Back Home with Big FOs

I've returned from my amazing week in gorgeous sunny Cuba. Me and the hook spent some quality time together, but I also just relaxed and snorkled and played tennis. My poor boyfriend got sick (again- 3 trips, twice he's gotten sick) but otherwise it was a great time.


I spent most of this day working to get my dress finished for dinner that night...

I did! My mom liked it so much she made me go pose for a picture which I promptly grabbed when I got home to show off.
I love the dress. Cozy and soft but not so warm I can't wear it somewhere tropical (as the one woman who saw it partway suggested- oh, she said, that must be only for Canada!). It's snuggly and comfy and I'm already wearing it like crazy.


Before I went away I finished this sweater. It had 3/4 length sleeves, but I decided that was silly and went full length for them. It's really snuggly and great for layering. I definitely need a long sleeve shirt under it to keep my arms properly warm.


This is what I finished yesterday. It is the most dreamy, soft lovely shawl. It's Debbie Bliss Angel and Party Angel, striped in a simple feather and fan pattern. It's huge and super cozy and so touchable. I may be cuddled up in it right now.

I really am doing a lot of cozy and snuggly kinda projects right now. Winter is settling in. We have Cascade Pastaza on sale at work and I have some sitting in my cubby that's going to be a cardigan (once I can afford some more yarn!). Also some mohair we have for a fantastic price- I have no idea what it's going to be, but I love it.

I'm working on a cardigan for my nephew right now. It's all fuzzy yarn and it's going to have little bear ears on the hood. Bear ears! So cute!
I was also making a pair of socks for me via a tutorial with no gauge. I knew it was risky but I thought it would be fine. Well, I wore the first one for awhile and realized that I couldn't lie, it was way too big. I made Andrew try it on... and it's perfect on him. And he said it was comfy. So... I'm making the second one now for him. Sigh. Next ones will be mine!

I really need to get a move on my angora mittens, though. Once it gets really cold my thin mitts just won't cut it... Ah, life is hard. Ha.

Next post I will share my craft related Christmas gifts. People knit for me! And got me yarn!

On My Way!

Tomorrow we head off to holiday things. Some time at Andrew's parents for Christmas, then off to Cuba for a week! I can't wait.

I pulled out my yarn last week to tidy up. Isn't it lovely?


I may have acquired more since...

I finally blocked this shawlette for Andrew's Nan, who is totally awesome. It's made with merino/silk laceweight yumminess. I also got her a dpn case because she makes lots of little baby hats and things.

These practical and lovely little neckwarmers are for my parents. They ski a bunch and I know it's a pain to have water drip down your back... so voila, lovely superwash wool neckwarmers with a bit of a dickey attached.

And my present to me... my dress is only half finished but I am very excited. I needed more yarn and it just so happened that there was more at the warehouse! I am just about the luckiest person ever.
I still have a few more presents to finish... I finished legwarmers for my brother's girlfriend today and I'm working on a few more things for my parents. I also have a sweater with just the arms left to do that I'm bringing along to finish (though I must admit I'm not sure about that... I mean, a whole sweater? I can just leave it in the suitcase that's staying behind and I really want to get it done, but still...)
Anyway, I need to get to sleep. We're catching the train out tomorrow. I need to wind some yarn up first, but bed is calling me...

The End of Summer

A funny thing happens when you get a new job and go from months of unemployed to suddenly working. When that happens during the summer when you never seem to have a weekend where you aren't running around doing something- camping, reunions, going swimming, heading up to cottages... well, something has to fall by the wayside. It certainly wasn't going to be my crocheting!

This basket I finished the week I spent up at my boyfriend's parents house. The yarn is nylon cord I got at a sports supply store for next to nothing. It was pretty good to work with, although since it was finer than called for I had to fudge with the sizing. The socks in the basket are sadly no further towards completion.

I've been working on other things- last week I finished two cowls and a shawl. One of the cowls is for the store as a sample. I designed it and will be teaching it as a learn to cable with crochet project. The other cowl is just one for me to keep! The shawl is another for me, but one I'll also be writing up the pattern for it to have at the store. I still need to spend an evening actually writing out those two patterns, but it shouldn't be that much work. They're pretty simple.

I've been on a mad sweater kick, too. I finished this one in just a week, and the next week I finished another and I'm getting there with two more. I've just been too busy to take pictures of anything.
This sweater turned out just about exactly how I'd hoped- snuggly and cozy with a fair bit of stretch and give to the fabric. I am in love with slip stitch right now. I got a lot of this yarn really cheap and am planning another two sweaters with it. The next will be with the blue I got- I'm going to try faux-fair isle and see what I can come up with.

No more stripes, though. Weaving in those ends was almost more than I could take!

Back From Vacation!

Before I left on vacation, I finished a few projects. These socks were a fun test. I did the ankle sideways so that the stockinette I crocheted would stretch the right way. It's quite nice, but I need to make it tighter. It was fairly thick yarn, so they worked up really fast.

Stitch and Pitch was the Wednesday before I left. It was great! The air was cooler than I expected, the Jays actually won and we had fun watching Ace the bluejay play with this fantastic knit sign some of the ladies made.
I won a doorprize, too. As soon as I saw the ticket I knew that it would turn out I won a knitting pattern book. I did, of course. It looks nice, but how useless. If only I could have won some yarn! Several of us won- some of my friends won a copy of one of the Yarn Harlot books, which still would have been better than what I won! I was glad to win and all, but... well, it does seem kind of a waste. Oh well, maybe I'll learn to knit big needle afghans (When I could just crochet them? Yeah... ok, no).

I also finished this tank. I started it on Wednesday at the Stitch n' Pitch, and I finished the next day at knit night. It was way too hot to wear it here- it still is- but I wore it once in nice cool California.

We went up to the mountains outside LA. My uncle has a cabin up there and it's just gorgeous. The air was cool and dry- after the heat here (it got up to 39- 49 with humidex one night. That's 125 with humidex in farenheit) it was an incredibly welcome change.
Andrew and I had a fantastic week. We played tennis, talked, went on hikes, did a Pirate Ship cruise around the lake and even did Zumba. My brother's girlfriend is an instructor and generously did two sessions with us during the week. It was fun! A lot of excercise- WOW do you move. We all got seriously sweaty.

Of course, I found the area yarn store. Mom was nice enough to drive me over one day and I got some yummies. Two skeins of Cool Crochet in chocolate and ebony- yum. I love that yarn and it's discontinued. I'll have extra of my pink, so I'm going to make a striped tank top. I'm excited for it!
The real treat I got myself was some Mirasol Miski. Ooooh, it's soft. It's baby llama, and the colour I got is a rich, soft, buttery and a bit peachy yellow. I fell in love. I considered getting something else, because I could have gotten a cardi's worth out of other yarns for the same price, but there was no way. I was in love and it was coming home with me.
I'm glad I did. It's so soft and it worked up so nicely and the finished hat is gonna be a favorite. I'm excited for fall already! I made it after dinner one night while we were all chatting. My family members commented on it and were impressed that I was just making up a pattern as I went. It was a pretty easy thing- just some cables for density and warmth. I added that little fp/bp rib at the bottom that can be turned up for a fisherman's cap style or down to cover my ears. I only had a tiny piece of yarn left at the end!

My cousin commented that they had all just been sitting around, and I had a hat to show for the evening. That's part of why I love crochet- I was just as active in the conversation as anyone and I still made something.

It was a great week. I love my family and we had so much fun together. We spent one day out on my uncle's powerboat with the cousins, and it was a blast. We did various activities with the whole family and I got to chat with everyone in the evenings, and even sing while my uncle played guitar one night. I have two uncles who play guitar quite well and they played for us a bit. Mom was practicing during the week- she's not bad but needed to build callouses.

Anyway, the whole week was just a blast. Andrew had a great time too, and we're both looking forward to next year. I'm so lucky to have such a great family!

Speaking of great- Andrew got me a Wii Fit Plus as an early birthday present! I spent an hour on it tonight and hope to do 5 hours a week on it. I have a goal to get in better shape and loose a pound or two. I don't really need to- but I'll look and feel better if I do.

I start my first shift tomorrow at the yarn and craft store... I am so excited!

Finally Back!

Well, we arrived back home last week. It was a great trip and we're both really glad we went! The hotel was nice- nicer than we expected and there was so much to do and see in the city. After a week, it's like we barely scraped the surface.
I got to see some friends I hadn't seen for years. They joined us for a day of sightseeing and it was a blast. They were with us when we saw naked man- the dude who just dropped trou in the middle of an intersection and yelled at a cab for awhile before putting his clothes back on and continuing about his business.
We saw Avenue Q while we were there and loved it. The show was hilarious. We did Central Park, Empire State building, Tribeca/Greenwich/SoHo, Wall Street, Times Square (including the awesome Toys 'R' Us and Disney store!), FAO Schwartz (yes giant piano!), WTC memorial, Museum of Natural History (twice! We loved it!) and yeah, I went to some yarn stores!

We did Habu first, and my boyfriend came with me. It was a rainy miserable morning and we were soaked by the time we got to the address. It took awhile to find because I was kinda expecting a storefront. Instead, it's in a random office building on the 8th floor in the back.
Once we found it, I was in heaven. So many pretties! Of course, they're mainly for weaving so everything was very fine. It was fine by me, though (ha ha) because I've got enough heavier yarns at home. Laceweight is fun!
I came home with some cream/white laceweight (enough for a simple shift dress, I think) as well as some dark turquoise merino, I think (unfortunately not labeled!) and the real treat- a cone of their silk and stainless steel yarn. Yummy. It's got a gorgeous sheen to it. I'm planning on making a shawl out of it and can't wait to see the final product. And my boyfriend was incredibly sweet- when it came time to pay, he insisted. It was a really nice gift! Am I a lucky gal or what?

I also went on my own (while my boyfriend looked around the nearby Museum of Natural History) to Knitty City. It was a great store. Everyone was really friendly and nice and I would love to go back some time.
I ended up with some real treats there too! Some gorgeous blue ShiBui sock yarn, some Madelinetosh Pashmina that I turned into a moebius cowl and my favorite, some Blue Heron Rayon Metallic. It's soft, yummy yarn that is so sparkly. I adore it. I've already made a slouchy beret from it but have enough leftover for a matching project. I'm thinking scarf. It was definitely a one time vacation treat- but I am having serious day dreams about a top made from this.

I'm glad I chose those two as the stores to visit. Habu isn't super customer friendly- they're really nice, but it's a different environment. Their yarns are pretty incredible, though. Knitty City carries a nice variety of general popular yarn, but their atmosphere and friendliness made them stand out.
I am glad to be home, though!