Greenzilla!

This is what I finally decided to do with my green Malabrigo Worsted… a "Purl" scarf out of "Last Minute Knitted Gifts". The idea is to use two slightly different weights and hues of mohair with your base green malabrigio. SO I am using Malabrigo Merino Worsted in "Olive" with Rowan Kid Silkhaze in Jelly and Soft-Kid in 054. Have to say, I am loving the results! This may become a standard for scarves. I took enough colour theory in Art College to be hopelessly fascinated by playing with subtle variations of colour and texture. Colour can become somewhat of an obsession for me--you don't say! I can foresee making many, many of these scarves as fast and easy high luxury gifts! I could have used Kid Merino instead of Kid Silkhaze to cut costs and may well in future.

I also went to the LYS drop-in knitting Tuesday night. Great people, wonderful conversation. Knitting while discussing all our favourite books and authors. I've never done that before, but will definitely be doing it again! I liked what one of my fellow knitters had to say--they should have a sleep-over, then you could fall asleep surrounded by beautiful yarn and if you woke up in the night, get up and wander the store feeling the yarn. Ah yes… what knitters fantasize about. There's talk about a weekend knitting retreat and if they have one, I don't care what I have to do… I'm going! Back when I was married and had money… I use to go to the Banff Book Discussion Weekend… it was fabulous, amazing, I can't help but think a knitting retreat would be as good and possibly even better!

An Add On: My Oldest and Best friend saw the picture below of me in my new jeans and tank top and e-mailed to tell me I look HOT! She said, "I think your blog will be the start of you getting hit on by all sorts of guys!" If only. She Rocks!. Wish she lived closer!

I detect a theme…

Ever since I dyed my hair red… I have been obsessed with the colour green! It all started before I went out to OK Falls, I made an appointment with the lovely and talented Vicki at the salon next to my work for a cut and colour. When I went in, she said "I've been thinking about you… and I think you were born to be a red head!" I told her to go for it. I love what she did! She managed to flatter my "celtic" skintone and brought out the green in my eyes in a huge way. Now I am all about green! Green, Green, Green! Can't get enough of it.



I went to Make One today to buy stitch markers and stitch holders and what did I come home with…green wool. I went shopping for new jeans and what did I come home with… new jeans and a green tank top. It's a theme! I bought 2 skeins of the most yummy Malabrigo Merino Wool in "Olive" I don't even know what I want to make with it… it's just so soft and smooshy that I had to have it. I'm thinking an "Everybody's Favourite Hat 'n Scarf" from FiberTrends or may be a "Purl Scarf" from "Last Minute Knitted Gifts" I could get a couple different shades of green mohair to knit in with it. I'm thinking may be this, this or this. I also bought more sock yarn… in green of course! And a new Knowknits bag because my son --a lean, mean, green lovin' machine--bogarted the last one (my fault for wanting the green Camo one).

He took it to camp for his soap, toothbrush etc. and now he's taken it to Ontario. He phones me regularly to tell me how much he misses me. He's having an OK time, not great, but what can you do? I can ask his Dad see his own son but I can't force them to have a good relationship.

In his absence, I am knitting, reading and listening to my new MUST HAVE music… Josh Stone… check her out!

Speaking of the boy… I found the best T-shirt Web site in the world. Called "Threadless" the T-shirts are limited designs by a variety of designers and considering that they are run in limited numbers not mass produced, very reasonable. I plan to get the boy some for school.

I am still looking for knitting charities as well. If there are any near and dear to your heart, please, please… send them along.

Where have I been?

Here… only one of the most beautiful places in Canada! I was in the Okanagan for my Aunt's memorial service. It was a sad trip but a good trip. I saw family, my sisters and my Dad as well as several cousins. We had a lovely visit. We shared lots of stories and memories. It was hard to feel sad because my Aunt lived a full life and touched a lot of people. She was the best… and she was very well loved.

She left behind a lot of wonderful warm and funny memories for her family and friends. She was also a knitter, weaver, spinner and dyer of wool. She left behind a lot of wool. My cousin has asked me if I would research worthy volunteer knitting projects that she could use some of that wool for… Projects that would reflect my Aunt's outlook on life and the things that mattered to her. So that's exactly what I am going to do. The first thing that sprang to mind was "Warming Grace". While my Aunt was ill, I told her about Warming Grace and that I thought of her with every square I knit. It was like I was doing something for her, it made me feel less helpless. The knitting community is huge and I'm sure other knitters have started or found other wonderful projects that I don't know about. Please pass them along.


Other than that, I am plodding along on my tube wrap from AlterKnits… 2-1/2" down only 69-1/2" to go… and moving quite nicely indeed on "Sizzle". I love the way the Misti Alpaca Pima knits up. The silk in it gives it such a nice sheen. Does anyone else suffer from denial over the need for reading glasses? I was finding it so hard to see the pale green I am using for my AlterKnits project that I was forced to paint the ends of my circular needles with red nail polish! It's still slow going but now at least I can see what I'm doing. You can never be sure but I think the dog approves!

And Why Not…

I finished my ribbon shell, but just can't seem to get it sewn together and blocked. I love to knit--HATE to sew. In fact I would classify myself as "sewing phobic" stemming from an incident with my grade 9 sewing instructor "Miss Yurich" who offered to pass me in sewing on the one condition--that I NEVER take it again.

My Mom hated finishing the sweaters she made and so, use to pack them up and mail them to my Aunt Betty to finish and block for her. THAT's what I want. I want to mail away the pieces and have some magic sewing angel send me back a finished ribbon shell.

In the absence of that, I decided to start not one but two more projects. I have temporarily forsaken my fitted tank and am using the Misti Alpaca Pima Cotton/Silk in Lavender that I bought for it to make this instead. I think it'll look great in lavender and I already know from the swatch I blocked and from the ribbon shell that it drapes beautifully and will indeed "Sizzle"! I am a bit concerned about the length. Around I am a small but I am a 5'9" small so if I follow the small pattern I am worried it'll be short. If I make it longer before I start the darts, it should work out OK. I wish I knew more about how to adjust patterns properly. For the ribbon shell, I knit the width wise instructions for the small pattern but used the large instructions for anything pertaining to length. It seems to have worked out. This pattern only has width wise changes so I am a little worried.

I am also working here and there on the tube wrap from "AlterKNITS" it's a basic stocking stitch tube in very fine mohair. Very straight forward and should take… oh… forever. I do keep picking away at other projects as well. There are things that are close to being finished. The ribbon shell flew by it's just the sewing that's holding me up. My blue wrap is almost done. It's really quite pretty.

Make One Is having a whole day of knitting drop in today. I'd love to go! but the boy is away on Wednesday and while I don't have to work, conscience says it would be neglectful of me to go knit when he'll be gone for three whole weeks. There will be time enough for knitting then I suppose. I did some knitting when he was at camp, watched girly movies, drank Vodka Slushies and read. He said it was the best camp ever and I enjoyed my 5 days on my own.

I have been seeing "the Hanger" again. As is his habit, as soon as I told him he should really stop seeing me, I started seeing more of him than ever: movies, walks, lunch, dinner… phone calls every day… he was planning to go to the memorial service with me this coming weekend but couldn't work it with his new shift. Occasionally, I wonder what is going on in his head but I have a feeling, it might just be the wind whistling. I will say this: anyone who is as good to their parents and loves animals as much as he does has some redeeming qualities. I rather like the way my son described him to his Grandma (my X's Mom) when she asked: "He's like a big brother, he's really cool, likes all the same stuff I do and is WAY younger than my Mom." Except for the "Way" younger, it's pretty much true. He's not unlike like Will from "About A Boy" a kid in a man's body.