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About Me...
~self-taught knitter
~living in Montreal, Qc ~single parent ~loving my kids ~unknitting daily Rings & Things
Credits...
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May 06, 2008What a wonderful... If you had the opportunity to start your life over, would you take it? I'm not talking about regrets and whatnots. I mean, pack up and leave for a new city/province/country. Would you go for it or stay in the area you always grew up in? See, I like to think about how would it be somewhere new? I often see blogs where people talk about moving for work, for love, for family. Me, it would be none of those, well... Already I checked out the skating club in that city, they have one and it looks really well organized from what I saw on their website. Yarn stores aren't really popular though so that would be a big change.... but great for my wallet. 
I guess I wonder what would life be if... there are so many possibilities elsewhere. So much history, either good or bad is attached to this city, I can only imagine how freeing it must be to leave that all behind. Start new, start fresh without expectations from anyone else other than myself. That said, I do think about the effects it could/would have on the kids. So I wonder...  Recently, I went to my lovely LYS Ariadne Knits with the kids. As tradition goes, if the kids step into a yarn store with me, they usually come out with yarn for them. I made the promise to knit each kid a pair of socks for our trip to Ottawa in less than two weeks... Call me crazy I like deadlines. LOL! It's funny to see what yarns or colourways appeal to them. I was shocked to see my daughter choose a solid sock yarn (then she even chose a stitch pattern she liked!) and my son went with something I would have never chose. Hey, whatever rocks their boat.  I love that smaller socks mean quick turnaround, I rarely get single sock syndrome when I knit for the kids. Also they appreciate handknits SO much, it really is a joy to knit them projects.
 After constantly being pressure by nice new spinners, I sat at my spinning wheel and tried it out! Shocking, I KNOW! Why, oh why did I fear it so much? It seems so silly now but I was terrified to try it out. Let's just say that those days are gone, now I want to spin all the time. It's funny to see how much one can achieve even when totally clueless about what one is actually doing. lol! I just tried spinning true roving (fibers going in all ways) and it is totally different than working with prepared (combed) top. I just can't wait to try out different fibers!  Last week, our little family went to the Botanical Garden to see spring in action. The tulips weren't opened yet but we got to see many more flowers growing outside. We love to go walk around the Garden grounds as there's always something to see, we didn't even go in the greenhouses. What's fun is that although we are in the heart of the city, walking around makes you feel elsewhere. I forget everything else and just enjoy the views of all that is around me. There's a small lake and we saw a daycare group having a snack near the ducks. It's just soooo relaxing to walk along the trails. We had a terrific day. 
 Expect yet more socks over the next season. I joined the Summer of Socks knit-along. Posted by ~Jo~ at 11:19 AM | Comments (6) April 21, 2008Startitis? These are my latest projects, do you think I have a serious case of startitis?  So starting from top left, we have Regia Cotton Tip & Top Color in a basic stockinette pattern, I keep this around for whenever I don't feel like knitting from a pattern. Then we have, two toe-up socks on one circular needles. Why? I don't know, I wanted to try it out. I didn't do the toes correctly as I went from memory but they'll work anyways. Next time I'll increase more often at the beginning to make a rounder toe. Too add to the newness of it, I am trying out afterthought heels also. I LOVE this yarn and color (Regia Sierra), there's just something about Regia and Opal yarns that make me happy. They are consistently good yarns and have a ton of colors to keep me happy. I've been having such back luck with hand dyed yarns in the past six months, Fleece Artist is the main problem for me. I adore their yarns but I'll keep it for other projects, no worries.
Next up is Trekking XXL yarn, love the 100 colorway but... I have just hit a knot. I rarely knit from the ball when I buy sock yarn, usually I'll weight it out and separately approximately in the middle so I know there will be enough yarn for two socks. It also helps for when I feel like knitting two socks at once. Of course the only time I don't do it like usual I hit a knot, grrr! So now I'm wondering if I should frog and try another pattern instead, like a ripple wave or something to make the color a bit more exciting.The entrelac socks anre made with my current favorite colorway from Opal, Feelings 1701, need to start the heel and so it is stalled until I read up on the pattern. The Austerman Step yarn, lovely stuff, I had bought the yarn for someone else so it isn't as fun to knit when it's not the color I would have chosen. I hope to finish them anyways as I am eager to see how they feel worn. The yarn is a teeny bit softer than other mainstream yarns but not enough for me to have softer hands. lol!  Not all projects are socks though, I started Jeanie, which is a lot of fiddling around but nice. I did try to knit on it in the subway but charts on the subway aren't all that practical. On the other hand, Wisp is totally mindless and a very fun project to work on, Malabrigo Lace is the best, like buttah! It's probably my favorite yarn of the moment. I had forgotten how soft Malabrigo is, this is the yarn to buy if you want to get someone hooked on knitting. LOL! That said the laceweight is a 'fragile' yarn, it can easily but broken if you pull on it. Just don't pull on your knitting if the ball is way in the bottom of your knitting bag. Just to mix up things, I picked up a little cross stitch kit recently. You can never have too many bookmarks right? Lucas is learning about penguins in his class so I thought this would make him happy. I even got to join on a field trip last week at the Montreal Biodome, it was a lot of fun and we had a scheduled activity with Professor Penguin. Having too many projects has a down side though, I never know which one to pick up when I finally have some time to knit. LOL! I haven't even pick up my spindle in a week. Crazy times, I tell you!  That doesn't keep me from wanting to pick up the latest IK issue and start the Twisted Tulip Socks. Is the pattern multiple sizes even? I just wish we had the recommended Socks that Rock Mediumweight locally, it's hard to find a substitute yarn. I really want a color that would make good tulips. You know... there's Ottawa... there's tulips... there's socks... and there's not much time to make all three happen at the same time.
Until then... Posted by ~Jo~ at 02:20 PM | Comments (4) April 09, 2008Happy day,Woke up this morning feeling blue, so I went for a walk after bringing the kids to school. Had my Ipod loaded with many podcasts as it feels less lonely to walk and listen to knitters talk. Today I even saw a little woodpecker working on an electric pole. It feels nice that spring is starting to show in Montreal.  Once I got home and had a very deserved coffee, the postman rang. I jumped up and down and almost kissed him as he handed over the package. I knew it had to be my new drop spindle. I couldn't have been happier and was quite excited to say the least. Poor mailman, I'm not sure he will ring next time there's a package. LOL!  Meet my new Spinsanity spindle, ain't it just a cutie!  I had asked if it was possible to add some sort of arrow to help with spinning. I'm a leftie and spin in the opposite direction most people do. The arrows make the spindle even nicer than before, I actually like it more like this. The kids were very excited about the new spindle, they had voted on which one we should get. I love how they are just as happy as I am when I get a package. After the kids ate lunch at home and went back to school, I finally took it out for a spin.
 I am loving it! This spindle is about half the weight of the one I learned on, it's amazing how smooth it feels when it spins. I am spinning the sample that came with the spindle. LOVE that it came with a little freebie! This is a worsted roving (I think that's how they call it) and it's a bit different than working with a prepared top but it's quite fun to finally try out spinning with a dyed fiber. I think I'm ready to start playing with colorful rovings, natural is starting to be boring but it is a great way to start up for sure. 
This purchased reminded me something, I used to deal with a lot with Wahms (work at home moms) when the kids were younger. It was always nice to buy from someone who I knew it made a difference in their lives. Etsy is similar to that, you get to chat with the artist behind the product, it is very nice and it feels great to encourage someone that takes the time to make a great product. Well off I go... Posted by ~Jo~ at 02:56 PM | Comments (4) April 03, 2008Spin baby spin, Once upon a time, long ago, I bought myself a Lendrum spinning wheel. It arrived and I was filled with dreams of spinning all my worries away. It's not how my 1st time at the spinning wheel went... I didn't know how to draft, I was getting nowhere and very discouraged. Then I had the opportunity to sell the wheel, as luck has it, it fell through and my mom convinced me to hold on to it for a while. Today, I can finally tell her thank you for doing so!  I haven't tried my spinning wheel again but I know the day is getting closer and it is really a motivator to keep spindling until I feel I will be ready to sit at the wheel.
 Meet Leslie, she is my new best friend (she just hasn't realized it yet!)  . Oh, have I mentioned she lives in OTTAWA??? Where I first learned to spin. Now, can you imagine my happiness that Ottawa came to me in Montreal, I just feel like it's a full circle thing. Yes, I am crazy and it is all about me but frankly, how would our two lives have connected if it weren't for the spindling class? She is a person with tons of spinning knowledge and not afraid to share it, she is a grrreat teacher if you ask me!
 On a beautiful afternoon, seven knitters were set to learn to spin. The class was very informative, we got to learn a bit about the history of spinning, we drafted, we spun, we parked, we plied and we all had a ton of fun! Best of all we made yarn, I mean, I started the class skeptical... but I got bit so hard by the spinning bug. I really thought it was neat that we could all spin now, I don't know why but it was amazing. We all looked so nervous at first and then we learned, relaxed, it even felt zen in a way when we were each spinning. It was simply the best! I have been spinning almost everyday so I won't forget like when I learned this summer... I am so excited that I can finally start using up some of the substantial roving stash I already own. LOL!  The kids were really curious about learning to spin also, so while Lucas was stuck home for his laryngitis, I gave him a little spindle lesson. You can see his concentrated face, he kept forgetting to draft before letting the twist move up into the roving. Zoe had her own lesson a few days later and she really enjoyed it. I am now worried that the kids will each want a fiber stash... I really like sharing my hobbies with them though, they seem interested in what I do and it's fun to teach them.  Here's the yarn I made in the last two days, the first single was made 2 days ago and the second single and plying was done yesterday. I spun each single on the spindle before 'storing' it on bobbins of my lazy kate, then I plied the singles on the spindle and I got this, a very full spindle. LOL! I really want to knit a little something with my own handspun but haven't figured what yet. Oh, perhaps a little camera bag or just a little bag for whatnots, just to knit with my yarn really. LOL! As soon as I am done with the natural corriedale fiber, I'm jumping into colored roving. All this natural is getting just a tad boring... but then again, I'm afraid to use beautifully dyed roving and messing it up. It's really quite an experience to be creating my own yarn. I am, of course, way into being a beginner but it is just so much fun to create the yarn I will then knit. Of course, it's hard to share this with non-knitters because they simply think I've lost my mind but frankly I still have a few marbles left.  Here is the same yarn once washed and finished. I am SO proud!!! Posted by ~Jo~ at 10:32 AM | Comments (4) March 31, 2008Farm and flowers, If you have talked with me in the last 7 months, you know that I went to Ottawa last summer, TWICE. I can just hear a few say "Yes, Jo we know!" Even more, you know I LOVED being in Ottawa, walking in Ottawa, traveling to Ottawa. So... does it sound like a huge surprise if I tell you that I'm thinking about going to Ottawa this summer?  My original plan was to go this winter during Winterlude and skate on Rideau Canal with the kids. Sadly all my lovely travel ideas (Christmas in Magog, celebrating Lucas 7th birthday in Ottawa) didn't go as planned, first I had to get a tooth extracted, then 2 others, then... I now know I need to get the last two wisdom teeth pulled within a year. Me? I'm dreaming of Ottawa, it's got all the little things that made me love Toronto without the extra travel hours... Great yarn, english speaking area, train accessible and best of all, it's easy for me to go with the kids.
 Now on Ravelry, I learned that the Agriculture Museum is having a Sheep Shearing event during the Tulip Festival (both not related). Now could they just post a "Jo please come to Ottawa" festival, it would be a lot easier for me to notice. LOL! I have been hoping to do something special for Zoe's 9th birthday and a little unexpected trip is just along my ideas. I asked Zoe for her opinion on a trip in lieu of gifts and well... train, hotel, fun, added up to a flat out: "BUY TICKETS MOM!" request! I'm hoping to know by the end of the week if we can actually go or not. I even found a great deal on a hotel (aka save 60$/night with Expedia) if the Ottawa U residences aren't taking tourists yet. Right now the train ticket pricing is cheaper than taking a bus and if you ask the kids, they'll tell you that taking the train is the only way to travel.
 I have so much projects that I have started, finished, frogged that I don't know where to start. Perhaps I should go with crochet! LOL! I made two scarf in a week's time, I am no expert in crochet but online videos are a great way to learn. I look up each stitch needed and can get going no problem. First I made this One Skein Scarf in blue and was promptly told by Zoe that I needed more yarn 'cause she wasn't giving it back! Just think of the same exact scarf but in black and that's what I made myself.  Then I learned to spin on a spindle but I am going to be such a tease and write up an entire post for later this week, ok? :) psst: It's snowing right this second in Montreal and you know what? I'm LOVING it, little crazy flurries flying all over the place. Sure, some think that winter will never leave us, "I" just like the crazy amount of snow we got this year. It's totally magical through kids eyes. :) I get really excited when I see spring flurries 'cause I always wonder, is this the last time until next fall? lol! So this is what's on my mind for today, back to knitting very soon! Posted by ~Jo~ at 11:16 AM | Comments (6) |