G-Unit, another year of excellence.

Today is Gord's Birthday!

I got the day off work (!!!) & we ended up having a fantastic day!

Woke up & put on my shirt..
(Note to iron-on letter manufacturers: please include more than one 'R' per package. Having only the one meant I had to go for old-fashioned 'Gords Gal' rather than today's hip & edgey sounding 'Gords Girl'.)

We put on our winter boots...

so cozy.

And headed up for some delicious Birthday Breakfast

Nummy.

My original plan was to go up the CN Tower, but it was really cloudy & snowy today so we axed that idea & just took a really, really long & round-about streetcar ride to the PowerPlant.

I go nutso for the TTC font.

Check out that knit Cobra! Steven Shearer at the PowerPlant.

There was also a great piece about the AIDS quilt - some panels from the quilt are there, with a documentary on how the quilt blocks are curated & stored. Pretty interesting.

We headed home & snuggled up on the couch to watch some Deadwood.

The couple that wears handknit socks together, stays together.

Lastly, we ordered up some Indian Take out


I'd say that it was definitely one of the most enjoyable days we've spent together in a long, long time - and a super way to celebrate my most favourite person ever.

(As a quick update, Gord is now in remission & going through his next stage of chemo - it's long (30 weeks) & tiring, but he's doing well - the fact that we spent his birthday outside, around town, riding the subway & streetcars is just totally amazing to me. Today, his birthday - felt *so* far away in October when he was diagnosed & this afternoon as we rode past the hospital we both remarked about how even though it was only 3 months ago that our whole lives changed, it feels like a whole lifetime ago. The time just keeps going by. We've been so lucky in all of this - thank you for thinking of us.)

CheckMark!

A new sweater!

Cabled yoke sweater named 'Carmella's Cardigan' from an up-coming Patons 'Up-side Downers' book.

I knit this for work, but I get to keep it. A pretty sweet deal, I think. This is made with Patons Shetland Chunky 'Rich Teal.' I really like this yarn. It's mainly acrylic, with a little bit of wool, but it's soft & machine washable. The only downside? This particular colour turned my bamboo needles blue-ish.

The fit is good, but I couldn't get any good pictures of me in it. Also, I tend to finish sweaters on Sundays - the day I hardly ever make it into the shower. My Judy is much nicer to look at.

There was one fit issue, but it was my fault.

I was picking up stitches along the top for the collar - when I got to the right side, I started to panic because I hadn't picked up enough & I was running out of space - so I over compensated on that one side. Such a dumb mistake since I could have just picked up less but what can you do?

I ran a piece of yarn through some sticthes on that side of the collar, and pulled it until it was flat like the other side.

Nice.

I'm thinking I just need to buy bigger buttons & this is good to go.

Now onto my cabled yoke

cue-hoot.

Tiny owl, made for my friend Tim's birthday, with help from moonstitches.
My mind is already aflutter with more ideas for this little guy.

when bad dye lots happen to good people.

Last week I decided I'd start knitting socks chronologically -- starting with the oldest sock yarn in my stash. Considering I only started knitting socks about 2 years ago, it's not terribly old stuff & I still like most of it. First up was some DGB self striping I bought on clearance at Romni about a year & a half ago. The colours are cute & I used DGB for the very first pair of socks I ever knit & they are still awesome & hole-free.

Everything was cool until I got to a couple of yucky bits in the peach stripe. It just got worse, but I was on the bus on my way home & it was all I had to keep me sane. (If you've ever ridden the Dufferin bus in Toronto, you'll understand what I mean.) So I kept going & the yuckiness just kept getting worse.

The stripe closest to the needles is supposed to be the same mauve-y colour as the ones that come before it. What it is though, is a drabby substitute. I can see that things get back to normal with the colours a couple of yards ahead - I will rip back & fix it. woe.

In knitting victory, super cute baby chucks!

I used this pattern, I knit these with Patons kroy sock yarn in black & white, and used size 2 needles. The pattern calls for worsted weight, but the recipient has particularly tiny feets.

i heart me, apparently.

Merry Christmas to me....from me.

New books!

I'mma totally going to knit these snail mittens from The Knitter's Book of Yarn! And holy moses, Knit Knit is the nicest eye candy I've indulged in in a long, long time.


Mondial Gold Cashmere from Little Knits. . I'm thinking for the Katherine Hepburn cardigan from Lace Style.

Lace Wing sock yarn from Little Knits. The colours of this yarn are so rich & deep. And I have to say, ordering from little knits was a pleasure!


Habu cashmere. Oh what to do, what to do with 182 yards of lace weight cashmere? Mostly, I couldn't resist the attractive packaging. I bought this at Lettuce Knit along with..

Dream in Color 'Smooshy' sock yarn. This is a sublime mix of greens - and totally smooshy!

A Dream in Colour baby cardigan kit! I couldn't resist the cuteness of everyone else's sweaters! I didn't even notice the 40$ price tag! Yoinch! But it's cute, so who really cares?

Elann Peruvian Highland wool - for a project I have in my brain & would like to put on my body. I may need a darker brown. Good thing I got this...

shade cards!

Also newly acquired:

I discovered one of the perks of my job...when a co-worker de-stashes.

A *gigantic* cone of rusty coloured tweed. It feels slightly felted, which I *love*. I just have no idea of what kind of yargade I'm dealing with here. I'd like to make something similar to the Drops jacket, but I'd hate to run short of yarn.

10 skeins of a now discontinued Patons wool. 'Ballybrae' is a gorgeous tweed that smells super lanolin-y! I can't wait to find the perfect project for this.

Whew! So that should be enough to keep me going for a while. I still have a bunch of lingering projects that need finishing up. The Tangled Yoke cardigan is taking for.ev.er. I have some socks on the needles, and 2 cardigans that need sleeves. I pinkie swear I will not start another sweater until those sleeves are finished. pinkie. swear.

I Heart Gansey.

2008. Yeow.

I've decided to make a couple of changes to how I operate this year. My first goal is to get rid of all. my. clutter. Last weekend Gord & I did a number on the kitchen & it feels so much better. Lighter. EASIER. When I reach for a mixing bowl now, I don't have to play Jenga with whatever is in front of the bowls...because there is nothing in front of the bowls. Everything has its place, and whatever there wasn't a place for has been packed up to be donated to the Goodwill.

I started to do the same cleansing process in my sewing room & then it struck me. I need to finish the projects I've already started. First up, my I Heart Gansey sock.

Pattern: I Heart Gansey socks from the six socks knitalong Yahoo Group
Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino.....2/6, maybe? Not sure of the colourway either.

I started these socks in August. I'm not sure why the second sock sat in sock purgatory for so long, considering I fully & completely fell in love with the first one.

Our Sea Shanty floors don't do anything to show off the amazingness of this yarn.

These socks are lovely.

I was hoping that the good luck of this, my first finished project of 2008 would carry on to my next project.
It didn't.

This is a baby Converse bootie. There is only one because this is *HUGE*. Considering these are meant for a tiny tiny baby, there will have to be a second attempt using smaller yarn & needles. So cute though...SO CUTE.

Next UFO to finish up is my semi-secret purple cabley thing, a sleeve of a cardigan, and my Tangled Yoke cardigan. And *then* I can get down to the good stuffs.

Oh, and as an added bonus...

I made these socks for my friend Donald a while ago but gave them to him before I got to take a photo. He was wearing the on new Years Eve, so I snapped a shot of them.

Not a very good one, but you get the idea. I used no pattern for these - just a simple sock with cables running down each side and contrasting toe & heel. I used Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton for these - a lovely sproingy cotton sock yarn, perfect for those poor, poor people who are allergic to wool.

Happy Quitiversary!

Hoorah!

Your Quit Date is: Tuesday, January 02, 2007 at 8:43:00 AM
Time Smoke-Free: 365 days, 10 hours, 8 minutes and 25 seconds
Cigarettes NOT smoked: 5481
Lifetime Saved: 1 month, 11 days, 20 hours
Money Saved: $2055.37

One year ago yesterday, I smoked my last cigarette.

According to quitnet.com I have saved over TWO THOUSAND dollars (where did I ever get the money to afford such an expensive habit??) , not smoked FIVE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY ONE cigarettes (when did I have the time to smoke that much?) and added an extra month to my life. Sure I've also added the inevitable quitting inches to my waist, but that will be this year's goal to tackle.

I feel good, my skin looks great, I don't cough up disgusting shit every morning, I have no reason to stand outside in the freezing cold or the rain. I don't smell. I am a non-smoker. I was born... born to be alive.


And I don't miss it. Not even one single teeny tiny bit.