Spinning Silk and a Pretty Cape

 I'm working on this project right now, and I love it.

 It's going to be a little capelet for me- something that just goes below the elbow, with a bit of lace on it. The yarn is so pretty, with just a hint of sparkle and a really yummy cream colour.

 Every time I get a chance to work on it a bit while I'm at work, people keep complementing it. It's so gratifying to hear that people think it's pretty, and I love when they are astounded that it's not knit, it's crochet. Already two people have said they'd love to make one. I can't wait to finish it and wear it.

 We got a new version of our Rainbow Prism and it is SO pretty! I love it even more than the old Rainbow. I'm trying to decide what to make with it. I'm thinking a really nice baby blanket- I have 4 balls of it and it would make something pretty substantial.

 I also ordered a new drop spindle. Isn't it pretty? It came with the white silk and the blue sparkly fibre. The silk is so soft!

 I love the spindle, too. It's really well balanced and pretty, and the snowflake shape makes it really easy to use- so many notches for my yarn.
I'm trying a new technique my friend Gabe taught me- or rather, she taught Ilana and I watched and now I'm figuring it out from what I remember. It's chain plying while you spin- I spin an arm's length two or three times, and then chain it together and twist the ply into it. It's so cool- I'm making three ply yarn in one go. Andrew called me a wizard. I feel like a wizard.

I'm really making progress, too. I already have more than twice in that picture spun. I'm probably 1/4 or 1/3 through the silk and I just got the spindle Friday night.
The silk, oh, it's yummy. I love spinning it. It's from Tannis Fibre Arts. It's Tussah Silk in a colourway called "Royal Flush". I got it from the Purple Purl in December. Since I'm on a yarn buying ban (and I've held fast, nothing at all since December except the two balls to finish my cardigan) I couldn't get any of the super pretty yarns there. But then I saw this and I had to have it. I'd never spun silk before and the colour is just so me. Turns out I love spinning silk. It's so smooth and flows through my fingers so easily. I just have to remember to keep a light hand and wipe my darn hand frequently, or I'll get all sweaty and mess it up.
I spent this morning watching yet another version of Jane Eyre and spinning. The Jane Eyre was alright, although having just finished the book, nothing else could live up to it.

Now I think I might go take a nap, I'm helping a friend move this afternoon and I have to drive a big scary moving truck across the city. Eep! Despite having backed giant moving trucks perfectly into tiny spaces (I got a round of applause from a random stranger for that!), parallel parked and driven through city traffic in them, I still get a bit nervous about the whole thing.

One Last Shot

I know, posting again already? Well, I'd like to keep you all a bit more up to date this year.

I finally posted the pattern for my mittens on Rav. I've made so many from this pattern- not just the ones from the last post. I must have made 6 or 7 pairs of mittens from this general pattern, so it's great to have it written down.
I'm so pleased all the sizing worked, too. I made every size except the women's small this Christmas as presents, and they all fit wonderfully. Yay!

I love how they look with simple stripes. I need to make another pair in a chunkier wool as a layering mitt for days like today when it was freezing cold.
Anyway, it's here: Simple Slip Stitch Mittens.
I have a few more patterns that are very close to ready for publishing. One of them I just need to do a gauge swatch for (a cowl), one I need to finish the sample (a cape), one is part of my sockies e-book and the other is a secret project I need to slightly rework. Once it's reworked, I'd like to send it off to some magazines for consideration- how exciting!

 Here's a peek at it.

I've been immersed in period dramas the last few days. I've watched through all of North and South, rewatched Anne of Green Gables for the millionth time, watched an episode of Buccaneers and watched one of the many versions of Jane Eyre. It's been a lot of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed North and South, and Jane Eyre surprised me. I've never experienced any of the Bronte sisters except for Wuthering Heights, which I disliked. Jane Eyre is a much different story, and I'm partway into the book now and really enjoying it. It seems I dismissed Charlotte Bronte too soon!
Now I'm getting my hands on more versions of Jane Eyre, and planning on borrowing the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice from my Kate manager. I also have some Dickens and Jane Austen on my shelves to delve into.
It's fun to be a million miles away in an entirely different time- and even more fun to come back to reality in my warm, cozy modern home with my yummy fibres and all my indulgent modern amenities.

As for the title of the post, my one last shot is about my career. I haven't had any luck, with the exception of my two wee little 4 month contracts, in getting any work related to my field since I left school. My career isn't stalled- it never started in the first place. I have gone through so many rounds of sending out my work and never hearing back and I was just about ready to quit and try to find a new career. But having no particular talent in anything I could earn a living from (oh, how I wish crochet could be a career for me!) and no particular ambitions other than animation, I haven't really gotten anywhere with that train of thought.
And so I've decided to do a new piece for my demo reel, tidy the rest of it up and give it one more shot to try and start my career. I'm not sure how I feel about it. Animation is filled with tiny contracts and short stints and trouble finding work, and even if I get one job I may never get another. I need some direction, though, and I need a real career job. So I'm going to give it one more good, thorough try before I give up for something else.
Wish me luck, I'll need it.

Returning to Normal

    It's been hectic for me. December felt like I was never going to get a second to sit and stop that didn't involve making a million pairs of mittens (read: 4 pairs) or being out at yet another fun but exhausting social event. So everything got pushed aside, even my poor blog.

But these mittens I made for my mom and mother in law turned out really awesome, so there's that.

 Actually, all four pairs of the mittens I made turned out great, and the ones for my father in law, that I wasn't sure about the fit on, fit just right. Yay!

     If Christmas presents weren't enough, it was Andrew's 30th birthday. I had to organize a party, which was actually relatively smooth. A lot of old friends we hadn't gotten to see in ages trekked a long way out, and we also had a lunch with his mother and brother and my parents and brother here beforehand. The whole thing went really well, other than my Dad having a really nasty cold.
     I decided that I really had to make something for Andrew, and he'd been wanting a big, generous scarf. We'd talked about basketweave because he liked something his Nan made in the stitch, so I came up with this crochet basketweave stitch. I'm really pleased with how it turned out, but it took every spare minute I had that he wasn't around for two weeks. He loves it, though. I went to pull it out to take a finished shot and realized that he wore it today. Yay!
     The stitch pattern turned out exactly how I would have hoped. I have plans to put it on a very masculine pair of socks. That brings me to another thing- this year, my pattern goal is to write an e-book or just a collection of slip stitch sock patterns.

      I finished the first design. Cabled socks! You can see some of the troubles I had- one of my failed heels on the left, and the final nicely fitting heel on the right. I pulled the whole sock out more than once, but I'm pretty happy with the pattern now.

     They're comfy and I like that the cable doesn't have any gaping and they fit nicely into shoes. Overall I'm quite pleased. The next pair is going to play with sideways construction that gives the socks greater stretch around the foot. I've also been swatching and trying to get lace to work properly in slip stitch. No luck yet, but I'll keep trying.

 

      This is a project that was really moving along... and then I ran out of yarn. I had to order more from the shop where I got it, and since it was online this time I had to pay shipping. I didn't buy enough in the first place because I was worried about the few extra bucks, and now it's cost me in the long run! You think I'd know better. Thankfully the dyelots are identical.
     I have the entire body done and most of both sleeves- I've even woven in pretty much all of the ends, and since it's colourwork, that's a lot of ends. I just need to get my motivation for this project back. Sigh.

      I also finished this pretty little hat- the incredibly talented Aiobhe Ni's Pheonix hat. Like most of her patterns it's deceptively simple and a bit repetitive, but totally worth it. It's great on cool but not freezing days where I don't want my hair totally smooshed and ruined. That's funny, like I have a hairstyle so intense that I'm really worried about wrecking it! Heehee!

 

      This week I've been doing some sewing. I pulled out my beautiful new serger and made some simple curtains for the house. The place looks so much nicer with something other than sheets tacked in the window!

     I also made a stack of cowls for my Mom. She asked for some for Christmas and I just didn't have time to make them, but promised I would still do it. The dark grey fleece and the white I already had, and I went to Walmart this week and got a fleece sheet (cheaper than buying fleece by the yard, and the nearest Walmart is about 3 times closer than the nearest fabric shop here, stupid Fabricland closings!) and went crazy.
   The cowl on top isn't the greatest, I accidentally cut the stretch the wrong way. The others turned out really well, though. I'm quite pleased. There's a nice variety of weights from single layer late spring skiing to double thick midwinter runs.

     I'm working on some fun things now. I'm planning on buying a pattern to sew a gorgeous show-stopping little red dress. I don't have one, and I want one! I'm also working on a capelet out of this totally yummy cream and sparkly yarn that I got out of our clearance section. I think it was intended as a baby yarn, and it's just a simple acrylic, but it's going to be gorgeous.
     I've also been spinning a lot. This is motivated by the growth of my spinning stash. I haven't bought any yarn since November (excluding the two balls I got to finish my cardigan, that does not count) and this month I decided it was time to finally get the new drop spindle I wanted. It comes with a bit of silk and angelina to spin... and then I looked through my etsy favorite and wound up ordering the neon rainbow merino with firestar I have been drooling over for ages. I'm excited, but I really need to get my current spinning moving because I know once the new stuff gets here it will be even easier to put it aside.

     Today I am finally starting to feel better from the cold I've had. I got a great vacation to Cuba over New Years thanks to my terrific parents, and it was really relaxing and wonderful. Then I was thrown right back into work the day after I got back, and a week later I came down with this cold. Finally I'm starting to feel better and it's time to finally face my resolutions, which were as follows:
1) Be more awesome.
2) Take more naps.

Wish me luck!

Finishing Frenzy

I've just started into my Christmas crochet. I know, it sounds a bit worrying, but I have it under control. Five days in (and one where I couldn't do anything because my wrist was really sore) and I already have the first pair of mittens done. Considering I only have 5 or 6 projects left and that I really could have done those mittens in just over a day... I think I'm safe.

I finally got a free moment the other day to take some photos of recent finished projects. Life has been more than a little crazy- I haven't had a weekend without at least two major events or travel since... September. 

I have got a lot of crochet finished, though. Like this fun Brioche stitch cowl, and my sophisticated chevrons cowl. I got this beige/brown yarn at a yard sale ages ago. It's not my usual style- I do go for bright, happy colours. But then I saw a knitting pattern and thought that this would be perfect in a simple tunisian knit/purl combo. I love how it turned out.

 

These fingerless mitts were made with some yummy alpaca blend I got on my vacation this summer. I loved the pattern (Himbeerwellen, if you're wondering)  because I love all things slip stitch right now, and these just turned out so well. All the knitters think they're rib.

 Speaking of fooling the knitters, I just finished this simple slip stitch hat. It's made with a possum blend yarn, and it is so soft and cuddly and warm. My angora hat has some serious competition now!

And I finally finished my weekend cardigan! I absolutely love it. It's not a super flattering, curve hugging thing- but everyone needs a sweater that is just cozy and relaxed and snuggly. This is mine, now.

I also finished a shawl last month for my best friend's wedding. It was a really wonderful day, and both of us needed the shawls I made at a few points during the day!

I'm in love with the finished shawl. I've made a Maia before, and the last one was out of crochet cotton. Great stitch definition, looks beautiful. This one, though, is made from merino silk blend. What a difference. Drape, softness, sheen, warmth- I adore this shawl. 

I photographed it on a trip away. I was lucky enough to head to a cottage for a weekend, and I got a lot of work done! There was a lot of knit and crochet done that weekend,and it was so relaxing.
Here I am finishing my cardigan as I wear it. I was cold!

And this is the pile of yarn and spinning I found it necessary to bring for a 2 night weekend. Addiction? What? No!

Now if you'll excuse me, my brother and his girlfriend are coming for dinner tonight and I have to get the slow cooker going. Then I'm heading back to bed for a nap, because we stayed up until 3 chatting with a friend!

New Shinies!

I finally finished the shawl I've been making my best friend for her wedding.

It's huge! I gave it to her last night, she seemed quite happy. I hope it keeps her cozy and warm. It is lightweight, but all wool and long enough to cover her whole arms.

I spent this weekend at the Creativ Festival, and came home with more than a few treats. These babies are the big one, though. A new sewing machine and serger. Oh man, they are awesome. The sewing machine is so much smoother than my old one, and I love all the features it has. It's got automatic tension, an automatic needle threader, and automatic bobbin string puller-upper (that's the official terminology, I swear). It's also got 99 different stitch patterns, and a bitch is one. I'm not kidding there, one of the stitch patterns is a doggie. That alone won Andrew over to the dark side of the sewing machine. He's fascinated by the sewing machine stitching the cool patterns all on it's own.

I was going to lug them home on the subway, but my boss and her husband told me I was crazy and were kind enough to back that up with a ride home.

I realized the other day that I've surrounded myself with a moat of yarn. I had to take a picture.
Sometimes Andrew tries to wheel over from his side of the room to look at something, and is thwarted by a stray ball of yarn or a hook that I need to pick up. 

The green bag on the floor is holding the rest of my treasures from the show. I got enough yarn for a cardigan from the last Interweave Crochet I've been dying to make, a few balls for a brioche stitch cowl, a ball of yummy red possum yarn and 4 little bags of spinning fibre. Not to mention the yarn I got last week when my friend Alia was destashing some lovely extra yarn she was given.

Getting the spinning fibre means I need to use up what's on my spindle before I can start with the fun new stuff. That means I've actually been spinning! I'm thoroughly enjoying it and wondering why I put it down in the first place. Too busy, I suppose.

And this is my desktop this morning. The pink shawl I'm making to go with my bridesmaid dress, the red beads and silver spacers I got yesterday and made into a super simple necklace. The sparkly bit in the back is a ball of yarn I got from our booth because I loved it too much to pass it up.
The heathery oatmeal kind of colour yarn is one of two that I got at... a yard sale, maybe? I bought it with a grab bag type deal somewhere. I never cared for it until I pulled it out and decided it would make a very sophisticated cowl. I'm doing a sort of textured herringbone wave based off a pattern I love in a pattern book for knitting.

Cool Weather

My recovery continues to go well, but I've been surprised at how long it's taking to feel really back to normal. I'm pretty much better now, but I still tire out really easily. Last week I was still having pain around my incisions, although that was possibly from the cats that were jumping on me in the night. I was looking after my boss's cats for a few days while she went on vacation.

She got me this- isn't it perfect? The kitty, the crochet hook... I love it. It's a little compact mirror and it's sitting in my purse now.

She also got me a bit of yarn. She started by telling me it was BC grown, sold by the gram, hard to find... it's handspun and it is so soft and yummy. It has a fair bit of angora in it. There was just enough to make a nice headband for the fall.

I was on a frenzy this week. I finally used up this roving I got in the early days of my crochet, before I knew anything about yarn weights or fibre content or what roving even was. It makes the squishiest little rug in front of the fireplace. 

Don't you love our ridiculous mantle? All the fun stuff from our old "nerd shelf" and some of my decorative stuff, along with usually a couple bottles of my nail polish.

A friend of mine was destashing this week to move across the country for a job. I got this ball of Manos, and it just screamed to be made into a cowl. I love it, it's so squishy. I'll think of Emily when I wear it, and hope she can come and visit often.

Yarn surrounds everywhere I sit in this house. Around my computer, my side of the couch, hooks by my bedside table.. I've been busy.

I finished the project I started on vacation this summer. It's a huge, cuddly sock weight Venus shawl.
I didn't have enough yarn to finish all the repeats, but it's plenty big as is. I really need to block it, though.

This is the start of the rainbow ripple blanket I'm making. It's going to be so bright and pretty! I can't wait to get into the blues and pinks. That's my favorite part of a rainbow blanket. When I had just the reds, it looked really 70's in an awful way. The more colours I add, the better it starts to look.

And this is the project I might be most excited about right now. I'm making the Weekend Cardigan, and I'm loving it. The pattern has a lot of mistakes, but I'm kinda ignoring it and doing my own thing. The pattern also ends up giving you a big line down the back, so I'm totally ignoring parts of it and making the fronts and back all one long piece. No seaming, no ugly line, less yarn used. Which is good, because I don't have enough yarn for what it calls for. I'm not too far off, and I can leave off the big patch pockets to save a lot of yarn too. Still, I don't want to run out!
I love the yarn. It's hard to see, but it's the most beautiful soft heathered gray, with purples and blues and indigos in it. I can't wait to be finished with this cuddly cardigan.

Today, though, I have to start sewing my bridesmaid dress for my best friend's wedding. I'm going to make a muslin first to try and get a better fit. This dress does kinda have to be perfect. I don't know if I can handle perfect, but I'll certainly try.

Moving, Recovering, Crocheting

It feels a bit like life is finally settling back down. I'm mostly healed, and after tomorrow I can start doing some light lifting and carrying. I'll be able to get the house in shape! I can't wait to finish unpacking this place. It's going to look so wonderful once I do.
We went out yesterday to the dollar store and local bargain store to get some things we needed. Exciting things, like soap and a garbage bin and toilet brushes. We also got a bit of candy and Andrew found a little T-rex that has a trigger operated mouth. He spent the rest of the trip making the little guy nom on everything in the store, and I wasn't surprised when he got added to the pile of things to take home.
On the trip home, I laughed at how many toys our future children will already have.

Speaking of buying things, I got myself some absolutely lovely treats on my birthday.

These fantastic sparkly shoes are for the wedding! I just love anything sparkly, and sparkly silver heels did me in. And look, a short heel! I can't wear the tall spike heels that are popular right now.
I adore these. I wish I could wear them to work!

 

This is the crown jewel, so to speak.  I finally found my wedding tiara! A girl who loves sparkly things and being a ridiculous princess and the centre of attention just couldn't pass up the perfect chance to get a tiara, no? I adore it. I wish I could wear it to work every day.

And aww, it's a picture of the old apartment. How I don't miss it. I love you, new apartment.

 

Speaking of old apartment and weddings, here's a shot of the wedding blanket I whipped up for a dear old friend for her wedding. I only had a week to make it, and I'm pleased with the results. I am absolutely addicted to granny stripe blankets.

I ran out of the yarn and had to pop out to get some more. Unfortunately I couldn't find the same purple, so I got the only one they had. Since it was so different, I added small stripes to the top and bottom with the new purple and the different dyelot blue. It's a pretty andd snuggly blanket, and my friend told me she teared up when she saw it! Just the kind of lovely friend I like to make things for. I hope it keeps them warm for many happy years.

  

Earlier in the week when I started feeling better, I decided to do some baking. My upstairs neighbor kept her little daughter very quiet for me when I was healing from the surgery, so I decided to bake some muffins to say thank you.

As you can see, the first batch were fail muffins. I found out the hard way that my oven overheats by about 25-50 degrees!

  

The second batch turned out much better, even if my muffins never seem to rise properly. Yummy little oatmeal chocolate chip muffins. I gave some to my neighbor and some to my new superintendent, a nice man who tells stories so long that I will always have to budget some extra time to pay rent. Not that I mind- he tells a great story!

  

My next baking was a bit more adventurous- I made a french loaf. I haven't baked bread in quite awhile, so I wasn't sure how it would turn out.

  

Thankfully it turned out to be the yummiest, nicest looking bread I've ever made! I still want to get my bread a bit lighter and fluffier, but this make absolutely wonderful honey toast. Hmm, I should go have some for breakfast.

My sweet new nephew was born in early August. It was lovely- we all found out on the family reunion. Nothing quite like getting to walk down a little path by the shore with your Dad to the cottages of all your family members to announce the newest addition! It's a memory I will treasure. I love technology- we got to show off his picture on the Ipad and got to do some brief FaceTime to chat with my brother and see the new baby on the other side of the world in China.

I made him a little set of booties and bib. The bear is for his nickname, Teddy Bear.

  

I also made a little jacket. I don't know if it will fit him or his older brother. Either way it was fun to make and I love how the yarn striped and pooled.

Andrew was watching me make all these baby things, and asked in a slightly concerned voice if there was something he should know. Silly boy, he knows there is a new nephew!

I finally got some pictures of the Lace Pullover I made. Isn't it beautiful? It was love at first sight with the pattern. I found some gorgeous silk blend yarn on sale, and it just seemed to fly off my hook. I had the whole thing done in a week.
This is out by our bus stop. The condos across the street are quite pretty, and I love that there is green space in this neighborhood.

This is my current project, and one that I'm very proud of. The cable pattern took a bit of fiddling, but I really like how it turned out. I can't wait to finish these sockies and wear them.
They've also really inspired me. I am thinking about an e-book of slip stitch socks. Fun ones- lace, cables, all the fun things that knitters have and that crocheters have so little of.

Forgive my very long post today, but I think I've just about caught you up! I feel like I'm just starting to catch up to my own life after surgery. The first bandaid fell off yesterday, and the other two get pulled of tomorrow, 2 weeks after surgery. That's the date where I can start doing things again, and I can't wait!