do the boob.

Food.

One of our most basic needs, and one I was having a heck of a time giving my little lady. I struggled with breastfeeding from day one in the hospital. For the first week of Frankie's life I was a wreck. I was a sweaty, topless banshee. I smelled like I had hiked the entire Bruce Trail.
I was told nursing may be difficult for me as I didn't have much breast tissue - but it didn't really hit me what that meant.

What that meant was that Frankie wouldn't ever be satisfied & would be screaming to be fed - and if she wasn't screaming, she'd grumpily fall asleep - probably just to take her mind off her hunger. She would then wake up...screaming to be fed.

So I called the Lactation services of the hospital & they comforted me & told me to come in - they told me they could help me.

And boy howdy did they! Breastfeeding brings with it so! many! emotions! - and the guilt I felt about not being able to provide my kid with her only real demand broke my heart. It made me cry several times a day. The lactation consultant I got hooked up with gave me back my sanity - she told me it was OK - she patiently held my hand & guided me through all my options; and I tried them all. Herbal supplements, tube feeding, finger feeding, nipple shields, pumping, formula supplementing, prescription meds, understanding that happy mom = happy baby & coming to peace with the fact that giving my baby formula was not going to mess her up.

Now I am weaning off the prescription meds (side effects are NOT cool - I feel worse 5 weeks postpartum than I did 40 weeks pregnant!), I am pumping, I am happy to be giving Frankie about 50/50 Breast milk/formula & although I am sad to not have to go to see the Lactation consultant anymore, I am glad that Frankie & I have hammered out some kind of deal & we are able to forge ahead on our own.

How to thank someone for getting me through the toughest thing I've ever had to go through?

No, it's not a curling stone - it's a knitted boob!

I wasn't sure how it'd be received but I'm happy to report that she loved it. She more than loved it - she squealed! It was like she had always wanted a knitted breast & now she finally had one. She even said they may call upon me to make more for teaching purposes.

Have a beloved Lactation Consultant in your life? Knit them a boob!

can I get a hand?

I knew having a baby would mean that I'd have to give up some of my freedoms:
The freedom to sleep in
The freedom to go out whenever I wanted
The freedom to drink as many beers as I wanted when I when out
Heck, the freedom to go to the bathroom when I needed to?

But one thing I didn't really think about is that my freedom of using my hands, my arms would be taken away by my tiny boss. And really, I'm on the clock more often than not.

It's for this reason I'd like to get an Amen for the Baby Carrier. .

I started out using the Moby. This wrap is good for around the house - but considering it's 18 feet of jersey fabric, I was having difficulty imagining going anywhere with it. Because of the length, it takes a while to put it on & get it right & I had to watch several youtube videos to get it right.

But hey, it let me make & eat breakfast!

It has it's downsides - Frances doesn't like getting in it. Part of this may be my technique, but it takes a couple of minutes for her to remember that 'Oh yeah, I like being snuggled up in here...' BUT! She does not like to be snuggled up in there for very long & when her time is up it. is. up. And oh - she usually throws up upon entering the Moby - so there's one part near the front that's gnarly & when you wash this thing, it shrinks right the heck up & takes a bit to stretch back out.
She usually falls asleep quickly, but doesn't like her head to be tucked in the pocket for support - so I find myself supporting her head with my hand a lot of the time which defeats the purpose.

It sounds like I don't like the Moby, but really - this was the gateway to freedom for me!

Today I remembered that months & months ago I made a Mei Tai carrier using the tutorial at Still Learning the Game of Life
When I made it, I kind of shoved it aside as I doubted its usefulness. It seemed big & bulky & cumbersome. I wanted to be sure it was sturdy, so I used heavy fabrics & reinforced the Hell out of it.


Frankie is going through some kind of phase where she'll fall into a deep sleep when she's on my chest, but as soon as I put her down to nap it's fusspot city. This morning I put her in the Moby & we were fine for a while, but it got hot & sweaty in there & after about 45 minutes she was screaming to get out.

On a whim I thought I'd try out the Mei Tai - to see if it really was a waste of the afternoon it took to make it.

Verdict?

COMPLETE FREAKING SUCCESS!!

I love it! I like it a lot more than the Moby - there's nice air flow, there's more head support (thanks to the padded headrest!) and it is way, way easier & faster to put on. It's still pretty huge, and it might be a pain to use out & about, but still....

She did not scream or throw up when I put her in there!


Just more proof that handmade is often far superior.


(that being said, I'm DYING to get my hands on a beco carrier - which I think will be great for around town & for Gord to use.....but for now? Mei Tai it is!)

gonna dress you up in handknits.

Hello from babyland!

Things seem to be hitting some kind of sort-of-rhythm. That 'rhythm' is eat, sleep, poop - but hey, I'll take it! At least 'sleep' seems to be a bigger part of the equation than it was that first week & a half.

I've even found a way to squeeze some knitting into my days. It is so nice to fit in some *me* time since our world suddenly is so All About Baby.
Still though, my me time seems still to find a way to be All About Baby.

Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket.
Handspun my parents brought home from Scotland - I had about 1 yard left over. A very close call!
Nothing to say about this pattern that hasn't been said before. Fun to knit & fun to watch form.

'Cardigan Raglan' from La Droguerie's Tous le Bebes
Misti Alpaca Solids.
This pattern was *very* cryptic - or should I say 'cryptique'? I got it from a french book - so there were some educated guesses to be made, but I think I got it right & it fits like a glove. I started this 2 days before I went into labour & had one sleeve left to do. I finally found the time to finish it up last night. At the rate she's eating & therefore growing, this won't fit for long so it's a good thing I got it done.

Gord & I have had to blend our rooms together; My sewing room + his music studio stuff = WHOAH! That's a lot of stuff crammed into a tiny room! My main focus now is for real to use what I got & to finish off lingering projects.

Next up on my naptime knitting?

Yes! A sweater...for ME!

Frankie.

Welcome to the world, Frances Marian!

When I woke up at 5am on April 7th, I wasn't sure if what I was feeling were contractions. I took a bath and tried my best to relax, but the discomfort wouldn't go away & seemed to be picking up pace. I texted Bianca, our Doula to tell her what was going on & she called me back & said it looked like we were going to Babytown that day.

In prenatal class we were told that early labour could last up to 12 hours - and that you should go to the hospital once contractions were 5 minutes apart for 1 hour. Mine went straight to about 2-3 minutes apart. Our awesome friend Avril came over to drive us to the hospital right smack dab in the middle of morning traffic & Bianca made it just in time (I was getting super edgy & was insisting on just going to the hospital without waiting for her to arrive). I kept looking out the window & thinking 'Everyone else is going to work...I'm going to have a baby!'

My labour was, quite honestly, wonderful. There is nothing I would have done differently, I progressed quickly through all stages, she came out with 9 minutes of pushing & Gord was able to be there for the whole entire thing - he cut the cord & got skin on skin contact with her right after I did. Having a doula was the best thing we could have possibly done - she was so awesome! It really made all the difference for us.

It's been 3 weeks now & I still cannot believe I made her!


I've scoured every inch of her body & there is not one single thing wrong with her.
The first week was pretty hairy - I was having lots of Breastfeeding issues, but things are starting to sort themselves out now.

She even spends some of her time with her eyes open!

We're totally in love with her. She's a real (Niagara) peach.

Now... to figure out how to get some knitting in!

you give me fever.

One thing I was glad to say goodbye to the first time G went through treatment was the whole taking his temperature thing.

Every hour or so, he'd pop the thermometer into his mouth & I'd hold my breath until I heard it beep.
'What is it?'
'No fever.'
PHEW.

or:
'FUCK!'

Now, again, the same sense of dread every time he slips the thermometer under his tongue.
He's been neutropenic since he was discharged from the hospital & we've been keeping a close eye on his temperature. Anything over 38 & we're supposed to go to the ER. So last night, he was hovering.... 37.9....38.2.....37.5......38.... finally, we decided to just go. Not really where either of us wanted to be, but it had to be done. I left him there at 2am, when we were told he'd be admitted - something, probably an infection but they don't know where, was causing the fever. (Props to the TGH triage nurse though - who, upon finding out I was very nearly 40 weeks pregnant arranged to have a more comfortable chair put in the room!)

So I came home & slept (uncomfortably) and today, apparently, he will get to come home. There's home care visits to give him (yet more) antibiotics & I am trying to stay rested & as relaxed as possible to keep this baby hanging in there until G feels better. So far, she is very agreeable.

tiny knits.

Baby showers are fun - but even more fun when they involve pinatas! And adorable hand knits!

The lovely ladies at work threw me a wonderful shower before I left. A superb potluck spread, the Most Delicious Cake I've Ever Eaten, homemade pinata (!!) and a wealth of thoughtful & sweet as pie gifts.

Here I am with the talented pinata makers - it took many, many thwumps to bust this open - I ended up having to punch it open with my fists!


One of the (many) perks of working where I do is that my co-workers are very smart & talented. And they are knitters. So what happens when there's a baby on the horizon? The sticks get busy!

Adorable hats from Suzanne! I love the tiny tam!


And what's this? Svetlana sees a sweater on a baby journal & decides to show off by re-creating the sweater? Seriously - matching sweater & journal? My baby is one lucky lady!


Not one to be outdone, Gayle hit it out of the park with this tiny & perfect fair isle cardigan. So cute it brought tears to my eyes when I opened it up!



And just in case all of this wasn't enough - just on the off chance I wanted to be sent over the edge into cuteness coma, Julia served up this sugary sweet concoction.

Yeah!
Months ago, when being pregnant was my own special secret, Gayle came back from a trip to Paris with some wonderful pattern books from La Droguerie. I casually flipped through them, and then not so casually flipped out when I came across an adorable Strawberry Jumper & its matching co-ordinates. I became somewhat fixated on it - when the Ultrasound technician told us we were having a girl, the strawberry jumper was the first thing I thought of. Why then, did I put off making it? I couldn't find the right yarn, mostly - and then things got sort of hectic in my life & I didn't have time for searching. Julia not only re-ignited my Jumper desire, but she also included the yarn for me to make it! I'll be casting on shortly!

Along with these hand knits, came lots of other grade-A gifts. This baby is already spoiled!

And how's this for a heart-warming scene?

There's Gordie - knifty knitting a hat for the little lady. He's a total knifty knitter expert! He's almost done, which is a good thing since I'm only 4 more sleeps away from my due date!

where the heart is.

That month went so much faster than I thought it would. Thank God.

Gord was discharged from the hospital on Saturday! Honestly, this couldn't have happened at a better time. I was really starting to loose steam. Going to work & going to the hospital (almost) every day was really starting to take a toll on me. Luckily, I had my last day of work last week & Gord is home & now I can relax. Kind of. It was my birthday on Sunday & honestly - all I wanted was for him to be home. It was nice to get my wish.

The nature of the new protocol G's on is different than the first go-around. There's way, way more hospital time. He's doing something called Hyper CVAD - which is 8 rounds of 'Cycle A & B'. Cycle A is done as an outpatient, twice a week going to PMH. Cycle B is given every 21 days (depending on counts) and requires a 10 day admit into the hospital. B cycle really does a number on him - mega high dose of some pretty brutal stuff. How we will work this with a baby in the mix is not yet clear, but I am so glad I don't have to also juggle work!

And me? Creeping closer to my due date, mindful of every single twinge & new sensation I feel -- wondering if any of it *means* anything. I'm nudging up to the 39th week & incredibly thankful (and somewhat surprised) that I feel this good. My feet aren't swelling, my blood pressure is nice & low, even my hormones are mostly in check. Hard to believe that some time within the next couple of weeks this little person will be in my arms & not taking up so much space inside my body.

They threw me a wonderful shower at work - I'll show off the goods in my next post. Lets just say, it's really nice to have knitwear designers as co-workers.

Inching.

I'm 37 weeks, 6 days. 2 weeks away from D-Day. Seems like only yesterday I was peeing on the stick & waking a sleeping & disoriented Gord up to tell him that there was something(someONE) growing inside me.

Things are mostly in place - we got diapers (a bunch of prefolds & covers), we got a place for her to sleep, a place for her to take a bath, and a bajillion tiny outfits. Now, all we need is a baby. And for Gord to come home.

Just need some tiny feet to put in these.

Gord's been doing well - some days are better than others, but on the whole I'd say the good ones far outweigh the bad. It's easy for me to say that though. He was able to come home for 2 nights last week on a hospital pass. It gave him the opportunity to see the painted nursery & make me dinner (!). I had 2 of the best nights sleeps I've had in about a month. There's a chance he'll be home this week, which is great. I'm really hoping to have at least a week of not doing much of anything.

Help has been coming in from all directions & it's been wonderful. I don't know what I did to win the friend lottery, but I'm sure thankful. Not being afraid of asking for help is a new & useful skill! I just hope I can repay all of these amazing favours some day.

xo

big.ger.

I get bigger & slower everyday.



It's incredibly frustrating because I want to be able to help G as much as I can, but the truth is - I'm loosing steam. Balancing work (only got 1 1/2 weeks to go!!), growing a tiny person & being there for my guy is sure taking a lot out of me. In some ways, the fact that this is a relapse has it's perks. We don't have the same worry & fear of the unknown. We've been through it before, we know what to expect. Energy is not spent worrying about what is ahead of us. I know all too well what's coming up.

strange days.

So much going on with the whole world, the universe & everything. My heart & mind is all over the place.

Yesterday when I opened the front door to go to my OB appointment, everything felt... different.
I can't really explain it & Thursday was a heavy day - a couple of things happened that got both Gord & I thinking about the whole world, the universe & everything. Despite waking up to the devastating news of what was happening in Japan, I felt good. Light. Hopeful.

My appointment went well - everything's going good, I'm right on track. I can't believe it, but now I'm at the point where I have a Drs appointment every week. I'm so thankful that I've had such an 'easy' pregnancy. I hope she's this nice to me when she's on the outside.

After seeing the Dr I felt so great...so happy. I wanted to see Gord & just enjoy the day. We ended up having the nicest, most relaxing day! He's got an exercise bike in his room to help keep his strength up, so he'd hop on there & I lounged in the reclining chair (this chair changes visits!! My hips are getting bigger every day & the tiny chair I was sitting in before was rotten!) We watched the news, I knit, I got us snacks, G's friend came for a visit. It felt like we were hanging out in a poorly furnished hotel room. It was lovely.

We talked about how it felt weird to be having such a fine time in light of our circumstances. We know that there are some seriously tough days ahead of us though, so for now, I am not going to feel guilty or bad about enjoying the good ones.

our beast friend.

Wednesday I went & hung out with G. By the time I got there, he had just finished getting a platelet transfusion. He gets these lots & has never had a problem with them. Today though, he had a reaction. itchyitchyitchy all over, mouth felt like it was closing in & his face went very flush. They shoved steroids in him and gave him (lots of) Benadryl.

As he was drifting off into a Benadryl coma, he asked where Quatchi was.

Quatchi....sasquatch, something of a 'spirit animal' to us - been with us through thick & thin, some of our best jokes have been told through him, plays a larger role in our lives than is probably 'healthy' or 'socially acceptable' but whatever. Quatchi had been hanging out a PMH, keeping Gord company & looking out the window at traffic copters.

It was difficult for me to part with him...I sleep with him every night (and he likes to hang out on my tummy) and being without both him & Gord took some restless nights to get used to.



But I couldn't find him. Anywhere. Long story short - Quatchi is somewhere within the UHN laundry services - we've made more calls than you'd expect in an effort to find him. There are lots of eyes on the lookout for Quatchi. Fingers crossed.

thank you for being a friend...

Accepting help when it is offered, and especially asking for it, has always been hard for me. The first time Gord was sick, when people asked if they could help & what they could do, my answer would always be 'Nothing, we're fine.' I felt like the energy I had had to be used on myself & taking care of G. I didn't have any to spare on other people - I couldn't waste it. What I didn't realize until it was far too late, was that way of thinking only drained my energy more.

This time around, we've made a pact - we're accepting help.

This past weekend, we called upon two friends to come over to paint the nursery (!!!!) It looks amazing. I'm really, really happy with it & I am so thankful that Donald & Avril could help. Avril even arrived with 2 bags of groceries (!!!) - so that was also really wonderful. I'm really feeling the love (and it feels great!)
I helped with what painting I could, but mostly I sat & watched while they asked me lots of questions about the baby & being pregnant & I just ate it up. I put the crap that's happening aside & was just a pregnant lady, enjoying her pregnancy for a while. It was refreshing!

G called as the painting was happening & I showed him the painting in progress on video chat, which was so great - he wants to be a part of all this stuff, so it was good for him to feel like he was 'here'.


Now the room is ready for 'stuff'. The baby will sleep in our room for the first several months, so technically, this isn't *her* room, but rather a room for family to stay. One sad thing for me since finding out the Cancer is back, is letting go of our vision of life for after the baby arrives. We pictured ourselves cuddled up, just the 3 of us, bonding as a new family. This new reality is so different. Yesterday we found out that Gord will most likely be in the hospital well into April. A month ago, I was worried that he'd only get 2 weeks off of work - how was I going to take care of the baby on my own once he went back? Now, I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to look after the baby on my own right from the beginning. Luckily my mom is coming to stay for a little while, which is amazing & reassuring. I'm going to try & make the room into a cozy place for her (and others) to be while she's away from home.

The light at the end of the tunnel is a train.

Since my last post, there have been about a million times I've thought to myself "This would make a great blog post!" But I wouldn't write it - I was far more concerned with living it.

After this post where I so excitedly wrote about Gord & I having come through what we thought would be the worst part of treatment, there still lay before us a bumpy, bumpy road. Sure, there were more ups than before, but it was tough - and it was during this tough time when I thought for the first time since his diagnosis we might actually lose him.

BUT! Like the su-per-per Troop-per-per Gord is, he rose above it & everyone marveled at how just totally awesome he is & he bounced back. The end of chemo came, life returned back to its normal, simple pace - we took some great trips, I started focusing hardcore on my own health, we had a chance to live happily as a normal, everyday couple, I got pregnant (!!), we got engaged, and.....

Gord's cancer came back.

Now, for real, I'm going to blog.

I got pregnant in July - I am due on April 7th (5 weeks!). On February 18th, we found out that Gord's ALL had relapsed. Yeah, kind of a crummy time line.

A lot of the reason I want to blog now, at this incredibly crazy time in our lives, is that when I went to the internet to find some support, I could find nothing. What? No one's been pregnant with a partner going through chemo? There must be! I need to have an outlet to share my experience as both caregiver & new mom & I'd like to quite possibly help someone else in
this same situation if I can.

So here's what's happening now:
Gord was admitted into Princess Margaret last Friday to begin his month-ish long induction period. Thankfully, his Drs are aware of my looming due date & they are trying their best to ensure Gord is able to be at the birth, even if he has not yet been released from the hospital. Luckily the hospital I am delivering at is attached by bridge to PMH!

He is on a different protocol than the first time, which makes sense. Another big difference this
time is that they are really pushing for a Bone Marrow Transplant. This, of course, brings along its own terribly scary list of risks but no more scary than enduring 2 more years of chemotherapy. He is ready for the fight, and I am ready to stand along side him.

And someone else is, too! The thing we cannot forget in all of this, the thing that is giving both of us the determination & strength to go down what we know will be a terribly difficult road is our baby. Our tiny little lady.
She nudges me often, reminding me that she's still here, happily growing inside me. Ready to be a source of strength & light to us both.

Tangled up in Blue(ish green).

Well, it only took about a million years, but it's done!

Tangled Yoke Cardigan! Done! Checkmark!

I didn't mind taking my time with this project - it was a joy to knit from the very beginning. I used Rowan Felted Tweed in 'Water'. I loved working with this - a lot! The knitted fabric is so soft & light while still being warm - it's wonderful.

I wasn't sure about what kind of buttons to put on, but in my last post, Julia suggested something 'vintagey' while Amy commented that she was quite happy with the Mother of Pearl jobbies she used on her own cardigan. That's when the light bulb went on in my head. I have vintage Mother of Pearl buttons! But did I have 9 of the correct size?

Yes, yes I did.

Effin' A! Button luck like that doesn't happen often around here, so I was more thrilled than some might think necessary as I sewed them on.

Even makes my droopy butt look good?

Now, my only concern about this sweater is that it felt...I don't know, more *substantial* before I blocked it. I think it grew too much in blocking & now the arms are a little bigger & longer than I'd like. While the fit is just right right now, I'm worried that my somewhat new, determined interest in my own physical health means that in a couple of months, it's going to be a little too big & look messy (props to myself by mentioning that I was about 25 pounds heavier when I started this sweater?). I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there & maybe that will be when I test out the (shiver) machine washability of this yarn. (oh god oh god what if I ruin it? calm down, I'll cry about ruining it when it actually happens..)


up there there was a squirrel - causing mischief.

Straight from the stash.

A while ago I made a mental promise with myself that I would finish up projects I already had going, use fabric I already had in my stash, spin fiber I already had & chip away at my yarn stash. I didn't *really* expect to stick to it though - it was just a little voice that would pipe up to remind me that I had plenty of yarn at home, or that I had beautiful sweaters on the needles, or that I could make a good amount of dresses & quilts with fabric I already own.

I'm surprised to have stuck to it - and even more surprised when I actually *give* myself permission to start something new, or to buy yarn & I end up forgoing it - telling myself all I have to do is fall back in love with the projects & materials I already own. Make them new...again!

It started with my sock yarn stash. I decided to knit chronologically from it. To my amazement, I have pretty much stuck to it. I have only bought 3 skeins of sock yarn in the past year or so (I KNOW, RIGHT??)

The latest completed project are these beauties:


Socks for Gord from some Trekking Pro Natura sock yarn. I remember the day I bought this -
how intrigued I was by the bamboo content...that was years ago - Bamboo is a
totally common fiber in yarns now!

I loved knitting these - the colours are calming, the yarn is lovely, and the weight is nice & light. A+! (This photo was taken after a couple of times through the washer - hence the pilliness)

And today I finished my Kaffe fasset Regia socks - a special treat for my own feet.


I'm wild about this colour combination, but was so frustrated by the short yardage of this stuff. I ran out of yarn with only about 4 rows to go in my second sock. Luckily, I had turquoise DK Superwash yarn in my stash that fit right in.

I've also made great headway with my Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I have only the button bands to knit. When I took this off the needles, after completing the neckband, I was almost sick to my stomach with absolute, pure joy. Seriously. I love this so much I could vomit.

I want great buttons for this...where should I get some great buttons? I'm not sure if I want to go way over the celtic top with this & get celtic-y pewter buttons or if I want to keep things in this same colour family. I love these indulgent decisions we get to make as knitters!

tangled.

For much, much longer than I care to admit to (a check in my Ravelry project information for this sweater, tells me I started it in September of 2008!) I have been working on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I love this project. I love the yarn (Rowan Felted Tweed), I love the feel of the knitted fabric, I know I will love the yoke cables... but I am dragging my heels on it. For months the body of the sweater has lingered in my sewing room...then I finally finished a sleeve, which hung out in the living room...the other sleeve was tucked into my bedside table . All these pieces of sweater everywhere...

There is an incredible sense of peace I feel once pieces of a sweater are finally joined. A "phew! The Gang's finally all here!" sort of relief. I finally got to feel that feeling last weekend when I joined the truant sleeves to the main body of this thing.

Awesome. I love it even more now - it's no longer a heavy grey Charlie Brown storm cloud following me around. Arms & body are together, the cable chart is just on the horizon! I can see it!

And then...
Oh! Snap! My needle has broken. The bamboo has split & the knitting on this cardigan is put on hold once again. (you can insert a fog horn boat noise here.)

So now, until I can get myself a new needle, I am happily working on this beauty:

It is 'A New Design in Cable Stitch' - A pattern from Woman's Weekly, 13 July 1940. A sweater requested by my friend Susannah.
I'm using Elann Baby Cashmere in 'Serengeti Sand.' It's lovely, the cables are lovely & I like working from a vintage pattern. I've been tempted to change a few things about it, but I'd like to stay as true to it as possible. Susannah takes the authenticity of her vintage clothing fairly seriously.

Knit out.

How's this for bad blogging?
Last week I went on a fabulous work trip - a trip to the 'Knit Out' at Mall of America & not only did I fail to mention I was going, but here I am dragging my heels in coming here to tell you that I went & it was fun. Exhausting, but fun.


I had never been in the presence of so many knitters & crocheters before! They took over the whole place - it was great to see a variety of people. I was at the Spinrite booth - answering questions & talking to people about upcoming patterns & yarns while they waited (and waited) in line. Because of the high volume of people, I didn't get a chance to see any of the other booths or watch the fashion show, but reports were that everything was pretty fun.

This was the line-up to get to our booth on Saturday - pretty crazy! I was happy to see so many men with their ladyfriends on Valentine's Day.

The woman knitting had her pattern tucked in the hood of her friend's sweater ahead of her in line. She stuck her knitting in there too!

Mall Mascot for the 'Underwater Adventures' pretending to eat our froggy washcloth.

After my long day of chatting up knitters, I put myself on the Light Rail and headed to Minneapolis to meet up with a crafty internet friend - it was great!

Jackierocket! This past year has been a weird one, socially, for me. Hanging out with JR was so relaxing & fun - I'm glad I mustered up the energy to get out of my hotel room. I didn't stay out too late though, Sunday was a brand new day of Knit Out fun. By the end of it, my throat was scratchy & I was suffering big time from healthy food withdrawl (Not many vegetarian options at any of the places we went...) - but I was high on all the great ideas I got from talking to so many people. *highfive!*

My trip knitting for this was socks for me with some of the Kaffe Fasset Regia sock yarn. I've been diligently knitting only from my stash & was pretty excited to finally knit with this stuff.
I cast on in the airport, knit on the plane & when we touched down 2 hours later, I had turned the heel & picked up the gusset stitches. I didn't have much yarn left, but I kept knitting hoping it would magically turn into more.

It didn't.

In the airport on the way home, Sara was nice enough to rip the entire thing back & I restarted from the beginning.
My initial cast on was 66 stitches - too much. I cast on 60 this time & started the heel flap about 1 1/2 inches sooner than on my first go.


I finished just under the wire with just the tiniest bit of yarn left over.

If you think I'm soxy.

I know Toronto is just a tiny speck on the map, and I know that where I (and tens of thousands more) live is but an even tinier speck, but when the power went out on Thursday night, it was big news. It became even bigger news when we were told that it'd be up to 24 hours before heat & electricity would be restored to our part of the city.

For the first 20 minutes or so of the blackout, Gord & I tried to pass the time by playing our ongoing game of Monopoly & listening to the wind-up radio. It didn't take long before trying to read the Community Chest & Chance cards by candlelight got old & we packed it in.
Power was back on by about 9:30 the next night & just in time too, since after almost 24 hours the temperature in our apartment was getting pretty crisp...or 'frigid' as I am quoted as saying in this article. Notice the bit about wearing hand knit socks? I made them promise to include that part.

And what a convenient segue!

Hot off the needles - I present to you...

BEST!

SOCKS!!

EVER!!!


Why are they the best socks ever?

Because I spun the yarn myself!

And then I knit it into these socks! That I am wearing on my feet as I type this!
Amazing!

I did run into a snag - I had only the toe decreases to do when I ran out of yarn..

So I had to spin some more up just so I could finish...and of course since I have too many projects on the go, I didn't get around to doing that until this morning - when, in an astoundingly speedy spinning & knitting session, I finished up these adorable little socks. I've been patting myself on the back ever since.

Superwash Merino roving in 'Tahiti' from Spunky Eclectic
I started spinning this in June, finished the socks in January. 7 months for a pair of socks? Totally worth it!
I used a great drop spindle from Yellow Dog Farm - also purchased from Spunky Eclectic.

And this isn't the only pair I knit during that time...

Clockwise from the top left, Socks for Gord - out of unidentified sock yarn. Monkey socks for my mom out of Regia Cotton....which, to be honest, were so very hard to give away. Socks for Gord & a pair for me - both out of dgb sock yarn from my stash.

I sometimes finish things & give them away before I realize I haven't taken any photos of them. Aside from these 4, I knit 3 pairs of socks for various men in my life. A pair for my dad, a pair for my brother in-law Scott & a pair for Kie, Gord's brother in-law. I'm still making my way through my sock yarn stash, currently chipping away at (surprise!) a pair of socks for Gord.

Okay, okay.....2009 - my year for blogging, I swear.
Let's just forget that weird lull ever happened, hm?


You know those projects that you don't remember knitting? Those ones that just all of a sudden show up, asking you to weave in their ends so it can be officially done?

My Gathered Pullover is one of them. I got this yarn in the summer & started casually knitting this on the bus on my way to & from work. When it got too big, I stuffed it in my bedside table & would throw in a row or two now & again. When I got to the cable, I did it one afternoon when I didn't feel like working on my other projects. I took a sleeve with me over Christmas holidays & finished the other one on the bus. Which brings me to Friday, when I wove in the ends & realized that I had a *fabulous* little sweater on my hands.


Pattern: Gathered Pullover by Hana Jason Ravelry link here.
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool in 'Dark Natural Mix'


I'm totally smitten with this one - probably because it sort of appeared from out of nowhere - and I'm 100% happy with the fit. I had some worries before I picked up the neckline stitches - it was huge & messy. To compensate, I picked up less stitches than the pattern called for to bring in the V-neck. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out & I am incredibly proud of how neat & tidy & perfect my picked up stitches are.

I worked less rows of neckline than the pattern called for as well, since that rolley edge business is not for me. I also worked a knitted hem in the sleeves and bottom edge. I sort of regret doing this in the sleeves as I could have them about an 1 1/2" shorter, but there's no going back. At least this shows that I'm past my nasty habit of not making sleeves & bodies of sweaters long enough.

Two thumbs up for this one!

Over my break from blogging I finished a couple choice projects - I'll start sharing them soon. I'll sprinkle posts about them in between my current stuff. Current stuff lately means finishing up all my WIPs. I'm dedicated to a new project in/project out rule to help keep a cap on my compulsive project starting. So far so good, and now that this sweater is done I can put some new socks on the needles.