Just Quickly Popping In...

Things are busy. Very busy.

Work is good. I was at a seminar this afternoon on changes to WCB regulations. Learned a bunch.

I realized this morning that I don't have my June socks completed for the sock a month kal (I'm not even done the leg of the second one. The only reason I'm panicking is because:

Saturday is going to be a non knitting day. My dad and I and Stu (when he wakes up) are all going to take part in changing my tie rods and ball joints on ma truck (that's not a typo btw. That's what I call it). I think I'm slightly more country than I'd intended.

Oh oh oh !!!!!! I almost forgot. I got my invite to Ravelry this morning. I was starting to wonder if I'd actually applied to join or if I had just imagined that I had. Seriously, I was having doubts.

The very last of my sweet georgia is up on eBay. I'm going to try to get back to my "knitting roots" by using less trendy/less expensive yarn. You know ---- doin' it for the knitting, not the shopping.

Anyhoo---I'm starving and I have a ton of knitting to do! Wish me luck!

Hoping everyone's well, and your week is going quickly. I can't wait for the long weekend (Canada Day).

Happy Knitting!

(seriously though, I think I may need a support group for all the exclamation points I use)

A Quick and Easy Baby Hat

Edited to add: I added a few more Sweet Georgia Yarns for sale on ebay. Just search Sweet Georgia and click on crafts, and you'll find my listings. Everything will be in the mail as soon as it's paid for.


A friend of my brother's is expecting, and he asked me if I could make a hat or something. Now usually I don't take knitting requests, but seeing that he never asks me for anything, and I needed a quick project to get me back on track, I obliged.


I basically made up the pattern as I went. Here it is for anyone interested:


Very Easy Baby Hat Pattern---

With worsted weight yarn (I used Bernat Satin in Bahamas) and 4.5 mm needles, cast on 64 and begin working in the round. I used the magic loop technique.


Knit in the round until work measures 5.5-6".
Next round: *k6, k2tog* repeat.
Next round: *k5, k2tog* repeat.
Next round: *k4, k2tog* repeat.
Next round: *k3, k2tog* repeat.
Next round: *k2, k2tog* repeat.
Next round: *k1, k2tog* repeat.
Next round: *k2tog, k2tog* repeat.
Next round: *k1, k2tog, k1*

Use the remaining stitches to do i cord for the desired length. I did about 3.5-4".

To finish: cut the yarn and run the tail through the remaining i cord stitches. Weave in ends.

For Sale: Sweet Georgia Yarn

I just wanted to let everyone know that I've listed a few skeins of Sweet Georgia Superwash Sock yarn and lace weight on eBay for some de-stashing. I am totally out of space in my tiny apartment, and I bought a few to many skeins.

Here are the links to the auctions ---

Superwash Sock---

River

Rainforest

Olivia

Midnight Rain

Coal Harbour

Handpainted Lace---

Cassis

Blue Steel

Finally!

After 24 years on this planet, I finally got my first car last night! It's a 1994 Ford Explorer and it has 230,000 kilometers on it. For a '94 it's super luxury --- It's got 4wd, power everything, and it's in good condition inside and out.

Would you like to know how this all began?

I came home from work on Wednesday, and was totally depressed for some reason, and started whining that I'd never ever have a car, and boo hoo, etc. Stu was like, why wouldn't you have a car? I think you should get a car. If you come up with X amount, I'll loan you the rest.
It just so happened that I had X amount, so we started looking on Craigslist, AutoTrader, Buy & Sell, etc. on Wednesday and Thursday. Finally on Thursday night, we decided to get out and take a look at a few cars. We had in mind a really old (like '92 or before) little car like a civic, corolla, sprint, colt, or something similar.
We went to 2 different places that didn't have anything suitable, but the salesman at the 2nd place recommended a place out in Surrey (about an hour for us). We headed out there and I spotted a very pretty black 1994 Ford Explorer. I liked it, but it was 3 times what I'd had in mind to pay.
I can not tell you how happy I was when Stu said I should test drive it! I really liked it. It was the best car ever. And it was cool. It wasn't something that I'd have to park a block away so no one would see it.

We put in an offer, and were made a counter offer, which we needed to think about overnight. Right after work on Wednesday we drove out again. To see if we still liked it, and to see if there was a cheaper option.

I hadn't realized this yet, but by the time we got to the place, the Explorer was my car. I had to have it. We managed to get the price down so it's only twice as much as I wanted to pay. But it is so worth it.

I was changing the wiper blades in the Lordco parking lot this morning, and another guy with an Explorer was chatting with me (read: helping me put wiper blades on which I'd been working on for at least 20 minutes before he got there). He gave me a few tips about good Explorer websites and stuff.

So, it is because of the man that I usually refer to as "the cheapest man on earth" (which I feel horrible about) that I have a new car. I've stopped calling him that and I've started calling him my Sugar Daddy!

One Finished Kamloops Wild Flower Sock!

Here it is!

I am seriously loving how this sock turned out. The strangest thing happened when I was putting it on after I finished it. I had the same feeling that I had when I first imagined knitting socks. It was a weird feeling in my chest.

This is the first time I've ever knit with "cheap" sock yarn. I really hope that doesn't offend anyone. I think I'll knit with cheap sock yarn more often, because it's unencumbering. It wasn't a big layout of money, so I'm free to experiment and just have a good time.

I did have a good time. I made a super long leg, followed by a plain stockinette heel flap.

The yarn label says it's even dryer proof! I can't wait to wash it! Now if only they could make a yarn that is husband proof! Har!

My Knitter's Tea Swap Package Has Arrived!

Here's what I was greeted with at the post office last night---

It's from Hila from the blog "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Knitting". Thank you so much Hila!

It was packed full with lots of goodies---


There was a gorgeous hank of Sea Wool, some yummy little chocolate bars (one is caramel, the other is hazelnut), a scrumptious box of dark chocolate and coco bean cookies (these are coming to work with me today), a super cute little bag packed full of individual tea packets (also coming with me to work), and last but not least, a large tin of jasmine green tea---

It smells amazing!

Isn't this the coolest little tea infuser?---

It was extremely hard to photograph, but it looks much more awesome in person.

In other news: Stu has been reading all of your comments of congratulations, and he's very appreciative of all of them, so a big thank you from Stu.

Our Trip To Kamloops...

Here's the real reason we went to Kamloops---

Stu was receiving his Business Management Diploma, and he was being awarded the Governor Generals Bronze Medal Award for having the highest GPA of anyone getting a 2 year diploma in the whole school.

We also got a rockin' hotel room the second night(it was like the Ritz compared to the awful motel we stayed in the first night).

Here's my favorite feature---

It has a jacuzzi tub in the bedroom! After the awards dinner, we got back and watched The Real Housewives of Orange County in the huge tub. That was heaven! Don't judge me for loving that show.

Between the ceremony and the awards dinner, we had a chance to hit a couple of yarn stores. One was seriously overpriced, but the guy who worked there was super nice. The second one had a lot more, but the woman who worked there didn't say a word to me the whole time (it was weird because I was the only one in the whole store!).

I did find some Regia 4 color that I couldn't pass up. It reminded me of slightly dusty wildflowers.


I also picked up a set of 4 metal double points for super cheap. They were about $3.


I made some great progress on the first one on the way home. I'm almost done the foot, but Redd got a hold of my yarn, and now I have to wait for Stu to untangle it.

All The Right Angles...

I actually started and finished this dishcloth last Sunday.

I just couldn't help myself. I had to cast on for another dishcloth after I knit all those other ones. It's the Right Angles Dishcloth. I really like this pattern in this yarn. The yarn is Peaches & Cream in Peppermint.

We had a productive trip, and I'll be posting about it tomorrow. For now, we're both exhausted, and it's bedtime.

Hot Weather Can Bring On Strange Behavior...

Like knitting dishcloths all day. My God it was hot yesterday! It was 30C, which is about 84ish F.
All of these dishcloths are knit out of Peaches & Cream sent to me by Abigail. The green, blue, and white is "Sea Mist", the purple, pink, blue, yellow, and green is "Potpourri" (it reminds me of being at the cabin), and the one that looks like Sprite or 7-Up is "Lemon Lime".

It was far to hot to be outside, and far to hot to even think about touching wool, so I figured it was the perfect time to give Abigail's new Pinwheel Dishcloth pattern a try (I'll link to it in my sidebar as well). This is such a fun pattern to knit. After the beginning of the second repeat on the first one I didn't need the pattern anymore.

I probably don't need to tell you that I enjoyed this pattern, I can just show you the proof.

At the end of the night I had a lot of less than half balls of cotton, so I decided to give the diagonally knit dishcloth a try (the one with the eyelets). I know that there are several different sources for this pattern, so you may know it from somewhere else. It went quickly, but was not nearly as much fun to knit.

I'm going to try to pull myself away from the dishcloths today so I can start a sock, but it won't be easy because it's supposed to be even more hot today than yesterday. Well, maybe I'll allow myself one dishcloth to start ;)

Embossed Leaves In The Navy...

I've started on a new pair o' socks. Unfortunately, I've been making very slow progress. I think it's partly the color of the yarn. With the weather being so beautiful here lately, I find myself wanting to knit with happy bright summery colors. The navy blue Socks That Rock is gorgeous, but it really lacks that summer feel. I'm thinking I'll have to cast on some Monkeys in STR Fairgrounds or something. I'm also longing to use the Vesper Sock yarn that my secret pal gifted me.I love casting on for a new project on Friday night. There is really nothing like it. Friday night marks the furthest point from when my knitting will be restricted again with work.

Next week will be a short work week for me though. Stu and I are heading out of town after work on Wednesday, and we won't be returning until Friday evening.


Stu has won the Governor General's Bronze Medal Award for having the highest GPA of anyone getting a 2 year diploma at his school this year. The ceremony is up in Kamloops (about a 4 hour drive from Vancouver).


I'm really looking forward to this trip, because with Stu working crazy long hours, I haven't really spent much time with him over the last while. It'll be nice to be just the two of us for a couple of days. I'm trying to convince him to stop at a spa on the way home. It's not working.