Thursday, August 28, 2008

When you're right, you're right!

I took the Spanky outfit to Nat's place today and she put it on Sophia (quite hilarious trying to find a wee hand & arm in that sweater that won't fit her for at least 4 months!). And I was right - the colour is amazing on her. Proud papa put the hat on her - and it goes over her entire head! She didn't like that at all.
Sophia has the most amazing eyes- they're a strange combination of Alberto's dark-brown-almost-black and Natalie's greyish green - in certain light they almost look purple. That girl is going to be a stunner!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Knitters for Knockers

Doesn't that grab your attention?
What a creative way to raise money for breast cancer research! On the Knitters for Knockers site, there is a pattern for the loveliest pair of socks, done in a lace pattern called 'hibiscus'. You pay for the pattern, and it goes toward the designer's fundraising for the Weekend to End Breast Cancer in Toronto on September 6-7.
I'm still at the parents'. As soon as I get home on Sunday, I'm taking a credit card from the secret hidey-no-usey place and buying the pattern. Beautiful socks and a great cause!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Woo hoo!


Am officially finished my Olympic events. Here are the finished gloves. Me likey!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Could this be any sexier?


Here's the first Criss-Cross glove from Naughty Needles. I chose hot pink ribbon - I think it gives it that certain je ne sais quoi. Actually, je sais exactement quoi, but I don't think it needs to be vocalized.

Monday, August 18, 2008

sickiepoo

Accompanied my sister, her husband & my niece to the Toronto Zoo on Saturday. Much fun had for all. Avery's favourite animal is the monkey, and they've taught her baby sign language, so she does the sign for 'monkey', scratching under her arms and making little 'hoo hoo' noises. Too funny. She did it at the baboon habitat and won over all that were there. Of course.
Leaving the gift shop, I said to Deanna, 'my throat hurts'. Woke up Sunday morning feeling like absolute poo. The big elephant kind that we saw at the zoo. So I slept pretty much all day, but I'm feeling better.
Also feeling better because I was flipping through the latest Vogue Knitting magazine I picked up (amazing mitten patterns!) and there's a whole focus on Canadian knitting/knitters. One of the designers called herself a typical Canadian knitter, saying she has about 8 projects on the go. I don't feel bad now for having 3 or 4 on the go and more in the planning stages! I'm actually below average - must pull up my socks. Or at least cast them on.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

One down, one to go!


I'm no Michael Phelps, but here is my first finished event object for the Ravelry Ravelympics! Cute little outfit for my friend Natalie's baby Sophia Belle, born at the end of June. I hope she likes it! Wee Sophia is a hottie latina already, with dark skin, hair and eyes, so I think the colour will be amazing on her.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Why reading the instructions is essential

So I'm working on my WIP for the Ravelympics. Finished the hat, pieced the sweater and started to do the French knots when I realized that I was supposed to pick up & knit the neckband before stitching both shoulder seams. Grrr...
So no big deal, I'll just do it on double-pointed needles, right? Yeah, well, I'm down at my parents' place and my mum doesn't have the needle collection that I do. I'm hoping she's got a set of 4 1/2 dps, but I have my doubts. Thinking I'll be shopping for needles tomorrow!
In the meantime, I'm winding a skein of my Berocco alpaca into a ball to start my Naughty Needles criss-cross gloves for my Glove Decathlon event. Black fingerless long gloves with hot pink ribbon lace up. Oh yeah. And matching garter. Ooo baby.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Why do I bother?

Got my new issue of Interweave Knits today in the mail. I don't know why I bothered to subscribe. It is, as usual, full of interesting articles and amazing patterns to drool over.
My problem? I already have too many things on the go! It just makes me sad because I don't knit fast enough, or have enough arms. I wish I were the Hindu goddess Lakshmi - she has many arms with which to knit! Lucky her. I only have 2, and 2 hours at the hospital today informed me that I have severe tendonitis in one. Knitting is very slow today, even with massive doses of ibuprofen and constant icing.
Off to the parents' tomorrow. My dad had hip replacement surgery on Friday, and he gets out tomorrow. Can you believe it? So I'm heading down to help out. Was supposed to go down yesterday, but I had a very sore throat, and I didn't want to take any germies down to dad.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Baby Geniuses and Co-ordinated Knitting


My older sister and her sweet little girl were up this week. So here is a pic of Avery performing her first scientific experiment - is dog food magnetic? Results were negative. Her writeup and following of scientific method require some practice, though. She won't be seen in Scientific American for a while.



Zooming away tonight on my WIPs Wrestling for the Ravelympics, and I noticed something funny - I'm totally coordinated tonight! The flash makes the nail polish a wee bit green, but it's actually closer to the yarn colour. Tee hee!

Sunday, August 3, 2008

When the cat's away...

I love it when my landlords are away. Don't get me wrong; I love my landlords. They're amazing. But in the summer I'm a night owl, and they have small children. So I need to be quiet at 2 in the morning. But not this weekend!!
So it's nearly 2am and since midnight I've done laundry, cleaned the bathroom, washed dishes and I'm currently on a very loud Eddie Izzard marathon whilst knitting. Clang, clang, clang, quack.
I think in a moment I will reheat my leftover sushi from yesterday (yes, you read that right, reheat. It was a cooked one) without worrying about stopping the microwave before that superloudannoying BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
My boygirlfriend is talking about the grocery store right now (evil trolleys, actually), but it's made me remember that the A&P is open 24 hours now, so I can shop without evil tourists running up my legs with their trolleys. Do I need anything? Really need, not just ice cream. No. Eddie's on.
OMG, this is the funniest. I only shaved one leg! How on earth did I do that? Now it's going to drive me nuts.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Not Related to Knitting in the Least

I'm on an Eddie Izzard kick right now - watching Dress to Kill and peeing myself I'm laughing so hard. It's at the Great Escape bit. Man, this guy is hilarious.
My gossip bitch, Lainey finally added names to the Freebie 5 so I could do my authentic 5. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of the Freebie 5, it is not actually a Lainey original, but has been around for a long time. They are the 5 men (or women, if you prefer. It's Canada, it's allowed) that, if given the chance, you could shag with absolutely no repercussions from your partner. I have no partner, but I do have a Freebie 5. And my top 2 were never on Lainey's list. I told her she needed to add my #1, but #2 is a new one - he was always in the top 10, but now I'm on an Eddie kick, so he's there. So here, because I know you want this information, is my Freebie 5:


1. Richard Armitage - first introduced to me as John Thornton in the BBC adaptation of North & South (that would be Victorian novelist Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South, not the american civil war version). This man smoulders so well he kicked Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy right off my 5! Then, later, he married the vicar (deliciously funny Dawn French) in the Vicar of Dibley.
2. Eddie Izzard. Fantastic transvestite male lesbian British comedian/actor. Here's a pic of him in male guise. See yesterday for him in his glorious lingerie. You may have seen him in Mystery Men, Ocean's Twelve/Thirteen, or on tv in The Riches. Brilliantly intelligent and ever so funny.
3. Johnny Depp. If you haven't heard of him, you don't live on this planet. Lainey doesn't have him on her 5, because she says that Johnny is forever. I see her point, but I ain't looking for forever. (edit: I feel the need to add, as the intellectual snob that I am, that I have been in love with Johnny since Edward Scissorhands. So for those of you who have only loved him since Captain Jack Sparrow, BIG RASPBERRY!!)
4. George Clooney. Never got it when he was on ER, then I saw him in Out of Sight with the hideous Jennifer Lopez. Now I get it. When I finally get my Basset Hound, he will be named George. I think it's the puppy eyes.
5. Sean Bean. I've been in love with him since seeing him in the Sharpe's series. Most of you know him as Boromir in LOTR. He's generally the hero in his British stuff, and the bad guy in Hollywood. He has been described as 'the thinking woman's bit of rough'. Yum! But he is rough - he just got arrested for hitting his latest wife, but she's saying it was blown out of proportion. Yeah, right. His first wife left him because he loved football more than her. But hey, the 5 is only for 1 night. I could deal with that.