Domestically Challenged

Happy Halloween!!! (Updated!)

(left to right) Kristin (French maid), Bree (Wonder Woman), Sarah (detective)

I took this picture Saturday at Malone's in Ottawa.  Mr. Something Something, a great band, was playing at a private party we crashed. 

Updated!

Because so many people inquired about my costume, here is a picture of what I wore to work today.  My office had a Halloween Party and there was a costume contest.  About three weeks beforehand, we were assigned to groups to come up with a theme costume.  My group decided to be the "Elle-lements".  I was fire.

We also had a pumpkin carving contest.  I made Sponge Bob!

 

I won't post any pictures of the school girl costume I wore on Saturday night though as none of them are really appropriate!

My Wedding Dress!!!

This past weekend I went to Toronto and bought my wedding dress!!!!  I really wish I could post a pic of it or the link to dress' website but Costin does occassionally read my blog and I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.  Suffice to say that it is amazing and makes me look really hot.  I can't wait to post the wedding pics in May.  There is only one thing that worries me about the dress.  The shop owner convinced me to order it in a size 8.  Will I be a size 8 in 7 months???

The happiness at the dress shop was slightly marred by tragedy.  The life of my favourite bra, the one I wear most days (if I need to wear a bra), ended suddenly on the floor of Bridal Fashion Fraire (this was probably supposed to be Flare, but I think someone's accent did them a disservice).  One single snap of the underwire and it was gone.  I was beside myself.  I had tried to get other bras in the same style as this one in the past but it was apparently no longer in style at La Senza...until now!  The next day while at the Eaton Centre with Costin, I was able to replace it at La Senza Express (what's up with the "express"?  "Emergency, I need a bra, stat!"  Is this a common problem?, asks someone with only one really good bra.)

             

FOs on Parade (Part 2)

Thanksgiving was a very productive time for me. Not only did I block my shawl but I also managed to weave in the ends on Lil’Z’s baby blanket and give it to Jenn.  I can only hope that Z likes her blanket as much as her sister likes hers. Jenn really likes the Brown Sheep Cotton Ease because she can just throw it in the wash and it is still soft.  It’s too bad all of the yarn I use to knit stuff for my nieces isn’t as forgiving.  Maybe I should use cotton ease for the next sweaters I make for them. No mom wants to handwash, no matter how pretty or soft the baby alpaca yarn is. The monogrammed baby blanket pattern from Erika Knight’s Simple Knits for Cherished Babies was perfect TV knitting.  I don’t know what I was complaining about when I started the blanket – I guess I knit a lot faster now than I did when I made the first one.

         

                  this picture was taken pre-blocking

Speaking of Erika Knight, I really want to buy Knitting for Two. I was checking it out on Monday at Yarn Forward and the cute little pictures were enough to make me forget that babies = no sleep, no quiet, no time (for knitting!) and a lot of poo.

FOs on Parade (Part 1)

       

I’m not sure what possessed me to do it, but July 2005, I cast-on my first shawl. At 26, I didn’t have any desire to wear a shawl, let alone knit one. I am not the shawl type. But there was just something about the picture of the woman accompanying the pattern.  Even Lisa felt it.  In the comments she wrote:

“I've been thinking about knitting that shawl only because of that picture. I never wear shawls, and I have nothing to wear shawls to. Nonetheless, I keep thinking that someday this fall I'll be at a romantic farmhouse with a bigass flower in my hair, and I'll just need to be wrapped in a shawl like that.”

Under the model’s spell, I cast on using a gorgeous Fleece Artist silk/kid blend in a yummy cranberry colour.  I finished the shawl fairly quickly, but unsure about borders or blocking, I shoved the FO deep into my stash.  Right before Thanksgiving 2006 (more than a year later!), I decided to be bold.  I knew there were plenty of cat-free space perfect for blocking in my parents' house where no one would step on all of the tiny pins (well, no one except Stevie). Apparently, I didn’t use enough tiny pins.  Now there is an uneven spider web-like effect all along the edge of the shawl. Although unintended, the effect looks cool and makes me want to add a proper border.  But which border?  Do I use the same yarn?  Do I knit or crochet?  What do you think?

Tennis Pro

People have been asking me how Minchie is doing after her traumatic move to Ottawa.  Although she is fighting with the other cat we now live with and is lamenting the loss of the charmed life she enjoyed chez Eden, she is coping quite well by putting all of her energy into tennis.

      

PS: I have just finished the first repeat on the second side of the DNA scarf - can I finish another one tonight??? 

Get over it, it's just socks

I hate these socks and it’s all sue’s fault.

This summer, sue began knitting her very first pair of socks.  To encourage her, I lent her the Yarlot’s Knitting Rules.  At each phase, sue would describe what she learned.  She even told me that after reading that the Harlot prefers a long-tail cast-on because it gives more stretch at the top of the socks, she noticed many of her hand knit socks were not very stretchy at the top and thus she suspects were not made with a long-tail cast on.  At the time, I was knitting the vesper socks.  I had not used a long-tail cast-on and was suddenly self-conscious.  In fact, I was sure that because of this knowledge, I would always feel the tightness of the improper cast-on around my calf like a vice. Why had she told me that? She must have known it would drive me bonkers and was trying to sabotage me. SUE, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME???  Of course, there is the possibility that sue is innocent.  There was no way for her to know that I hadn’t done a long-tail cast-on and I’ve never known sue to be mean to anyone. Why am I such a neurotic freak? Why can’t I just tell myself:

“Dude, so you didn’t do a long-tailed cast-on. Get over it, it’s just socks. Don’t you have anything better to worry or fret about, like…uh…planning your wedding or something?  Besides, you’ve coveted this yarn for months.  Enjoy it a little.”

Even though one sock is complete and I have just turned the heel on the other, I have had to fight every urge to rip them out and start again.  Maybe I should just keep repeating that little pep talk to myself and … be placated by the thought that I may unravel the cast-on edge to make the socks longer.

I didn't cheat

I am actually impressed that I finished all the DNA repeats on Ravi's scarf before casting on my toque.  Thankfully, I made my goal public to increase the guilt factor if I didn't.  Here's the blurry evidence:

It only took 3 cast-ons to finally get my toque right.  The gauge of my yarn is a little smaller than what the pattern calls for, so I added an entire cable repeat.  I decided this after I had completed 9 rows of ribbing over 108 sts, though. There was some ripping.  I then calculated that I should add 12 sts and cast-on again.  However, once I got to the cable part of the pattern (after 9 rows of ribbing), I realized I had only cast-on 116 sts - 4 sts short.  Finally, I think I have it right.

I really love this Fable yarn although I'm not sure it's really cabled-hat material (ha - that pun is for you, sue).  My fingers are crossed that it turns out well, even though there is an upcoming instruction in the pattern that I really don't get.