catcher's knit

did it again

notice anything wrong in this picture? take alook at the top? notice how there are 299 stitches, when there should only be 84? yeah! water under the bridge now...

because i frogged it back to the end of the pattern, and started over again! how do i manage to get myself into these situations, not reading the patternt horoughly i guess. and... ad if i dont have enough knitting problems already, look at what i bumped into today...
cotton tape, a discontinued colour at a discounted price! i have been wanting to do carla, but just wasn't convinced i could, but who could resist, not i! I guess i'll be doing my first knit along, hope it's not too late. now that i think about it, there should be a knit along for the rebecca apricot cardi, a lot of people seem to have done one, or are in the process of creating one as i type.

first day

so i made it into the gym today, first time since getting this membership 2 months ago! I'm going to try going at least twice a week, i have a closet full of clothing from preloved that i have to be able to wear again.

as for knitting, i am totally overwhelmed by all the new books out now, there are so many yummy things i'd like to make. I've been wanting to make tasty, as well as the buckle jacket from loop d loop, and the ballet sweater from summer 2004 interweave knits magazine, among other things. now there are sooo many new things to make, and i'm so slow to knit, and with school starting in a week, i'll have even less time, so i think i'll do the big easy sweater from loop d loop and a bunch of scarves for xmas gifts. i'm a few inches from finishing the back of the rebecca cardi, it took me a while, but i just had to put her down for a few days, otherwise, she may not have come this far! i'll post pictures soon.

one last thing, we've booked our trip to england for xmas, the mecca of yarn and shoes, i think i'll just get all rowan yarn and shoes i need when i'm there! can't wait!!!!!!!!! so hopefull some of u uk bloggers can keep me abreast of all the sales to look out for while i'm there!

button difficulty

i'm having difficulty with the buttons i'm posting in my side bar, some of the code is showing, not sure why, but i'll figure it out. as well, my site looks much better on my mac than it does on a pc, i'll see what i can do to make it easier on the eyes.

as for the rebecca cardi, i'll post my progress later tonight, i'm almost finished the back, but maybe some of you experts can advise me on the front, i added two stitches in the back, do i need to do the same for the front, and do i add one on each side, should i just have followed the pattern? i'll be ready to start the front this weekend.

me and this cardigan

i hate to attribute my irrational behaviour to the natural monthly occurance of my menses, but I must say, i've been pms'ing in a bad way and its affecting my knitting. i hate everything i'm knitting, especially, this rebecca cardi!

it has been the thorn in my ass since i started it! i've frogged it 3 times, and at both times i was well past the initial 20cm of rib. you can't really tell in the picture that the first decrease in the pattern came out looking sloppy, but it did. so imstead of ssp i did ssk. i've also tried three different yarns, only to arrive at the yarn suggested in the pattern, which i'm not crazy about. since i added two extra stitches because i was afraid of the sizing, i messed up the pattern and created my own, i was told it looks great at last night stitch and bitch, so i'm going ahead with it on the advice of others (but in the background of my head i hear a the sounds of a frog)) but this sweater is sooo beautiful, i refuse to give up. then there's the merino sock, can't do it. i can't make adult socks using a size 0 needle, sorry. i've found some beautiful patterns for bulky yarns, i'll stick to them. so instead. i'm knitting socks for my son who is 14 months, i'll get alt least 2 pairs out of the fleece artist yarn. and thats that.

oh oh

so last friday, i totally yelled at what was the beginning of my rebecca cardigan, and frogged it before taking a picture of the first 25cm!! i guess that means it wasn't worth viewing. instead of java, i had used online cotton stretch, which i must say is such a yummy yarn!!!! however, i had made enough mistakes to prove that i was not ready to use such a decadently soft yarn, i wasn't getting the gauge either, so back to romni i went to exchange all my cotton stretch, for that ggh java yarn that i dislike so much, and guess what... i finally got the gauge, so i've cast on, and i've completed 6 cm of the back! i'll post pix soon!

i have parted ways with the mango moon silk sari scarf, hope my mother in law enjoys it, but i vow, that for xmas, i will purchase myself the fringed coat pattern kit, and next fall, i'll be sporting a cute silk jacket.

much better

haven't posted this past week, i was home with a seriously sore throat. i guess karma has a way of kicking u in the ass, if u remember, on friday i took the day off from work because i took my tooth out, but i was not in any pain. come tuesday, i can't swallow, better yet, i refuse to swallow because a mouth filled with saliva is much better than swalling crushed glass, which is how it felt, i feel much better today. i did manage to get some knitting in though. I made a a 120" garter stitch scarf out of some very yummy mango moon recycled silk (u can see it in the photo album) i got from . it's supposed to be a birthday gift for my mother-in law, who is soooo deserving, but i'm a selfish only child, and i want it for meeeeeee!

I've also started on the car coat #32 in the fall 2004 issue of Vogue Knitting. I'm gooing to take my time with this one, i don't need it until our trip to England this December!! i have concentrated my efforts of that rebecca cardi! after many many false starts, i've finally gotten somewhere with it. the pattern itself isn't difficult, i just don't read patterns as thoroghly as i should. i'll post pix tonight. till then...

why do feet have to be so big?

so i think this is the first and the last sock i'll ever do! i'm finally knitting the actual foot part, but i wish this was over alreaedy! and then i'd have to start another one - yikes! i've only been knitting it on the bus ride to work, which doesn't warrent a bus ride really, i could walk it in about 20 minutes, but how else would i have time to knit? i should be walking my ass of, since i've lost not one pound since giving birth to my son, 13 MONTHS AGO (sorry for yelling, this will be the last time u hear this rant, i promise). i joined a gym 3 weeks ago, have i gone - no. so i need encouragement, i want to fit into my old clothes, i miss them:( BTW, i hate the needles i'm using, they've made this more labour intensive than they should be! I think I'll be getting some bamboo ones today.

gues what i learned yesterday? that i can't knit! i can't knit! for the past, oh i don't know, 20 years (not that i've been knitting for all of the 20 years, but i learned 20 years ago), i've been twisting my stitches. so all the problems i've been having with the gauge were due to my method of knitting. i found this out after i returned all the kim yarn i bought and replaced it with the ggh yarn, double the price, yeah! not impressed!

i'm taking the day off today because i got my wisdom tooth removed yesterday. i was actually quite impressed witht the fact that it was such a quick proceedure, and i feel fine, great to be exact. however everyone was sooo concerned, they said i'd be in loads of pain, so i'm taking a feeling great while everyone thinks i'm in agony day, hee hee.

i should be preparing for school in september, it feels like i've been out of school forever! not sure how i'll do this, but i'll be working 30hrs, and taking 2 courses!!!! and apparently i still have to be a mom during this time. come january, i will be going into the practicum portion of the midwifery course, and that's when everything gets thrown to the wayside! i'll only get 72 hours off each month, and be oncall for for the rest of the time. and on top of this, i could be placed anywhere in ontario!!!!! okay, let me not get into this, i'll start yelling again!

drama

so, where to begin ... all i've wanted to the past couple of days is sit down and knit the rebecca apricot cardi, but what do i go and do, i make a swatch, and ibecause of this action, i have yet to start the cardi, because i haven't been able to get the gauge. now it looks like i'll have to buy the ggh java yarn the pattern calls for.

on a lighter note, my partner and i dyed some lett-lopi yarn i had sitting around. this was supposed to be a project for me and me alone, but he helped out and as usual took over (i'm over exaggerating). its just that he seems to know everythiing, and it can be annoying at times, because he almost always makes sense. I started dying my yarn by pouring the koolaide mixutre over the yarn, eventually the yarn was swimming in a swampy mess

as yu can see, the only colour that can be seen clearly is the blue, i was going for a varigated yarn, but i still think its quite nice. however the master kool aid dyer suggested using small amounts, so that the yarn could soak up the dye, thereby eliminating the swamp effect! ugggh, he was right, here's his materpiece, notice how you can see the distinction between the colours

no different from mine if u ask me. however, i have at least three more balls of yarn to go.
went to the stitch and bitch, loads of people, looking forward to next week.

feeling hot hot hot...

well its caribana weekend, and the weather is nice! while i'm not a parade girl, my partner managed to drag me out to see the costumes, not before catchng the last day of the romni wools 20% off sale. i feel like such a traitor because lettuce knit is my favorite yarn store of all time, its all warm and fuzzy, while romni can be a little cold, however, i had to justify yet another yarn purchase (as i have yet to fully complete any of the projects from recent yarn purchases).

I've been wanting to knit the rebecca apricot cardigan

so i got 10 balls of kim

I'm going to do a swatch tonight to make sure i get the gauge, this will be the first time i will have ever done a swatch! i usually just hope for the best.

tomorrow i'm planning on dying some lopi yarn i scored at a yarn sale a few months ago with kool aide. I'll post the results, no matter how horrible.

just so u know i can knit...somewhat

so i forgot to show off my finished items, all 1 1/2 of them. my version of the stitch and bitch to dye for sweater has been sitting in a plastic bag for over 2 months now, screaming to be sewn up, the screams have been sooo loud, that I went and bought a sewing machine last week thinking this would make finishing a breeze, can I actually sew, no, and i'm soo afraid of that machine that i haven't even taken it out of the box yet! here's the back

the sleeves

and my sick attempt at making it a v neck which would be more flattering to my new set of boobies, thanks to breastfeeding, instead of the original crew neck.

i also completed the loop d loop capelet.
it could stand some blocking, but as u can see, i'm not into finishing, guess i'm a lazyass knitter.

in an effort to restore myself back to my pre-pregnancy weight (i am the same weight i was the day before i gave birth a year ago), i've joined ballys here in toronto, and yesterday I went to sage yoga, and i must say, yoga is not that relaxing. everytime i go, i always go with the idea that i'm going to leave feeling so relaxed etc, but as soon as the sum salutations begin, i'm insantly reminded of my deep hatred of the downward dog asana! i do leave feeling rejuvinated, so i'll be sure to keep on going...

the merino sock is coming along, i'm getting to the fun part, i'll post pictures soon.