World Yarn Swap & Civil War Shawl

well, yesterday was a busy day .... knitting wise.

World Yarn Swap ~ I was finally able to find the perfect yarn to send Kat, my swap buddy. I needed a yarn from Canada, but she's allergic to wool ... so that make my search very tough. well, I found the perfect thing ..... it's hand-dyed from Nova Scotia ... I don't want to give any more away, in case she reads my blog ..... but I fell in love with it and I hope she does too. so, it's all packaged up, and ready to go. it should be leaving the Burlington PakMail store on Monday (Wendi ~ thanks for all your packaging help !!)

Civil War KAL ~ after a busy day of errands and mailing packages I settled in for the evening to a pasta dinner and glass of Niagara Merlot ..... and my newly arrived cone of Jaggerspun. it took a couple of cast-on attempts, and the decision to toss the double points and work with circular needles using the "magic loop" method ... but I got the first "section" of the Civil War Shawl done (rnd 29). the wool is just lovely to work with, and so far the pattern is fairly simple. I was able to knit and watch "Pretty Woman" without messing up the pattern.

TA DAA !!!

oh my gosh !!! it's cast off, blocked, and done !!!! I honestly didnt think this day would come. I stopped by Wendi's house today and saw her Sheltland Shawl. she also finished and blocked hers this weekend. it turned out lovely, and I was so worried about how mine was going to look. when I got home tonight, and settled in, I decided to go downstairs and pull the pins out and see what it was going to look like. to say I'm impressed, and thrilled is an understatment !!! my only complaint is that the pictures dont do justice to how nice the beads sparkle and catch the light.

darn fine job, my first lace project, my first bead project, my first shawl and my first blocking ...... alls well that ends well, I guess :)

special thanks to my daughter for modelling it for me ..... and to Mary @ work, couldn't have done all those beads without your help !!

as an added note .... this shawl was done in hand spun alpaca that I bought at Headwater Wool in Orangeville, Ontario. I believe she imported it in from Europe. if anyone is interested, I have 2 skeins of it left, check out my stash on Ravelry.

side bar ~ the jacobean socks ..... thought about backing them out to the point where I messed the pattern up, but decided to frog them completely and start again. I wasn't even done the 1st pattern repeat, so it wasnt that bad.

Finally !!!

well, it seemed like the shetland shawl was taking for ever, but I finally finished the edging and cast off this afternoon. it looks silly and small, but hopefully it will survive my first attempt at blocking and come out looking ok. I have to admit, I love how the beads catch the light, and I'm looking forward to seeing it all blocked out nicely.

tonight my daughter was dancing at one of many Robbie Burns dinners this month. seeing as the shawl is done, I brought the Jacobean socks to work on while I was waiting ... did a couple of rounds before I realized that I've completely messed up the pattern. I didnt have the heart to start frogging it there, so I calmly put it away, and will tackle it tomorrow when I have more patience.

World Yarn Swap

well, yesterday was very exciting .. I joined the "World Yarn Swap" on Ravelry. there was no one left for me to partner with, so I was going to be left out until the next round ... that is until, Kat asked to join in also. as it turns out, we got in just under (ok, maybe a wee bit over the wire) but were accepted and are doing the swap together.

Kat is from Mississippi, and is a fairly new to knitting and Crochetting. she has both dogs and cats, so I think we'll get long just fine !!. we have exchanged a number of e-mails now, and I'm really looking forward to doing this with her.

She doesnt have anything particular from Canada in mind, so I'll check out my LYS and look for something special for her. (dont want to say too much, and give away any secrets, just incase she checks out my blog)

WIP status

• shetland shawl ... finished all the pattern repeats I'm going to do, and am on row 7 of the 14 edging rows. then all I have to do is figure out how and where to block it.
• jacobean socks ... still working on the first pattern repeat. have been concentrating on the shetland shawl, so that I can get it done by the time the wool for the Civil War Shawl KAL comes in
• knitting tote ... for my favourite (and only) MIL. well, I've been really remiss in getting it done. all I have to do is the cording and tassels, but I've been putting it off until we get together and I can give it to her ... think I'll have to take care of that this weekend.
• highland argyle socks .... ick !!! absolutley no status update. haven't touched them in months. it's not that they are hard, but with all the different balls of wool hanging off, they are a pain in the arse to knit without getting everything all tangles.

Pay It Forward

You've may have seen the "Pay It Forward" on a blog here or there, I never had until a short while ago when my friend Wendi, sent me an IM about one. I went and checked it out right away. for some reason, I've was feeling extra alone last night, and finding this exchange is exactly what I needed. just the thought of sending off a surprise to brighten some one's day has put a smile on my face ... I'm so excited about this !!! So, I've commented on her blog, and hopefully someone will comment on mine so that I can continue this good will gesture.

The Pay It Forward Exchange.
It’s based on the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.I will send to anywhere in the World as long as it doesn't involve space travel ;)

Cheers !!!

Merry Christmas ??

well, it was for my family last night when we met at my Uncle & Aunt's place for our annual (post) Christmas dinner. My parents stopped by my place first, to meet the newest member of our clan, a cat that had been hit by a car and taken to the vet where my daughter works ..... it didnt have a home, and now it does. then off we went to my Uncle & Aunt's house. my Uncle is my Mum's brother, and I was named after him, so he has always been very special to me.

ok, and here's where the knitting connection comes in ..... I finished their present before I started blogging, so I get to brag about it now. after last Christmas's dinner with them, I really wanted to find something "extra" for them this year .... I went thru all my books and found an absolutely beautiful aran cable afghan. it seemed to take for ever, as it was frogged a couple of times before being completed .... but I'm pleased with the results, and they seemed very happy last nite with it also. it should have been knitted in 3 panels and sewn together, but I hate doing that, so frogged most of it out and started again, on a long circular needle and knitted it all at the same time. my Aunt loves to sit and read, and they have a beautiful cottage with a great glass door over-looking the lake .... it will be perfect to keep her warm while they are relaxing either there or at home.

family is the most important thing to me in the world ... and I've been blessed with a wonderful family (both blood members, and extended/chosen family members).

Welcome 2008 !!!

Well, I survived Christmas and New Years !!!! WOO HOO !!!! NewYears for us is totally opposite from Christmas. where our Christmas is nice and quiet and relaxing, New Years is bedlam !!! this year there were a dozen teenagers downstairs, friends and neighbours upstairs, and 5 dogs running between the 2 groups and outside. Steel (Hasia's puppy-kitten) was unsure where he fit in, but my daughter's new cat BK ("broken kitty") had no problem coming around to push the dogs out of the way so she could get some attention from all the guests or into the dog food and water dishes.

This year is going to the year of de-cluttering. one day last week I say a dresser I liked on KIJIJI, then a chest of draws, then a headboard. at the urging of my knitting-buddy Wendi, I arranged to purchase all 3 pieces and placed my head/foot board & bedroom set for sale on the same web site. after being on my own for 7 years now, I'm thrilled to finally be replacing the bedroom furniture that I had when I was married. this time it's going to be just mine, and I'm really excited. I picked up the chest of drawers & headboard on Saturday, and they are in place. my head/foot board is sold and delivered. hopefully my bedroom set will be sold in the near future. if all goes well, I'll be picking up my "new" dresser this weekend.

now comes the work ..... cleaning out my closets and old dressers of 30 years worth of clothes. between sweaters from the 80s and hand-me-downs from my Mother-In-Law, I have far too many clothes, most of which I either haven't worn in a coons-age, or shouldn't be wearing (or so I've been told). apparently I also have to get rid of anything that looks like someones Grandmother would be wearing the same thing. so far, I've gone thru my 1980s sweaters and half of one closet ... and have BAGS of stuff for charity.

between Christmas, New Years, recovering from them, playing "musical bedroom furniture" and trying to purge my bedroom there has been almost no time for knitting. even work has been busy, with no lunch time breaks where I can get a few rows in. I'm still trying to get my daughter's socks done, hopefully this weekend as I only have the cuff to finish.

oh ... and seeing as I'm on the topic of knitting, my Friend Wendi found a great knitting club, 2008 Woolgirl Sock Club, that we've both requested to join. Wendi has been accepted, but I'm still waiting to hear. wish me luck !!!

Cheers!