramids and other archaeological sites, and a night dancing on a rooftop under the stars. So, today I'm a little tired, a little achy. I'm going to work out my issues at the Thai massage this afternoon, and then I have a baby shower for a friend! I'm not really done my portion of the planning, so that has to happen at some point. And, I really should go to work, as tomorrow will be crazy preparing for a work trip starting Monday. Somehow, I don't see that happening.

Anyway, I have been knitting, and I've even finished something...

The gift for the baby shower this afternoon!

Project Specs:
Pattern: EZs Baby Surprise Jacket from The Opinionated Knitter
Yarn: Dale of Norway Svale, a cotton, silk and viscose blend
Needle: 3.00mm bamboo straights
Modifications: I slip stitched around the neckline to add short ties, as I don't have any suitable buttons in my stash, and there is a definite lack of crafting supplies here. I did the buttonholes though, in case they're needed at a later date.
Total project time: 1 week, or thereabouts
Notes: I had to restart this project 3 or 4 times, as I seem to be incapable of making the double decreases line up. I ended up having to use markers, which upped the work a bit (knit to stitch before marker, slip stitch, drop marker, k2tog, psso, move stitch back to left needle, replace maker, move stitch back to right needle, continue knitting...) but my decreases (and later increases) all line up. I was frustrated, and also running out of time, which was why I decided to knit on when I realized I was knitting across only 89 stitches (look at the left hand front near the edging). Now that it's done, I can see that I would be much happier had I fixed that, but it needs to be gifted now.

Internet-less

2008-02-03T01:21:00.001-05:00

P1230001
Originally uploaded by knitter_tara.

I had big plans for blogging/ravelry/facebook this weekend, and then the internet went down... So, I'm stealth blogging this from work just to say that I'm still alive and kicking, even if my computer is essentially useless to me right now...

Happy February all!

Life

2008-01-27T14:04:00.000-05:00

I haven't been posting as much lately, because I've been working quite a bit. We've been having renovations done at my building, mostly on the weekends, to limit the disruption, and a staff member has to be there at all times while the contractors are in the building. So, in an office of only four people, with at least one person absent at any given time, the people who were around spent a lot of time at the office. So, tonight I've been relaxing on my couch, catching up on my blogs and reading some new ones! First, I've been going through some of the finalists from the Canadian Blog Awards. And, there's the Make-My-Day bloggers meme thing. I've found Juno's and Dr. Steph's lists, and have enjoyed them so much that I will continue to look for others. I could also make up my own list, or do any of the other new memes I saw, but today seems to be more about reading than writing. I also saw the blog for the 52 Projects book, and I'm quite interested. I may have to order a copy for myself. I have been looking at ways to get creative.

I haven't seen a new movie in ages (I did just watch The Kingdom on DVD), but I look forward to seeing this one! I have both of the books, and found them to be quite engaging.

Hmmm, I suppose I should go to bed.