Production...

... has been slow in these parts, but it hasn't ground to a halt. I spent most of the day trying to size and cut Ruby's Halloween costume, only to realize that it's going to be waaay too small (especially since I was planning for her to wear her coat under it). Luckily, I bought a truckload of fabric (it's cheap broadcloth and I figured since I was working with the wrong size pattern, I may need to make more than one attempt), so I may try again during ANTM tonight if I have the energy. Which I may not.

Anyone out there have an opinion on Gossip Girl? I think it may fill the teen soap void in my heart now that The O.C./Buffy/Gilmore Girls are all off the air. Aaron thinks it's weird that I need a teen soap in my life, but I pretend that his assertions that I'm lamely trying to deny the fact that I'm 32 are off base. It's research. For being a mother of a girl who will one day be a teenager. Because those shows are so true to life. Really.

Brand-Free Princesses

Ah, autumn is in the air and it's time to start thinking Halloween costume. As some of you know, the main reason that I got a sewing machine and started haphazardly and half-assedly learning how to sew was so I could make Ruby homemade Halloween costumes. I know... she'll never appreciate the hard work... in a couple years she'll start begging for store-bought ones... I know. But for now, it's something very mom-like I can give to her.

The pattern you see here is Butterick 6312, which I snagged at a church garage sale earlier this year. It's a classic from my own childhood -- my mom ended up making both the princess and the angel for me and the witch for my brother (though he demanded that we call him a warlock and had mom draw a moustache on his face). I searched the new pattern books for updated princess costumes but they all seemed too fancy/commercial for my skills.

When asked, Ruby said she wanted to be a clown for Halloween like last year, but I didn't feel like tackling another jumpsuit. I convinced her that princess was the way to go, but she's told us that she's not a regular princess, she's Ariel (from the Little Mermaid, natch). Since she's only two, I think she'll go for this generic number if we tell her she looks just like Ariel (or Sleeping Beauty or whatever story she's into by October). Hopefully by next year I won't have to sew the whole get-up with a red wig and a mermaid tail.

SPC: In The Bathroom

It's been a while since I participated in Self Portrait Challenge (despite being a contributor to their blog), so I thought I'd give it a go. This month's theme is "The Bathroom" and people have been coming up with some really brilliant shots.

Okay, I swear, swear, swear that this isn't going to become a pregnancy blog. In fact, I'm thinking about this pregnancy a lot less than the last one -- for obvious reasons. But I think this shot encapsulates my world right now -- toddler potty seat and bulging belly. That's what it boils down to these days. And I would like to point out that I am only three months pregnant and the bump is way exaggerated by the angle of the camera. You do get bigger faster the second time around, but within reason.

And thank you all who sent well wishes about our expected new addition. We're all very excited around here, especially Ruby. She's decided that the new baby is a sister and that her name will be Frank. And she told me yesterday that she loves the baby. Sigh.

In The Family Way

Okay, so you know how I've been not so inclined to craft/thrift/post for the last couple months? It's because I'm pregnant. Almost 13 weeks, to be exact. Expect a new addition to our family in March.

It's thrown me for a bit of a loop because I wasn't sick when I was preggers with Ruby (tired, sure, but not sick) and this time around I've had to instruct Aaron not to lock the bathroom door when he showers because I can rarely keep my breakfast down. Ick. I'm feeling a bit better now, but it's still rough, especially with a two-and-a-half year old wanting to use up the little energy I have.

So, that's why not a lot has been getting done around here. But I have been working on my crochet afghan and I did cast on a baby gift for a friend this morning. Oh, and I did do some thrifting on vacation, but nearly as much as I'd hoped. All I really ended up with is the apple tile you see above. I'll just have to cross my fingers that the little one will like the car and I'll be able to take him/her out next summer.

Home At Last

I'm home. And so are my socks! What you see above are my lovely Sockapalooza socks, knitted with affection by Fatimah over at The Knit Factor. Nice, eh? She used Fearless Fibers sock yarn in Midnight Passion and the pattern is Pembrokeshire Pathways by Brenda Dayne. Don't they kind of remind you of the socks I knitted for my pal? The pattern is different (there are cables in between the lace holes) and it's a different yarn, but still kind of in the same family. Thanks Fatimah, they're awesome.

And yes, I'm finally back from vacation, just in time to see the leaves start to turn on my trees. I must say, there's been much summer lovin' in blogland, but I'm glad to see this summer over. It's been a tough one. I'll elaborate as to why another day, maybe tomorrow, as I don't want to take away from the glory of my sock post.

See You In September

I really wish that I could have started this post with a show and tell of my Sockapalooza socks, but it seems that our local postal system is sloooow (something to do with a labour shortage affecting the sorting department), so even though my pal sent them over a week ago, still no luck. And I'm not going to be seeing them for a while because we're taking off on vacation for the next while. So, I'll be out of blogland for a couple weeks. See you in September!

Dishrags, Dishrags Everywhere

Okay, so I can't tell you how much better I feel as a human being now that the guilt of not wanting to work on my Mystery Stole has been lifted. I still haven't been knitting a lot per se, but I do have some dishrags to show you. I decided that it might be fun to whip some of these guys up when my fingers are feeling busy (but not busy enough to do something too heavy duty), so I bought a pile of cotton yarn. Here is my first set (I'm planning to do a bunch for Xmas hostess gifts/stocking stuffers -- yes, for me it is necessary to plan this far ahead). You've got your standard free patterns, plus the famed Mason Dixon slip-stitch one and a couple from the Lion Brand Just Gifts book. To be honest, I think I like the Just Gifts slip stitch (the blue and yellow one) a lot better than the Mason Dixon. Neater edges, I guess.

I'm surprised I haven't delved into the world of dishrags before. A few years ago my friend Leanne gave me a little stack of cotton cloths and Ruby and I both swear by them in the shower/bath. So, expect to see a few more of these guys in these parts. Plus, there's so many patterns out there, I have a feeling this might be my new addiction.

Kickin'

Wow, sometimes life is just so... life. Yeah, I'm having one of those days. But, to prove that I am indeed still kickin' here is a pic of my just finished Charade sock. The photo is purposely not super hot, so that I can do a more grand reveal once the second sock is finished. I'm loving the Downey colourway, if only because it's so unpredictable. Like everything else.

Enough

Enough is enough. I've abandoned my Mystery Stole. The charts are giving me a headache, I'm not enjoying the knitting and I hate the colour I chose. Also, today Melanie revealed the general shape of the final design and... it's not for me (which is nothing against Melanie or her designing prowess -- it's just not for me). Why beat myself up over something I'm never going to wear and probably never going to finish? We shall never speak of it again.

All Stuffed With Fluff

Okay, while the actual making of stuff has ground to a near halt in these parts, I'm still thinking about making stuff. And buying stuff that will eventually be made into stuff. One day. I swear.

My latest prized possession is this 1965 McCall's pattern, for which I paid more than I'll publicly admit (on ebay, natch). Here's the story: Ruby is obsessed with Winnie The Pooh. Obsessed. To appease her obsession (or perhaps to feed it), Leena pulled out some old Pooh Bear stuffies that she'd bought for Aaron's sister Daniella way back in the '70s when she was a little girl. Leena explained that they were made from a McCall's pattern that she'd never been able to find for herself. Well, the rest is history -- I had to take a crack at finding the pattern and making Ruby some of these guys for her own.

It seems that the small town ladies that Leena bought Daniella's toys from modified the pattern -- they're made of felt with the seams on the outside, as opposed to the original pattern, which are made in the more standard way. I'm not quite sure how I'll do them or what kind of fabric I'll use -- I'm just glad I snagged to pattern for future use. Does anyone else out there remember these toys or have any of them? I'd love to see other examples.

Still Here

Wow, I didn't mean to drop out for so long. The lack of posting in these parts is pretty much due to a complete lack of crafting, thrifting or anything else that I usually write about. Chalk it up to summer, I guess. While so many bloggers have been writing about how glorious their season has been, mine has actually been pretty trying thus far. I'm not good in the heat and the hot summer was one of the few reasons that I was glad to leave Toronto last year. Unfortunately, there have been record highs here and since it's usually not this hot in these parts, air conditioning is scarce (and unheard of in homes). So, I've been sweating it out. Literally.

Here's my poor Mystery Stole, over a week into the two-week Clue #4. This clue goes to row 335 and I'm a measly 227 rows in. With me averaging about six rows every other day, it's clear that I'm not going to finish by Friday. I've got to push myself though, or I'm going to put this thing away and never pick it up again. Must finish the lace. Even if it takes me through September.

Charming, Indeed!

I finally finished my first "real" (I can't count the tea towel apron -- it was too easy!) project from Amy Karol's Bend The Rules Sewing. It's the very popular Charming Handbag. The outer part is made from an also very popular Super Buzzy fabric with little Russian dolls that I've had sitting around for a while. The lining is some scraps from the Wee Wonderful dolls that I made at Christmas.



I love this bag. I'm still not super confident with my sewing skills, but man, Amy makes it so easy to deal with. Now I just have to find a few places to go where I can take a bag that's too small to fit diapers/baby sunscreen/sippy cups in.

Mystery Stole: Chuggin' Along

And, after a week of few words, we're back to regular scheduled programming. I must say, all that colour week business was a nice distraction from having to update you on Mystery Stole Three. The above picture is the stole as it looks right this minute -- the purple string is my lifeline, which was put in as I started Clue #3. I did pretty okay with Clue #2, making one big mistake with that diagonal line that goes towards the middle, but choosing to ignore that particular blunder. Then another blunder was made, some stitches dropped in the tinking and... I had to frog back to the lifeline I put in after Clue #1. Thirty-three rows, gone. It was devastating. But at least I got to correct the unwanted zig-zag in that diagonal part.

So, I'm glad for lifelines. But I'm still not so sure if lace is for me. I do like the homework aspect of this project, but quite honestly, I think it's the only thing that's keeping me going. I'm not too happy with my choice of white yarn (so contrary to my style) and I'm not totally sure that the lace is my style either (Aaron's uttered the words "old lady-ish" a couple of times when inspecting the stole). But, I'm going to keep at it. As long as the weather agrees that is -- it's been so hot here that the yarn was sticking to my hand leaving it's fluffy halo behind. Gross.

Sunday: Pink

Saturday: Red

Friday: Orange

Despite my obvious love of pink, I've got to say that this is the best day of the week with the best colour ever. I love my Tiger Lilies so much that they make me want to cry.

Colour Week: Brown and Black

Colour Week: Green

From the garden (and the kitchen):

Tuesday: Blue

There's not a huge amount of blue around here, but this is what I came up with:

Colour Week: Yellow

Andrea is hosting a colour week (yes, I spell it with a "u" -- I'm Canadian) and I thought I'd join in. Its raining like crazy today, so I snapped a few yellow things that are inside my house. After a full, full, full weekend (garage sale, watching Aaron paint the kitchen, an anniversary date, a night out with an old friend seeing an amazing and very dreamy band play, a trip to the Calgary Stampede and general craziness), I'm not much for writing, so here are the pics:


Ruby's toiletries.


A souvenir from a magazine I wrote for years and years ago. I found it while digging through stuff for the garage sale. I love this guy -- I know the yellow is scant, but it's there.


The first coat of kitchen paint.

W.I.P. Friday: The Stole

Oh, Mystery Stole. I think somewhere in the neighbourhood of 6000 people are doing Mystery Stole now. Unsurprisingly, I cancelled my subscription to the digest emails because it was just too crazy and quite honestly, there was very little information that I found very useful. But, I'm happily knitting along, just now in a more solitary way, which decreases the crazy pressure to crank out this lace stole.

Here's what I realized after knitting clue #1 (which I completed on Monday): lace isn't really my craft. I'm going to stick with this project, but I'm just not fussy enough to be bothered to frog back when I make a mistake. This isn't good, since a wee mistake on a fancy lace pattern can ruin the whole thing. I missed a yarnover or something around row 60, and while after some fudging you can barely tell, I know this thing is going to be far from perfect. I'm going to insert a lifeline in between clues, but in general, I'm not that emotionally invested in perfection. Bad lace knitter.

I'm also chugging along on my Charade socks and I'm halfway through a fabric bag... more to come if this heat ever lets up.

Book Review: Just Socks and Just Gifts

So, I wasn't immediately excited by the thought of the newest books in the Lion Brand Just... series. After all, while Lion Brand is better than say, Red Heart, I'm more of a LYS kind of girl than a Michael's shopper and I also think that all of those Lion Brand fun fur ads (you know, where the girl has Lion Brand fun fur on the cuffs of her jeans, jacket and dog's collar) just totally turned me off. But then when I saw that the books were edited by the very respectable Shannon Okey, I thought I'd check them out. And what did I find? A little bit of good and a smidge of meh.

I'll start with the meh. Just Socks features about three dozen sock patterns (knit and crochet) and while some of them are cute, I don't think any of them would fit all that comfortably under shoes. I may be wrong, but I don't think Lion Brand actually makes a sock weight yarn, so the finest yarn used here is weighted at a 3 (which is DK), but most of them are made of Lion Wool, which is weighted at a 4 (worsted). That's just too thick for my tastes.

Still, there are some cute patterns in here and they'd definitely be suited to beginners who want to try out sock knitting but are afraid to try knitting on toothpicks. And I can actually see myself making some of the more slipper style socks to wear around the house or in bed. Let's see what happens come winter time.



Just Gifts fares a little better. The first pattern is for a super cute crochet bear designed by my former secret pal Kim Werker. There are also some super cool dishrags that I've already knitted up (more on that in a future post)and some cute bags and mittens. There are a couple of things that recall that horrible fun fur ad (namely a felted newsboy hat big enough to hide a head of dreads under), but generally, it's a pretty cute little book. And there are tons of gifts for pets, including a sushi cat toy, if you're into that kind of thing.

So, Lion Brand might not be the hippest in some knitting circles, but these books are okay. I can't see 400 people on Ravelry simultaneously casting on to make Just Gifts' Teddy Bear Hat And Shoe Set, but there are a lot of people who like Lion Brand just fine and don't care about the knitting cliques. These books are for them and also for yarn snobs who might want a simple project to distract us from our Monkey socks and Clapotis.

Mail... So Far

Seeing as its a holiday here and there'll be no new mail, I thought I'd show off my mail from last week. Six cards so far from Andrea's super fab postcard swap. I should receive 13 in total and I expect them to trickle in, as the U.S./Canada postal transfer sometimes takes a while. Thankfully it seems like mine are finding their way to their new homes as well, so the summer love is spreading.

Oh, and that photobooth strip on the fridge (me and my lovely friend Mark) is totally for Andrea's benefit.

W.I.P. Friday: Mystery Swatch

I'm putting up my W.I.P. a day early because I figured that my Mystery Stole #3 swatch might be helpful to a few people out there. Mystery Stole officially begins tomorrow and I must say, I'm finding it overwhelming. I tend to work in a fairly solitary way and I've never encountered such a busy KAL. I usually don't join the yahoo group things, and I must say, the amount of digest emails I'm getting is starting to drive me a little bonkers. Not that there's anything wrong with everyone's enthusiasm (I think the Mystery Stole ladies are awesome) -- it's just not what I'm used to.

Anyway -- my swatch is posted above. I'm using Misti Alpaca Laceweight (colour: natural white) with a US #3 needle (3.25mm). I'm thinking it's the right amount of lacy-ness and the gauge is good.

I've also started on my Charade socks. They're totally addictive. Pictures and stuff to come once I've knitted a little bit more.

Sockapalooza, I Hardly Knew Ye

Well, the knitting part of my Sockapalooza experience is over, over, over. Yesterday I finished stitching up the toe of my pal's second sock. So all I have to do is wash them (obviously, since I'm wearing them in these pictures -- I do have respect for my pal's personal hygiene), pack them up and wait a month to send them. Since my pal seems to appreciate a good yarn more than a super complex pattern, I think she'll like them. Anyway, here are the specs:


Go With The Flow Socks by Evelyn A. Clark (from Favourite Socks and the Spring 2005 Interweave Knits)
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Mixed Berries
Needle: U.S. #1 DPNs
Mods: I skipped the lacy cuff and just did a 2 by 2 rib cuff.

So, I think these will work well. My pal's feet are slightly longer than mine and much wider, so I made the socks about an inch and a half longer than I would have for myself. The foot is incredibly stretchy, so I think that extra inch will accommodate the width of her foot as the sock stretches. Shepherd Sock was, as always, a pleasure to work with and while there was a little bit of pooling, I think these two socks make a good match. The pattern was fun, but mindless enough to work on while watching TV or sitting outside of Ruby's pre-school class waiting. All in all, a super success!


So, what now? Well, my Ravelry page has the Charade socks listed as a WIP, but I haven't even wound the yarn yet. On an impulse I signed up for Mystery Stole 3, so I sped to Make 1 yesterday to pick up some white lace-weight yarn. Right now I'm swatching. I'm thinking that I'll probably never wear an intricate white lace stole, but I'm looking forward to the challenge. Expect much frustration, since I've never done any lace more complicated than fancy socks. Hello charts!

Self Portrait Challenge: My Environment

I am a reluctant garden. I enjoy my garden so much -- I just don't enjoy the actual gardening part. We inherited our amazingly beautiful garden, complete with lawn ornaments, from the previous owners of the house, who loooooved to garden. I promised myself that I wouldn't ruin what the left us, but it's hard.

So here I am, in my beautiful garden, feeling much like a did when I was a new mother: just praying that I can get through the summer without many major injuries to the plants.

Weekend!

We: went to a really nice craft fair; walked down the street; ate Montreal smoked meat; visited friends for a barbecue; watched the kids play in the sandbox; ate raspberries; drank Prosecco to celebrate a huge achievement by a friend; drove to the badlands for a family reunion; visited the hoodoos; took country roads; raised some dust; ate some treats...

And The Livin' Is Easy

Happy summer! I'm celebrating summer with a few other online pals via Andrea's summer postcard swap. Now, I'm not much of a visual artist (okay, I'm not a visual artist at all) and I'm not a scrapbooker and I'm not a paper craft wiz by any stretch of the imagination, but that Andrea is so inclusive in her thinking that I felt comfortable enough with my meager collages to participate. And I like using glue. And I really like mail. So there you have it.



My theme was close to that of the Valentine's swap I did a while back -- I'm so obsessed with the pictures and text from old romance novels that I had to return to that whole motif. I've never actually made it through one of these novels, but I love their whole vibe, if in a slightly ironic way (though not too ironic to be honest). Plus, there's never a shortage of them at the thrift stores. So, I cut up some Harlequins and threw in a couple Sweet Valley Highs as well (a series that I also have the urge to collect even though I haven't read one since I was about 10). I also used a really cute kids book that I got at a garage sale -- the drawings are really kitschy, but the text is pretty horrid, so it didn't make it into Ruby's permanent collection.



The due date for the swap is today, but with Ruby having thrown up before lunch (flu? Motion sickness? Heatstroke? Over-excitement? Could be any of the above), it may be tomorrow since I still have to get envelopes since they probably won't stand the international post system. Bon Voyage little cards! I can hardly wait to see what finds its way into my own mailbox.

Book Review: Bend-The-Rules Sewing

Wow. I've been excited about Bend-The-Rules-Sewing ever since author Amy Karol announced it on her much-loved blog Angry Chicken months and months ago. Billed as "the essential guide to a whole new way to sew" (which I'm guessing are the publisher's words, not necessarily Amy's own), the book is like a how-to to following the Angry Chicken aesthetic and sewing sensibility, which as Amy's readers know is all about cute and easy projects that are fun, functional, sometimes silly and often kid-friendly.

As many of you know, I love the idea of sewing projects, but I'm scared to actually take very many of them on. I mean, it took me almost a year to take my sewing machine out of the manufacturer's box. So many sewing books assume that you know how to make a buttonhole or how to apply a snap or what slip stitch is, which makes even easy projects intimidating. Amy is great in that she doesn't assume that you're a total idiot if you don't understand these things, but she still explains them all simply enough that even if you are a sewing know-not, it's easy to understand. It's all written in the same conversational style that she uses on Angry Chicken, making the book and its author immediately friendly and likable. It's like she's cheering us scaredy-cats on gently, but firmly.


Of course, the meat of the book is in its projects and unsurprisingly there are dozens that I'm dying to try. Bags, tea cozies, pillows, quilts and of course, Amy's signature aprons are all in here. The pictures are gorgeous and Amy's great taste in fabric makes every single project that much more enticing. And most of them seem pretty simple, so again, there's zero intimidation.


I started off with what is without a doubt the easiest project in the book, if not the easiest project to ever employ a sewing machine: the tea towel apron. Basically, you sew some ribbon onto a tea towel and tie it around your waist. Yup. So, above you see myself in an apron celebrating one of my favourite foods, Yorkshire Pudding. I also made one from a thrifted barber shop motif tea towel that I had lying around. Thrifting and sewing together? It couldn't get much better than that.

Socks Pour Moi?

Now that I've turned the heel on the second of my pal's Sockapalooza socks, I figure that it's okay to think about knitting a pair of socks for myself (somehow it always slips my mind that there's a stranger out there in the world knitting a pair of socks for me). I was over at I May Be Knitting A Ranch House and couldn't help but notice some Lorna's Laces that Sandra had purchased in this really amazing colourway. Mischievous Sandra pointed me to where I could buy the stuff (the colourway is called "Downy") and I just couldn't resist it. It's lovely, no?

So, once my Go With The Flows are done, I'm going to dive into a pair of Charades, in honour of the aforementioned Sandra, who happened to design the pattern. I think it's only fitting.