This is very long

I am making a stashbusting scarf.

Yes.

It's only got a couple of whole balls of yarn in it, plus, and I forgot this when I started out, an equal amount of tidbits of other colours.

I made it very narrow, as you can see. It's getting so long I don't know what to do.

It contains a million bits of DK wool leftovers, plus the whole balls of putty-coloured Debbie Bliss DK merino as the background.

Except I used some yellow for background in the yellow section... I didn't even use all the yellow available; I'm going to have leftover leftovers!

It's so long... and I still have the blues and purples to go!

And the really terrible thing is, I want to get this out of the way before I do anything else.

Quick round-up

Guess what I got for Christmas?! The new Mason Dixon knitting book!

I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that I didn't rush out and get it sooner, but sometimes that happens.

It is as lovely as I had thought -- must read from cover to cover, must make those dishrags!

And guess what Elaine got? A top-secret knitting project, finished on time and everything!

(I hadn't sewn in the end of the neck edging, just in case she couldn't fit her big noggin through it, but all was well.)

The front intarsia is from this pattern, but as you see, I altered the sweater quite a bit!

The back marks her as a member of the crew of the Lizzie M, the terror of the seas.

We had a great time, we ate too much, it was snowy, it got warmer, we're off to see some cousins, see you later!

Copycat

I saw something similar on Katie's blog. I assume what she means is, "Back later." And that's what I mean, too. See y'all in a week or so!

(This, of course, is the old CBC test pattern.)

How's the weather today?

The government provides us with up-to-the-minute radar imagery of the weather. You can go here and find your area and see what sort of precipitation to expect in the next little while. As you can see above, Toronto is under a great green cloud of ooblek. The picture is not very big, but you can see the scale up the side: Light blue = light precipitation; red and purple = the Apocalypse. The dark green means we are getting more than a centimeter of snow an hour; yellow, which is coming soon, 1.5 cm/hr.


Elaine had to go to school today, which means Stephen took her when the storm was just starting and I have to trudge out in this after a few hours to bring her home.

Meanwhile, I think there is sufficient tea and hot chocolate and I am snug and warm, wrapped in my big brown shawl, just looking out the window!

What's in store for 2009?

When I finish the few things now on the needles (denim sweater, just needs a bit of a front and a back; top secret thing for Christmas which will be done soon; the lite lopi vest that needs some ribbed edges; the blanket whose border I knit on Wednesdays, except not this week, not much last week...) these are the things that will tempt me! (Some of these links will be to Ravelry. If you're not already a member, join now! That helpful hint is my holiday gift to you!)

1. I have a ball of green cotton left from Arthur's sweater; I have a ball of golden silk which I bought years ago coz it was pretty; I have salmon cotton, black cotton, blue silk; white and mauve cotton/merino. There's a funky wrap or baby blanket there.
2. Ten skeins of Rowan Magpie. I like the February Lady Sweater, but don't want the same sweater that over 3000 people have already knitted! Maybe it will turn into Norah Gaughan's Frost Jacket.
   
3. A year ago when I went to New York, Helen from New Zealand gave me this skein of laceweight yarn. The colours are wonderful, and it will become a shawl for me. Soon!
4. I've been meaning to make Elaine a hat from the same yarn I made her scarf out of -- the scarf she doesn't wear...
   
5. I'm knitting things for the Children's Aid Society this year, and one of the things they like is a "Feely Blanket," made of different textures, different yarns, bobbles, chenille, fuzz. I'd like to put together a number of squares for such a thing! I'll start with what I have, and might be asking for help down the road!
6. And of course, more socks of all sizes. Argh. I'm not even going to show you any sock yarn, since I would have to unpack the cooler!
   

There are a few other things calling to me, but this should be enough to keep me going for a while, doncha think?

I won't make vows of chastity or anything, but all these use stash yarn, and barely make a dent in the supply. I'm betting 2009 will see another wave of Knit From Your Stash resolutions, and I really don't see myself buying tons of yarn for some time. But I'll be fine, truly I will!

For some reason, I've been making dishcloths

We're in the pre-Christmas confusion here at the Casa della Cam. The denim sweater is on hold while I work on a TSKP, as Rosie would call it (top secret knitting project). But I can't show you the TSKP, as it is indeed top secret! I only knit it while everyone is at work or school, but somehow I don't have the ooomph necessary to work on the denim sweater in the evenings. I did pump up my denim enthusiasm recently by looking at Indigo Knits -- what a fine book! Must make a Whitby (Ravelry link) in my spare time.

The charity vest just needs ribbing around the neck and arms. I could really get that done if I set to it, couldn't I? Paying attention for an evening or two... I could do that.


But instead, I've dug out the dishcloth cotton, and am cranking out washcloths at an alarming rate. And some of them are pretty alarming themselves!


Does this say, "Made of various odds and ends" to you? How I thought I could get a whole dishcloth out of those purple/yellow bits, I dunno! This one, I think I'll be keeping!

And for your Misplaced Commas of the Week, I give you:

Spiro,s Tailor,s Alteration
Ladie,s & Men,s & Repairs of all kinds

What a difference a day makes

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Tuesday it snowed, then thawed, then the slush froze overnight. Wednesday the frozen slush, on the sunny side of the street, got melted just enough that there was a fine layer of water on top of the ice below. Treacherous!

I'm not fond of winter in Toronto, but I really don't like this hovering about 0 Celsius. Snow, or rain, or freeze, but not all at once!

It's that time of year again

These guys are such fun! It seems they are performing here in Toronto tomorrow! Coo-el! (I will not be attending, but will be taking Arthur to the dentist, which is enough excitement for one day, lemme tell you.)

Oh, it's Wednesday again

I was just thinking I had a moment to work on the denim sweater, but then realised it's Wednesday and my day for the blanket border.

So, to postpone having to knit hundreds of stitches a row on 4 mm needles, I'll show you a few things.

The two fronts. This ain't going to be finished for the weekend!

Maybe you can see the house better in this one.

This little gem was snagged at Value Village a few days ago. Doesn't it call to mind that sultry holiday we had in the old farmhouse near Nice, circa 1923? Ah, the wine, the sandy beach, the peaches... No? You think it's just a $.99 bread-and-butter plate? Pah.

Ahem. Now, my Wednesday WIP:


One side done! The opposite side's stitches have been picked up and perhaps a row knitted. You'll be seeing this for a few Wednesdays!

I have started a secret knitting project, but it's so dreadfully secret that I can't show you even the first rows. I hope to be able to show it after Christmas; we'll just have to make sure it gets finished by then!

Okay, okay, I'll go knit a row or two!