Knitting By Moonlight

Friday, June 25, 2010

Lizz — 2010-06-25T21:16:39+08:00

On vacation, I like not being at work.
Fishes live in the ocean.
One of my favourite vacation spots is my house.
I adore watching a full moon.
Up, up and away like a zeppelin.
Bananas are high in potassium.
And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to seeing Mathew, tomorrow my plans include hanging out with Amber and Sunday, I want to start moving stuff into Michael's apartment!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Lizz — 2010-06-24T23:58:26+08:00

Well, the start of my return to blogging went fairly well, and then after a busy week, I fell off the horse so the speak. I'll try to do better.

I have a new finished project that I've been plugging away on for a bit, a Tea Mitten for my new tea pot. I'm making it out of bright green Red Heart Super Saver Sport. I like the acrylic because I am sloppy (especially in the kitchen) and like things that can be thrown in the washer when necessary. This project is not big but it knit up fairly slowly, because the yarn and needle combination that I'm using made my hands a little sore.

Tea Mitten

The reason for my new tea pot is that my roommate is moving out at the end of the month and will be taking his with him. It's an amicable parting of ways and we're still great friends. After eight years, it's just time for a change, so I'm going to be living alone for the first time ever.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Lizz — 2010-06-18T20:13:59+08:00

Friday Fill-in

Tomorrow I hope to be asleep at 6:58.
It was the reason, of course, that I thanked Angela and Reed.
Paying rent is something I no longer feel the need to do.
I have another errand to run, then I'll be able to make tea when Michael moves out.
Pretty yarns and needles ...just go find it
What were once vices likely still are.
And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching more PVRed Fringe, tomorrow my plans include spending time with my parents and brother and Sunday, I want to buy some yarn at Saxe Point Park and spend time with my pal Megan!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Lizz — 2010-05-25T20:46:46+08:00

The second problematic project I'm working on is a pair of Crusoe Socks done toe up in some Elann Colori that I bought years ago. I started with plain vanilla socks in this yarn but it was pooling unattractively, so I switched to the Crusoe pattern. I love how it looks in this yarn.

Crusoe Sock in Elann Colori's Northern Forest

The problem I'm having with the pattern is that I'm doing the foot as shown in the pattern, with the bottom knit plain. The slipped stitches on the top of the foot are causing the top to be shorter than the bottom. When I look at the pattern again, it doesn't specify that only the top stitches should be knit in pattern, even though that is what the photo depicts.

Bottom of Foot longer than the Top

Here are my three options:

Do something to make the bottom and top of the socks the same length - Short row just the top for a few rows?
Just continue as I've been going as the difference in length not matter in the end.
Start over and pattern the bottom as well. - How comfortable would that be?

Please share your thoughts and suggestions. I would really appreciate the help.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Lizz — 2010-05-18T20:34:30+08:00

The baby sweater I'm working on has been an ongoing saga. It's one of those times that the yarn is just so pretty but doesn't seem to want to be knit up successfully.

The pretty, and hopefully not cursed, Wendy Peter Pan 4 Ply

My first attempt was to knit the Modified Drops Eyelet Baby Cardigan. I got through most of the yoke and then messed up somehow and ripped everything back. I think it must have been a pretty big mess up, but I seem to have blocked out exactly what happened.

After a lengthy time out, I decided to try another pattern with the yarn. This time I choose the Feather and Fan Jacket for 3 Months from an old Paton's booklet. I generally don't check gauge too much on baby sweaters, because as long as it's reasonably close to the pattern then it should fit a baby at some point. I worked on the skirt of the sweater for about 3 inches before deciding to do a swatch. My gauge was 7 sts/inch instead of the 8.5 sts/inch required. I did some math and realized that the chest of the sweater was going to be 4" larger than the pattern specified. On another sweater that might have been okay, but this pattern is fairly old fashioned and while it would look cute on a little baby, I think it might be a tad cumbersome for a mobile year old. So I ripped it out again.

Now I've started the Veronica�s Beginner Baby/Toddler Lace Sweater in the 6 month size. I bought this sweater pattern to make with some Bernat Sox yarn. The gauge I liked for that yarn was too big for the sweater, so I switched it up and made a Helena with an Old Shale lace skirt instead. Hopefully this pattern and yarn combination will work out. Third time's a charm, right?

Last but not least, Happy Anniversary to my parents!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Lizz — 2010-05-13T20:33:11+08:00

It's been a long time since I posted. I think Ravelry and being busy with school and work is mostly to blame. Since I joined Twitter in March I've been thinking about blogging again, so here goes nothing.

A quick update on me:

I graduated last June with a BBA in Marketing.
I've been dating Mathew, a guy I've known for years, since last March.
I bought my first house last summer, the sale was finalized in July and my roommate, Michael, and I moved in September 1st.
My best friend, Angela and her husband Reed have given me a wonderful niece, Annora (21 and a half months) and nephew, Everett (2 months).
My parents have given me a wonderful puppy-brother, Fidget (21 and a half months - he was born the day before Annora).

My project information pages on this site are helplessly out of date. If you're interested in what I've been working on, please check out my Ravelry Project Page. I'll try to update the site soon so that it links to Ravelry instead of my own script.

I'm currently have 6 projects on the needles:

A girl baby sweater - ongoing yarn saga to be told in another blog entry
Toe-Up Crusoe Socks - has some difficulties to be sorted out
Boot Covers - Ugg Cardie Boot style covers for cheapo boots
Celtic Tote - started last summer before getting stalled due to Christmas present knitting, one front and part of the side/bottom band completed
Fairly Easy Fair Isle - started last January and stalled until recently, now all it needs is a good blocking and some buttons purchased and sewn on
Drops 113-34 Jacket - swatch done last night, now waiting for it to dry before deciding on a needle size

I'm hoping that by blogging again I will accomplish two things. First, knitting hasn't been as constant for me lately. Mathew works a job where he's away for usually a month and then off for a month. So my knitting is usually pretty productive when he isn't around and then it slows to a crawl when he's off. So I'm hoping that blogging will make me more keen to knit when Mathew is around, instead of just sitting. The second thing I hope to do with my blogging is to take more photos of my projects. My Ravelry project page looks pretty sparse and I would like to have it filled up with photos.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Lizz — 2008-12-16T13:35:21+08:00

Getting to Know You...Christmas edition

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends. Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE!! Change all the answers so that they apply to you.

Wrapping paper or gift bags? For Christmas usually wrapping paper, Birthdays I tend to gift bag it.
Real tree or Artificial? I don't really have room for a tree, but I if I did it would be Artificial. Real ones make me sneeze.
When do you put up the tree? As above no big tree, I do have a small tree that lives on top of my TV stand.
When do you take the tree down? The little tree stays up year round.
Do you like eggnog? Ewwww, hell no!
Favorite gift received as a child? Benita, my Cabbage Patch Kid.
Hardest person to buy for? Erik & Michael because you can never be sure they won't buy it for themselves before Christmas.
Easiest person to buy for? Mom
Do you have a nativity scene? Nope
Mail or email Christmas cards? I usually give out a few of each
Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't think of anything bad.
Favorite Christmas Movie? Muppet Family Christmas
When do you start shopping? I keep my eye open for gifts all year and then start planning and purchasing in October normally.
Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not yet.
Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Sugar Cookies
Lights on the tree? It wouldn't be a Christmas Tree without lights.
Favorite Christmas song? Good King Wencelas
Travel at Christmas or stay home? Kinda both, I travel from my home to my family home for Christmas.
Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Prancer, Vixen, and Rudolph.
Angel on the tree top or a star? Nothing is on top of the little tree, it spins so ornaments would fly off.
Open the presents Christmas morning? Of course, when we were little we could open one of Christmas Eve but apparently now we're old enough to wait.
Most annoying thing about this time of the year? How crazy the stores get.
Favorite ornament, theme or color? I collect hockey ornaments and I dream of one day having a tree covered in knitted and hockey decorations.
Favorite for Christmas dinner? Turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and brussel sprouts.
What do you want for Christmas this year? Getting to spend time with my favourite baby on her first Christmas.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Lizz — 2008-04-18T12:42:07+08:00

This is the baby sweater I mentioned finishing back in January. Tyson, the second cousin it was destined for was born in the middle of February at the hospital in town and I got to visit with him, his parents and grandparents when he was just two days old. Ashlee and Dan liked the present so much that they put Tyson in it right away even though the sweater is at least a six month size.

Tyson wearing the sweater as a blanket

Sweater laid flat

Close up of the navy buttons

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Lizz — 2008-04-15T13:13:46+08:00

I finished my first pair of socks from the yarn that I got for my birthday last year. I decided to start with the gorgeous blue and green Fleece Artist yarn. I ended up using my regular Wendy's toe-up pattern and 60 stitches around in plain stockinette. My first attempt (or first few attempts) were to try the Azure socks but the pattern was lost in the colours so I changed to a plain sock. For the first time I used a picot hem instead of ribbing at the top of the sock and I'm really happy with how it turned out, it's definitely a technique that I will be using again. The Fleece Artist yarn is just as beautiful knit up as it was in the skein and it's sproinginess (what, it's totally a word) made it great to knit.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Lizz — 2008-03-19T13:17:16+08:00

Last fall I bought ONline Linie 149 Rush to make a scarf with to match my winter jacket. When the Yarn Harlot published the Unoriginal Hat pattern I decided that a hat and scarf would be better. I started with the hat and finished it within 24 hours of starting on a hockey road trip. Next I worked on the scarf, which took longer because I needed to pause to buy more yarn, using the larger of the hat cables in the middle and the smaller cable on each edge. The hat could be a tiny bit longer, but it keeps my head and the tips of my ears warm. The set got some wear during the few days of snow in February and worked perfectly. Mom liked how my hat turned out so much that she got the same yarn in a different colourway and made one for herself.