Knit and the City

Frida update.

You think my dogs are hard to tell apart? Try telling apart Jack, Della and Mikey! I can't tell who's what and what's who!
This one should be easy.
Guess who?!

Some dog is in serious trouble.

Even Monk knows it's gonna be a 'bad dog day'.

Isn't it the cutest thing you've ever seen?

It's a dish scrubby! I got the pattern through Mariko's site a while ago. I can't find the link but I printed off the pattern when I saw it. Good tip I learned from Bonne Marie. Is there anything that lady can't do?

Frida remains about a foot long. Only about two more feet to go! Then another 3 foot panel. I'm going to try to get the first panel done today. Yeah, right.

Puppy comparison pic. That's Sarah on the left, Ella on the right.

And Monk in the camera.

Weekend Update: I wanted to sleep in. I’ve been up since 8. May have to have a nap this afternoon. I have nothing planned except laundry and knitting and maybe a little sewing. PBS also.

Frida.

It’s one pattern repeat longer than the last time. I see the mistakes I made in the first repeat but have to have at least one error in every project. I’ll slog away at this today. I’m bored with it! I’m bored with everything lately! Even work is boring! We’ve slowed down and now we actually have time to do all our work in a timely, non-rushed, panicked fashion. WTF is up with that? To stir thing up the boss leased the building next door and is building a new office especially for Film Production. I’m going to be moving by the end of the year. I’m very excited but also a little nervous. My own office! Wait a minute, I already have one…Hm, I wonder what he’s up to.

I have another problem. I tried to quit smoking last year. This year and I think even the year before. I blogged about my quitting but never quite made it. I’m smart enough to know what triggers my craving and how deeply an ingrained habit it is. It is such a part of my routine. Last year I tried an e-quit list. This year I think I’ll try a knit-quit program. I have to resolve myself that whenever I have the urge to light up that I pick up my knitting. I may even seek the guidance of the great Bonne Marie. I understand she started knitting to quit smoking. The amount she knits I think she must have been quite a smoker. Har har. Kiddin' There’s hope for me yet.

No pooper pics today. They are out on the back porch sunning themselves.
How about a big, fat, kitten?

I've noticed a lot of knitting blogs going down over the last little while. Some think no one reads, others have things in their life that have taken priority and some seem to have egos directly linked to their stats or their hit counters.
I always enjoy a peek into people's lives. Knit related or not. So keep bloggin people! I rarely visit my stats and I rarely get a comment. I like comments but have seen where they can be evil and nasty. So...am I really sad more people don't comment? Not really. Granted it would be a nice boost to my ego. Even if you get one hit a day that's not you checking up, you've got a reader. Somebody who likes what they see.
Think about that.

I had a camera/computer crash earlier so there are no new pics of my poncho, Frida.

Amazing Race-PTL that Chip and Kim won! Now there's a couple that deserved it. Liked them from the very start. I actually jumped up and down in the living room with glee! Really!

Terri sent me a card today and in it were the pictures her big fella had taken when we had coffee together. No word of a lie, she looks great in almost every picture. I look stupid. Even the guy agrees I'm looking a bit goofy. She better stop by on the way back so there can be a reshoot! She's threatening to post them on her blog when she gets back home! Argh! How embarrassing! Eh, whatever!

Guess the Pooper pic.

The view down from my computer chair.

Somebody stop me!
I think it’s not healthy for me to be alone. I’ve been shopping. Granted I did need new pants for work. Did I need this?

Of course! For when I make the No Sweat Pants from last years IK!
What about this?

Go ahead; stick your yarn snobby nose up. I would. This stuff wears like iron. I made my Cabled Hoodie out of it and it’s really comfortable. I actually did want to get a wool blend or classic wool because I picked up this Paton’s pattern booklet.

No store I went to had enough of one dye lot to make a sweater. Damn pattern calls for 20 (yeah, twenty!) 3 1/2 oz. balls of Shetland Chunky. Gauge of 15sts/10cm. Humph. So there I was in Zellers, eyeing up the big balls of acrylic. I got enough to make this.

Isn’t it gorgeous!? I know, I’ve gone Cable Crazy!
I do really like this pattern too.

It’s not in my colours or anything. I like the seaside design of it and think of wearing it on my island beach! Good Lord, I’m going to be 80 before I finish all the projects I have planned. That’s only if I don’t plan any new ones!

Here’s the current project.

Frida! From the new issue of MagKnits. I do have a complaint about the pattern. It says ‘simple’ for the difficulty level. Sure, it’s pretty simple but there are a few things that would make it even more simple. Uh…how about you tell folks how many stitches to cast on in the beginning? Maybe when you introduce a new stitch technique, show how it’s done? Not much to ask but I’m asking. I’ll admit I can be a bit of a yarn idiot. The omission of the initial cast on got my goat. Other than that it’s working fine.
Oh yeah, cast on 90 stitches.

Furkid pic!

Buddy doing her best ‘door not a window’ impersonation.

All alone.
The guy is off to Saturna Island for a gig. Leaving me to do whatever I want this weekend! Woo Hoo! Not that it’s any different from any other weekend. I do what I want most times anyway. Now I have less guilt.
I’m starting with these.

Edamame’s. Freaking love them. I think it’s going to be a vegetarian weekend for me. If I didn’t live with the guy I probably would be a veghead. I’ll be off to the veggie store and the cheese shop and I think I may venture to the giant superstore and see what kind of pickles I can find. Mmmmm…pickled anything. The only bad thing about being alone is I have to make my own latte’s. Not as good as the guy makes. I think it’s missing the love he puts in it. Sigh.

Knitting away at the cabled scarf that goes with Easy Street.

I’m bored with it though and today I am going to start a new project. It’s the Saturday PBS and Knitting Marathon! What’s she going to knit? She doesn’t even know!
Update tomorrow!

Even though I’m alone the bed isn’t empty.

I woke to this. Sarah, the snuggler. Yes, those are flannel jammies. My mommy made them. I have a lot of flannel sleepwear. It’s so cozy!

Off to begin the Marathon!

Go out and get yourself some Spray n Wash. One day it may save your life.
Or your sweater.

TaaDaa!

Now it can really go into the gallery as a Finished Object!
I soaked all the stains with Spray n Wash and let it sit it a little pile on the laundry room floor. Stewing while the white load went in first. Then I turned it inside out, said a little prayer and tossed it in with the blue load.
I was so happy I did a little dance when I took it out of the washer!

Model shot!

Hee!

Amazing Race=I actually stayed up to watch last night and cheered as Evil Colin and Christie arrived last. Cheers to tears as it was the last non elimination leg. I thought for sure I could hear Terri's screams from Vancouver Island! Hoo!

Lastly a dip into the pooper pics archive for Pat.

Who is it?

Phew…we made it back in one piece.

This was the most stressful trip to the island ever. Even more stressful than the trip up to see the damage that the trees had done when they fell.

Here goes, we picked up our rental truck. A beautiful 4x4 Dodge Ram heavy-duty crew cab with the hemi engine. Sweet! Sure, as long as we didn’t drive over 80 kmh! We discovered this clunking sound if we went over 80. We pulled over and checked under the truck to see if something was caught. Nope. So do we turn around and head back or pray and hope for the best?
We prayed.
I knew that there wasn’t another truck that size available. All our stuff couldn’t fit into anything smaller. It was cancel the trip or hope for the best. We thought positive and motored on. Most of the trip is on windy highway and you can’t get up over 80 anyway.
That big old’ truck is really a trooper. Never let us down. Just scared us if we went too fast.

We arrived into Lund to catch the barge we had chartered. The guy called and the barge guy told him there was a big storm coming and that he didn’t think he’d be going over to the island. Weather permitting, you know. Sheeit. I told the guy not to worry and that there was a place somewhere we could stay and tomorrow we could try again. Inside I was cursing up a storm! Argh! First the truck and now this? Gah! Barge guy told us to call in an hour and he’d see. We had a beer at the historic Lund Hotel and after about 45 minutes headed over to our truck parked on the barge ramp. Lo and behold, we get into the truck; the guy grabs the Palm to look up the barge guys’ number when we look up to see the barge backing up to the ramp. The guy gets out and yells, “So we’re going?” Barge guy yells back “We gotta hurry! Back it on and let’s go!” Hee!

No wonder he didn’t want to go. By the time we had off loaded and got to the cabin the sky opened up and the wind really started to blow. We started a fire and settled in for the night.

Next day the guy built a little dog run. Nothing worse than having to get up in the middle of the night and leash up the poopers for a potty. Now we can just open the door and let them out into their little yard! Too cool!

A more permanent and esthetic version will be built next year. After that all we had left to do on this trip was to clean up and bag all of the trash from the last 3 years. That took about an hour. Nice! Now off to more fun things to do. Like walk the dogs. Visit the neighbours. Knit!

Until that dark and stormy night when I perpetrated a Knitting Nightmare! Don’t drink and knit! I was having a glass of wine after dinner and somehow spilled it all over my knitting and myself.

If you were within a 2-island radius I’m sure you heard me! I may have made up a couple new swear words! The guy jumped in to the rescue and grabbed the knitting away from me. He laid it in the sink and grabbed the salt and poured salt over all the stains. What a guy! I didn’t think the acrylic would hold the stain but I wondered if the rayon in the blend would. In my mind the worst that could happen is that it would stain and then this week I’d buy another bottle of the same wine and pour it all over the sweater making the whole thing one colour.
I persevered and completed the sweater. Stains and all I present an F.O.!

Yarn used: Red Heart Misty in the Windsor colourway.
Pattern: Easy Street from the Paton’s book Street Smarts
Started August 3, 2004-Finished September 13th, 2004

If the stain comes out I’ll have a better photo shoot. If not, that’s the way the sweater’s gonna be worn. A Savary Only special.

Last post till next week.
Question? Do you think we have enough crap for the trip?

Thank goodness we rented a truck!

Guess who stopped by to say 'hello' today?

Terri! Of KnitBlog! I had to crop myself out of the picture. I looked like a maniac psychopath! Grinning and giggling! Just a short coffee and a quick visit. Got to meet her big fella. He's such a sweetie and I was very impressed with his junk in the trunk. If you know what I mean! Hee!
Can you believe we never once spoke of knitting?
Till next week, peeps! Adios!