Domestically Challenged

Handspun

When I first started knitting, I didn't really get handspun. Now I can't get enough. In fact, it's safe to say that I am currently obsessed with it. The first hank of handspun I ever touched was made into this hat:

You can't tell from the picture but this yarn was soft. The base yarn was just so yummy that I felt empty after I had knit my way through the hank. I was left wanting more. Then the withdrawal started. I didn't think it would be so quick but soon I was scouring the internet hoping to get a fix. Bingo, I bought 3 more skeins in different colourways/fibre combos. If only I can survive until they arrive in the mail. I'm scared that these skeins will knit up just as quickly as the first one and that I won't be able to rest until I've bought every single skein of handspun that this spinner has. Man, I've got it bad!

Believe it or not, I hardly knit a stitch last weekend. My younger sister and her husband flew to SD from Ontario for three days. I know, they are amazing! In addition to doing all of the requisite sightseeing, we ran a half-marathon in Carlsbad on Sunday morning. Much like the last half marathon I ran, I did not really train for this one. Neither did my husband, nor did my sister. We decided that our only goal was to be faster than the guy picking up the cones to close the course. I was amazed that we all finished the race without injury. Mary and I even crossed the finish line upright and holding hands (my husband ditched us in pursuit of a <2hr time and was successful). This run was so much fun and the course was so gorgeous that I think I may start training for a marathon in May (early May, Jess, don't worry). Anyone want to run it with me?

Slings are the new black

I have gotten an amazing response on the slings. I really can’t take all of the credit, though. Stephanie is so talented and her photos are breathtaking. I bet she could make me look like a supermodel in print.

 

Since this picture went up on flickr, I’ve been scouring the internet for cream, thick and thin handspun. I want to make these one of a kinds and using different yarns definitely helps make each piece unique. Anyone out there looking to sell their soft, undyed, think and thin singles?

I’ve also been working on some new hat designs. These two are currently my favourites: Cheezy Poofs (obviously) and Rootie.

 

 

Pinch Knits

So far 2009 is turning out to be my busiest yet. After hemming and hawing about it for months, I finally opened Pinch Knits. I was waiting until my banner was finished to do the official opening, but was too excited to wait. On January 1st, I posted my first hat. A few hours later, I made my first sale. It was exhilarating. Suddenly, all of my spare time has been dedicated to thinking about the wee-ones. Then, last week, Stephanie posted this picture of my knitted sling on her Flickr photostream:

 

Now all I do is think about how to hang them. This is my stork bag and I'm so pleased with how it turned out (sorry N&M for knitting it obsessively during your visit). Aren't Steph's photos amazing?

I am making these on a custom order basis. If you are interested, please contact me at pinchknits [at] gmail [dot] com.

Holidays (part 2)

Remember that engine light that appeared in Part 1 of this story? Well, it never did go off the whole time we were in Sudbury. It was soon joined by a message to change the oil which we also attributed to the sub-(absolute) zero temperatures we experienced up North. Looking back, we should have heeded these warnings instead of foolishly thinking that nothing bad would actually happen. But it did happen. On our way back to Toronto, our rental car broke down 56 km outside of Sudbury.

We had been happily driving along, engine light on and "change oil" scrolling across the instrument panel, when a new light appeared and began flashing. It was a symbol I had never seen before - a lightening bolt between parentheses. Then my husband reported that the car would not accelerate no matter how much he hammered on the gas. I reached into the glove compartment for the owner's manual and discovered that this light meant that the electric throttle control was angry.What's an electric throttle control, anyway?

There really isn't much 56 km outside of Sudbury, but my husband managed to get us to a tiny gas station in French River. Fortunately, my older sister had given us her husband's old cell phone (she had gotten him a new one for Christmas and the old one would be deactivated at midnight) in case we ran into trouble. Unfortunately, the Bell service where we broke down was spotty. This led to much frustration and gros mots from my husband, who eventually had to make all of his calls from an outdoor payphone.

Luckily, despite the lack of an indoor payphone, the gas station was a good place to be stranded. There was a cafe where we could warm up with some hot drinks and the people working there on Christmas Eve were extremely friendly and full of Christmas Spirit. Everyone was wearing a Santa-inspired costume and was in a great mood. This was much appreciated after two hours of arguing with different people, in different languages, outdoors in the cold. Apparently, there was much confusion as to where exactly the only gas station at the corner of Hwy 64 and Hwy 69 was, even after we gave them the postal code. We did learn, though, that in Canada, when dialing into an automated service, you can skip right to a live person by choosing the "Francais" option.

We were eventually rescued by the nicest guy and owner of Pointe-au-baril Towing. He drove us, and our broken down rental car, to Sudbury where we had been assured that a new rental car would be waiting. The tow truck driver wasn't so optimistic. In fact, when we pulled into the Enterprise, the staff came out to see what was going on. The tow truck driver rolled down his window, jerked his thumb towards the bed of the truck and asked, "Do you know anything about this?" We were met with blank stares. As the tow truck driver suspected, that Enterprise did not have any cars left. However, the van that they used to pick people up (cuz that's their schtick) was available. It was at the other Sudbury location, though. Luckily, one of the employees, who was actually leaving to drive up to Timmins to celebrate Christmas with his family, could drop us off on the way.

It all worked out fine in the end. I got to spend an additional night with my family, we weren't charged for keeping the rental car an additional 3 days and we made it back to Toronto safe and sound. I wish we had had more time to spend in Toronto, though. There were so many people we didn't get to see and so much yarn I didn't get to buy (I missed Lettuce Knit's epic sale). I'm happy we got to spend so much time with our families, though. I guess our friends will just have to come visit us in sunny SoCal.

Holidays (part 1)

I just got back from Ontario where my husband and I celebrated Christmas with our families. We flew in to Toronto, at midnight, just after it had been pummeled with 15" of snow in a storm the news outlets had baptized "Snowmageddon". After fretting that the flight would be canceled, I was ecstatic that we had an uneventful arrival. Well, that was until we tried to get into my MIL's house. As we stood shivering on the front steps at 1:30 am, my husband realized he had left his keys at home.

Where's the spare key?

The spare key?

Yeah, the key you hide outside in case you get locked out?

......

Ok, well, how do you break in to this place?

I don't know. I didn't grow up in this house.

Although we had promised my MIL that we would not wake her up, it quickly became evident that she was the only way, short of breaking a window, that we were getting inside. Despite 20 minutes of obscene doorbell ringing, we were still on the front steps.

Why don't you just call her on your cell?

[Laughter]

We haven't gotten new cell phones since moving to the US and often make jokes about calling each other on our cells (1^st piece of evidence that I actually need a cell phone). Did I mention it was freezing outside? It slowly dawned on us that my MIL was not waking up and that we would have to walk 20 minutes to the nearest gas station to call her (or to call a cab to take us to a hotel). I opened my suitcase, piled on layers of clothing and encouraged my husband to do the same. I think he put on his winter coat. Then, we stashed the suitcases around back and made our way out into the snow. After 8 minutes of trekking through the unplowed streets in my running shoes (my boots were in storage at my MIL's), we spotted a man salting his driveway. Normally, I'm pretty shy about asking favours from strangers but I soon found myself marching up to him and asking if he had a phone we could use. I was so cold and tired that when he pulled out a cell phone, I could have kissed him on the mouth. Strangely, my MIL answered on the first ring.

The next morning we got up bright and early to pick up our rental car, pick up my brother, and drive to Sudbury. Only two minor things happened on the way out of town. The first was that the engine light appeared on the console as we left the Enterprise lot. Not wanting to break down en route, we made a U-turn and tried to exchange it. The sales rep assured us that the car had just been serviced and that there was nothing wrong with the engine. The light must be on because of how cold it is outside (-40^oC). The second was that we couldn't find my brother once we got to the TTC station. I ran in and dialed his number on the payphone (2^nd piece of evidence that I need a cell phone).

Where are you?

I'm at Downsview Station.

Which part are you in?

The satellite part where the cabs are.

I'm in the satellite part but there are no cabs here.

By this point, Costin had joined me inside the station. He turned to the only other person and asked,

Is this the only pick up area at Downsview station?

Buddy, you're at Wilson Station.

The rest of the trip to Sudbury was uneventful.

 

Gifting knits:

I was so glad that everyone liked the handknits I gifted this year.

In fact, I didn't see my brother take his socks off the whole time I was I home, nor did my brother-in-law abandon the MacDuff toque (even indoors). Success!

Now for the loot:

I was very lucky and received some amazing presents from my family - I'll skip right to the knitting related ones, though. I got three amazing skeins of yarn: 2 skeins of malabrigo sock, one in Turner and one in Rayon Vert (my older sister admitted to reading the blog) and a skein of STR lightweight in the Lettuce Knit colourway. There are so many different colours in this yarn, I'm curious to see how it will knit up. Oh, to live near Lettuce Knit again. <sigh> It's funny how a yarn can make you nostalgic.

 

 

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday Season and a very Happy New Year! Did Santa bring you any yarn?