Literary Knitting

I mentioned in my New Years post that this year I would be participating in the Self Imposed Sock Knitter's Club in 2012. This idea by the Yarn Harlot is a wonderful way to both destash my ridiculous sock yarn collection and inspire me to move away from plain "vanilla" socks and try new and challenging sock patterns. I have always been envious of people who have patience to make a sock with features like cables and lace, heck, even ribbed socks impress me! I have a collection of sock knitting books but I never knit from them. This year is going to change all that. I am determined to become a more adventurous sock knitter.

As per usual with these silly ideas I have, that wasn't enough. Another goal for 2012 is that I want to read more for pleasure. With knitting taking over my life, most of the reading time I have is saved for academic purposes and my teaching. I want to read at least 12 books this year for fun. This is a low goal and I hope it will be attainable. These two ideas came together and I thought, wouldn't it be fun if the books I read somehow have a connection to the projects I'm knitting. Realizing that my idea of fun might greatly differ from the majority of the population, I picked out January's project and book with gusto. 

January Self-Imposed Sock and Book Club

The Socks: My Vampire Boyfriend by Kate Atherley, published in Knitty, Fall 2009, free pattern

Photo borrowed from Knitty, Fall 2009. Link above.

The Yarn (the stringy variety, not the story): Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label in a One-of-a-Kind Colourway

The Book: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

My progress:

I think I may have chosen a doozy of a first non-plain sock to start with. The cables in this sock make my eyes come in and out of focus, but so far I am enjoying the challenge (and it is getting easier. I have knit the three pattern repeats for the leg and am about the start on the heel flap. I have a long way to go and must not give in to SSS (second sock syndrome). I have joined two KAL (knit-a-long) groups on Ravelry for moral support and encouragement to get these done by the end of the month. I think I am going to need it!

Close up of the heart cable

Close up of the "bite mark" cable, which looks like it is being punctured by little eyelets. Love this!

As for the book, it is the perfect choice to curl up with on cold January nights. It combines two of my favourite genres: historical fiction and fantasy. The book reads like a historical biography, the story mixed in with excerpts from Honest Abe's real and imagined journals and writings. I don't want to reveal much of the plot, but essentially the journals reveal that vampires do exist and Abe was a bad-ass vampire hunter, who vowed to take out all vampires in America. The book could have come off as just plain ridiculous, but is well written and combines enough historical fact to allow the reader to suspend disbelief for the fiction. I am thoroughly enjoying it so far. This preview video for the book on YouTube says it all.

Happy knitting and reading!

msi

WIP Wednesday

Checking in for Works In Progress Wednesday with an update on my Kara Cardigan. I have made some headway and have completed 4.5 of the lace repeats. I am getting close to the addition of the sleeves. This sweater has an interesting construction that I have not used before in my many baby sweater prototypes, so I am eager to see how it will turn out.

Also on the needles is this mini-monster, Rebecca Danger's Angus the Attic Monster, knit in sock yarn. This little guy doesn't look like much yet, but is sure to be a cutie when finished. My mini Gabby relaxes, while not so patiently waiting for her new friend to appear.

I have one more project on the go which I will tell you about tomorrow. I know, I know, the suspense is killing you.

msi.

It's Time to Meet the Hexipuffs!

Today is the first day I was really cold coming to work. It was -18 degrees Celsius and somewhere in the -20's with the windchill. Brrr. I compensated by wearing lots of hand knits: legwarmers, hat, cowl, mittens. They helped but I still have a major chill on. Now I am cuddled up with a blanket and my knitting. This is making me feel much better about the cold world outside my window. 

Tuesday will now be hexipuff day on the blog. I know what you are thinking, what the heck is a hexipuff? In short, a hexipuff is a small knitted hexagon that is stuffed with batting. Eventually these will all be tied together to make the Beekeeper's Quilt. This pattern from Tiny Owl Knits has become extremely popular and has over 2,500 projects on Ravelry. People are doing themed quilts, making pictures from the hexies, and all sorts of neat things. I personally love the random, eclectic nature of the original and I am aspiring mine to have the same quality.

I will be using up scraps of sock yarn to make the blanket. This quilt will be an ongoing project for the year. I am hoping that if I manage to knit at least one hexi a day, by the end of the year I should have enough to make a small quilt. A wonderful thing about the hexipuffs is that they are a small, portable project that takes very little yarn (and time) per puff. The pattern was easy to memorize so I have made myself a small "hexipuff kit" with all the tools I need and can take this anywhere for fast on-the-spot knitting. In the Danger Crafts Holiday Swap I got this great handmade zippered pouch from my swap partner which I am now putting to good use as my hexi kit.

I started knitting these over the holidays and so far I have managed to make 11 of them. I'll update you weekly on my progress.

Yarns Used This Week:
Manos del Uraguay Serena
Knit Picks Chroma
Vanna’s Glamor
Shelridge Farm Soft Touch Ultra Standard Handpaints
Tanis Fiber Arts Purple Label
Koigu KPPPM
Frogtree Pediboo

Hexipuffing to stay warm, 
msi.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all!


What a holiday this has been. It's hard to believe that it is back to work tomorrow; I was just starting to get relaxed!


I'm not one for new years resolutions, but I do have some 2012 knitting goals.


1. It's all about the sweater. I have three batches of yarn in sweater quantities and I would like to make them all up in 2012.


2. Self-imposed Sock Knitting Club. Based on an idea by the brilliant Yarn Harlot, as a way to destash the mountain of sock yarn one might collect. At the beginning of the year you put 12 sock patterns and corresponding yarn in ziplock bags and every month you make a pair of socks. I am starting off January with a bang and may possibly have chosen the most complicated socks ever. More on that later...


3. Knit for myself! I know this may sound selfish, but as I perused all the knitted gifts I gave away this Christmas I decided that I would do a few calculations. I checked Ravelry and discovered that in 2011 I knit a total of 82 finished projects. I then realized that I have kept 6 of them - mostly hats, I adore my hats! I love knitting gifts, but I also want to start enjoying some hand knits myself!


On that note, 2 new Rebecca Danger monsters that I finished over the holidays and now reside on my desk.

Zeke the Aloof Alpaca pattern. I named this sweetie Philippe after the cute baby alpaca that we met at Good Karma Farm when we were in Maine. 

A mini Gabby the Garden Monster. I made this mini with some hand dyed sock yarn I found in the bargain room at Needles & Knits in Aurora. Love her!

Wishing everyone all the best for a happy 2012!


msi.

Happy Holidays & First WIP Wednesday

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday filled with family, friends, food and festivities. We had a special, while unorthodox, Christmas at our place, with my mom, step-dad, dad, step-mom, grandmother and my guy. It was very strange as this was the first time we were all together, but it couldn't have gone better or been more fun. I feel very lucky to have the family I do. However, when everyone cleared out on Boxing Day there was a sigh of relief as sharing our two bedroom apartment with four other people was a bit of a spatial challenge!

I'm going to make a effort to post more frequently, so I am going to try and stick to a WIP Wednesday in which I feature one of my "Works In Progress". This week I want to share my new sweater. The Shiny Green Monster has officially left this world and I have a sense of invigoration and freedom in the realm of sweater knitting. I had originally picked out a cardigan from the wonderful book Coastal Knits, but when I was in Portland I visited a great shop called Knit Wit Yarn Shop where I fell in love with Quince and Co. Yarns and their pattern for the Kara Cardigan.

The Kara Cardigan designed by Cecily Glowik MacDonald. Pattern information can be found on their website or on the ravelry pattern page. Photo from the Quince and Co. website. 

I purchased enough of the chickadee yarn (a sport weight wool) in the lupine colourway; a rich medium range purple that I love.

My yarn just waiting to be turned into something beautiful and wearable. 

On Boxing Day, once the Christmas knitting was complete and everyone else was out shopping, I curled up on the couch and casted on. So far I have finished the bottom ribbing and 2 lace pattern repeats. This is moving along a lot faster than I thought and I am enjoying the all over lace pattern. I am hoping that with blocking it will open up and become a bit larger, but am hopeful that it should fit well in the end. 

'til next time, knit on!

msi

The Long and Winding Road

We are finally home from Maine. I say finally because the trip today involved 11 hours in the car as we drove through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Quebec and Ontario on our journey home. We woke up this morning to a Maine Winter Wonderland and drove through snow, rain and sleet, but we made it. I even managed to finish Kevin's Christmas socks and start a baby hat. Glad to be sleeping in our own bed tonight and excited for the Christmas festivities to start tomorrow.


With 11 hours in the car I tried to make a few excuses to stop for photo-ops hence the following black and white series: the long and winding road.

The view from the house in the morning snow: a true winter wonderland. 

Ski slopes covered in the good stuff.

White Mountains National Park

Now these are some icicles 

A waterfall. not completely frozen. Did you know a waterfall could also be called a flume? I learned something new today. 

msi.

An Afternoon in Portland

On our last day in Maine we explored downtown Portland and the surrounding coast. 

Matt wanted authentic New England Clam Chowder so we went to Gilbert's in downtown Portland for lunch.

In the restaurant Matt and Dad looked at an old navigational map of the Maine coast. 

Matt and his clam chowder, brimming over in a bread bowl. 

After lunch we headed to Portland Head Lighthouse at low tide. 

Under the lighthouse.

Old wood at the Lighthouse.

We left Portland Head and went to Twin Lights where we explored a bit of the park and coast line. These burrs were similar to the ones that were stuck in the alpaca fur from a few days ago. 

Lichen growing on the rocks.

Dad and Matt in the waning light.

Rocky shore line. 

Dad explores tide pools at sunset. 

Driftwood

Matt and Dad searched for sea glass.

Matt gets ready to dip his finger into the Atlantic...

Brrrrrr!

The sun sets on another wonderful day. 

I even managed to fit some yarn shopping in, at a great local shop called KnitWit. I will share my yarn haul from another local company, Quince and Co. in a later post.


Long drive home tomorrow.


msi.