29: used to (almost) be...

my mom is always complaining about being cold. the inside of their office is kept feeling like a walk-in fridge in mid-Summer. then there is the arctic chill along the Hudson River in mid-Winter, which makes going to and from her workplace feel like you are in a wind tunnel in Antarctica. as a result, she is always cold.

i welcome any excuse to make use of my ever-expanding stash of yarn, so i took up the challenge of making a cardi (or two) for my mom. specifically, i wanted to make a wool sweater that could be used as an extra layer of insulation under her Winter coat, but that she could wear unbuttoned around the office to keep her shoulders and arms warm during the air-conditioned Summer months.

after much contemplation of both yarn and pattern options, i finally set out on the seemingly simple task of making a cardi for my mom. then everything went terribly wrong.

this used to (almost) be a cardi for my mom.

[random aside: i am drinking a very non-Summery cup of hot chocolate and taking my patented mix of 'one of each type' of headache tablets, because it is one of those days. moving on...]

all that remains is this narrow strip from the bottom of the back section. well... that plus all the yarn that has been wound into a ball about the size of my very-non-small head. i went searching for said ball of yarn today, but it was nowhere to be found. hopefully i did not toss is away in a fit of absolute frustration.

there are those moments in life, when you have to accept that something is not meant to be... then you stop wasting your own time. unfortunately, i tend to suck at taking my own advice. i kept encountering one minor problem after the next, and each time i would rip back to some earlier point, then try to figure out what i was doing wrong. i probably threatened on multiple occasions to send the whole thing flying through an un-opened window, out into the middle of the street below. that is my go-to threat when faced with so much frustration, and he always says the same thing.

him: go ahead... but you're the one who's gonna fix the broken window. 

turns out, i really did not like the choice of that particular yarn for that project. it was producing  fabric that felt very uncomfortable in my hands, and i knew that the finished garment would lack the cozy factor that i was counting on for my mom.

so, one day, as i was in the midst of unraveling the previous inch or two with the intention of knitting that bit over again, frustration got the best of me... so i kept on unraveling. that strip remains only because i wanted to hang on to part of it so that i could try to figure out what went so terribly wrong.

i was so annoyed at this point, that i went on a mini-marathon of knitting other stuff, just to get that project out of my mind. there was the cardi for his mom (which i talked about earlier in the month)...

i also kitted a couple warm weather tops for me (which i will try to remember to take photos of one of these days), and i made a Flax sweater pour moi. i made one for him a few years ago, and it is his go-to sweater in the Winter, which warms this knitter's heart. now i have one of my very own. hopefully it will get just as much use.

my Flax includes a side-split on the hem, and the back is a couple inches longer than the front, which i tend to prefer these days.

i also made the column of grater stitches (the horizontal ridges) a bit wider than the pattern suggested... because i can do what i want with my own top.

with that done, i (finally) tracked down the leather elbow patches for his Watsyn Cardigan, so now he is allowed to wear it... you know... once it goes back to being cold again.

i love this design so much. it is sized from child to adult, so you can get plenty of use out of the one pattern. the collar is my favorite part.

i added pockets to his Watsyn (which was not part of the original design), and i finished it off with some coconut shell buttons with a design that reminds me of the Daymare Town games.

still, in the midst of all of this activity, all i kept thinking was, i really should be knitting that cardi for mom. however, it was so warm out by this point, that the thought of sitting around with a lap full of a heavy wool garment seemed like a punishment, so i opted instead to start working on a less-bulky sweater using the same pattern as in the cardi for his mom.

it was my sincerest intent to have this done by the end of this month, but it has been so hot and muggy, that working with wool was not a realistic option. i managed to get the odd few rows done, especially on the really unpleasant days when we had the AC blasting, but it is very hard to be motivated by a wool sweater in the middle of a heatwave.

this is about as far as it has gotten. it does not look it right now, but i assure you that the Sibella is a really beautiful cardigan.

the bottom edge is rolled up, so it is a bit longer than it appears at present. this rolling is typical for this kind of knitted fabric, and it will sort itself out once the ribbed hem is added along the bottom.

i used the same approach as with the gold cardi: begging in the middle, knitting up through the patterned yoke section, up to the neckline, then resuming knitting from the bottom of the yoke, and i will continue on in that direction down to the bottom edge.

i know that mom likes her sweaters on the longer side, so i plan to keep on knitting until i run out of yarn. for that reason, i put the body stitches on hold, while i work on the sleeves (i am almost done with the first one), then i will go back to working on the body, making sure i reserve enough yarn to add the button bands at the end.

i love this pattern so much, and i will very likely make the pullover sweater version for myself at some point.

so, while i have been (mostly) neglecting the cardi, i did cast on—and i have almost completed—a light, almost-meshy cotton layering piece that i will most likely also give to my mom... although i may wear it once or twice before doing so. it is the Alfama cardi by Amy Christoffers. i absolutely loved this pattern at first sight. it would be a fantastic cover-up for those cooler days at the end of the Summer. and i am making a longer version than the sample, because 'tush coverage' is a high-priority in my life.

the yarn i am using for this is a (mostly) cotton blend with some little blips of color that only makes me think of clown barf. i have not spent much time around barfing clowns, but it seems safe to think it might look something like this.

the clown barf cardi will definitely be done some time this week, and i will hopefully get back to working on the other one... unless some other thing catches my attention before then.

12: my tribe approves...

i just watched a You Tube "haul" video that consisted of a woman going through the contents of her grocery bags... one item at a time. when did bananas and toilet bowl cleaner become a haul? i weep for humanity.

our household is in the grips of some sort of mid-summer malady, so it has been a bit rough going over the last couple days. he was the hardest hit, but he is already on the road to recovery. as for me, i just want to crawl under the covers and sleep for a few more days. this too shall pass.

today's topic concerns the lovely cardi i recently completed for his mom.

she is so very knit-worthy, which is the highest praise you can receive from a member of my tribe. she wore the last sweater i knitted for her so much, that i feel certain that this one will also be treated to the greatest possible measure of love for a knitted thing... it will be worn! my tribe approves.

this is the Sibella Cardigan by Carrie Bostick Hoge. it was part of a rather clever collection in which she took a handful of basic lace motifs, and designed multiple items using each one.

they are all beautiful, but "Sibella" is my favorite of the laces. i am especially fond of the pullover version, which will probably show up in my wardrobe eventually... most likely as a short-sleeve cotton tee, perfect for Summer wearing.

the cardi was knitted in a light-weight yarn, so it is not really a "snuggly" garment for colder season. i opted to make it with a short-sleeve, so it will be a perfect layering piece for when she wants a bit of shoulder warmth, without the bulk of a thick sweater.

he picked out this pretty design from my collection of bamboo buttons. i use them on everything, but i seem to still have  a lifetime supply.

it has been neatly-folded, waiting to be delivered for the past few weeks. we will get around to that bit eventually.

i was so taken by this cardi, that i immediately abandoned a different one i had started way back in the Winter for my mom, and casted on one of the same. mom's Sibella cardi will be in a steely blue-grey color. as for the other project i was working on for mom... well, that one may end up being burnt to ashes, as that is the only solution for a lot of problems some days.

now, i am going to have a cup of tea, then climb back under the covers.

2: too hot for that foolishness...

i am drinking iced coffee out of a large jar that once housed pasta sauce (Progresso pasta sauce, if you need all the details) while intermittently staring out the wall-of-glass in hopes of some signs of the thunderstorm that is supposed to be headed this way.

if all of the Meteorologists who spend their days salivating over such things are to be believed, today stands a chance of being the hottest day of the year. that is, of course, unless it gets even hotter still.

it should be noted that i do not deal well with humidity. hot, steamy tropical rain forests are lovely for the awesome display of animal and plant life, but give me a chilly Autumn evening and a warm, snuggly sweater any day.

so, there i was, opening my precious mini treasure chest, when i had a great idea. i would let him pick the first topic. what does he pick? the super-thick, super-warm, super-woolly cardigan i have been neglecting working on. so, now i get to talk about, and look at, and touch a snuggly wool and alpaca cardi, on this, the—possibly—hottest day of the year. thanks, sweetie!

full disclosure: it was tucked away in a corner, in a plastic waste-paper basket that i purchased for the express purpose of holding this sort of large project. then i dropped a bag with some other thing on top of the cardi, and i proceeded to forget that it existed... since like last October. i know. i know.

but, there it was, all these months later, safe and snug at the bottom of that little bin.

it looks like an amorphous blob, but it really is the start of a lovely sweater.

this was my favorite project from the knitted cables book by my fave designer Norah Gaughan (i embarrassed myself gushing about her last year).

i absolutely have to talk about this yarn. it is the Cloud Mix by Drops, and it is sooo appropriately named!

this is what is referred to as a blown yarn, which means that instead of being spun like a "regular" yarn, the loose fibers are blown through a thin mesh tube, and they poke out through the little holes to form the soft, fuzzy surface of the yarn. it is the pillowiest thing you could possibly imagine, hence the "cloud" name.

i would take a picture of myself rolling around on the floor with this yarn, except it is way too hot for that foolishness. plus... you know... that would be just a tiny bit insane. trust me though. it has some serious squish.

the yarn was recommended to me by the owner of my local yarn shop, as she thought the wool content (7%) was low enough for me to wear with my allergic-to-everything skin. the tube is polyamide (21%), and the majority of the blown fiber is super-fine alpaca (72%), so most of what you "feel" is the alpaca... and i can (usually) tolerate super-fine alpaca. i fell in love at first squish.

naturally, it was discontinued, so i bought everything she had of the (almost) black yarn and crossed my fingers that it would be enough.

i just went digging through my tins of swatches to prove the next point.

do not ever knit anything in black... ever!!! you will end up losing your mind.

i could barely see the stitches as i was knitting, so all those fancy cables would be a nightmare. my sanity and i both agreed that it made sense to return to the yarn shop and swap for a lighter color. so now those cables are popping all over the place.

problem is, i had neglected this for so long, that i picked up the basket today, fully expecting to take a few quick snaps of the project, before unraveling it and starting all over again. it had been so long, that there was no way i could figure out where i was in that complicated array of cables.

however, i had already knitted far more than i realized—eight and a half inches from the bottom, to be precise—and it would be wrong to undo all that work.

plus, despite the apparent complexity of the thing, it really is a simple, straightforward design. i had marked the page with the cable i was using (as i preferred that over the one Norah used in the original design), and it took about five seconds to figure out where i was on that chart.

this is the original cable (#132, left) and the one i went for (#130, right), which is a slightly less-complex version of the same basic hexa-cable design. i am really excited to get back to working on this project. that is... once it stops feeling like a rotisserie oven outside.

there was a brief flash of light in the distance, so i have added a few extra cubes to my glass. now it is time for nature's own light show. cheers.

zen and the art of giving up on giving up...

we are entering that time of year when the forces around us provoke an intense need for reflection. what were my goals for this year? how much of that did i accomplish? what changes should i aim to make in the coming year? my answer to all of this is a resounding "mind your own business, forces!!!".

i gave up on making resolutions a long time ago, as it usually amounts to setting one's self up for disappointment. beyond that, in my life, the challenge is usually to talk myself out of giving up on things. i may possibly—just possibly—be the single most impatient person in existence, and that is especially true when it comes to trying things outside of my skill set. anything that requires practice, persistence, or (gasp) patience is a definite non-starter in my universe.

if you have followed my non-adventures for any length of time, you can probably guess by now that i am talking about my forays into the world of watercolouring (spelling totally intended). not gonna lie... i was about to pack up all of the supplies and stash them away in the back of the darkest closet i can find. however, a little voice suggested that i should possibly—just possibly—stick with it a bit longer, and possibly—just possibly—give it a go more than once every six-or-so months. the voice was coming from the face of my favorite animator. i really hate it when he makes so much sense. so, in the spirit of doing something a bit different, i am not going to give up on painting. it is frustrating as hell and i have zero natural aptitude for the thing, which is probably what i need most of all.

in a related vein, i will revisit that orange cardi i started some several weeks ago. i got about halfway through the body, then ripped it back to this...

...then knitted (again) through most of the body, before tossing it in a corner to be revisited another day. i had all but decided to frog it completely and re-purpose the yarn for some other thing. however, in light of my newly-acquired outlook on life, i may possibly—just possibly—give it another go.

one final note: i feel zero shame in admitting that i slept all day... ALL DAY! the sky outside was dark when i awoke, and the glowing red numbers on the clock read 5:38. i closed my eyes and rested my head back against the pillow, trying to decide whether that meant AM or PM. after a week of sleeplessness, it felt good to wake up to such a pressing problem.

those potatoes...

[the post-a-week experiment seems to have derailed (yet again). i have no valid excuse, other than just not being in the mood—which, some may argue, is the only reason one needs to not do a thing. i will attempt to catch up for the missing entries in the coming weeks... if i am in the mood, that is.]


i am always amazed at how easily the body adapts to the changing seasons. it takes just one chilly evening and the pitchers of lemonade are replaced by pots of strong tea or you abandon thoughts of ice cream and daydream instead of a steaming mug of cider with its very own cinnamon stick. yes... it is Autumn, and i am so very very in my happy place. this was the view i woke up to this morning. see that? Autumn!

having spent most of my life in the NYC area, i am used to mild Falls and a lengthy display of seasonal colors on the local trees. that is definitely not the case up here in Montreal, where the transition from green leaves to bare trees tends to happen in the proverbial 'blink of an eye', often skipping right past the whole 'turning of the leaves part' of the thing, which (some may argue) is the whole reason you have Autumn in the first place. however, i am pleased to announce that as we move toward an unseasonably-warm mid-October, most of the leaves are still on the trees... and they are putting on quite the display.

inspired by the season, i pulled some of my own yarn from the stash and cast on a sleeveless cardi that will be a great around-the-house layering piece come Winter.

this yarn began life in our home, some two years ago, as a Shetland-BFL fleece, before being washed, blended with alpaca fiber, spun, and dyed. the yarn is a bit "rustic" in places (which is a polite way of saying "i could not spin a consistent yarn if my life depended on it"). oh well.

i usually shun colorful things, but it actually makes me smile to see this coppery-orange next to my skin.

total aside: check out that giant ball of yarn next to Mama Kitty for scale.

can you tell that she is really impressed?

on the culinary front, the salad-heavy days of Summer have given way to what i like to call "Autumn food". last night's meal consisted of coconut-saffron rice topped with a spicy curry featuring super-locally-sourced potatoes!

as in... the potatoes i grew on the balcony!!! luckily i had no delusions of going the self-sufficient route, as this yield was enough for one meal with leftovers for the next day. potato growers of Quebec can sleep soundly knowing that they have not lost me as a potential customer. here is my modest haul of red potatoes, fresh from the soil bag. there were also a few large baking potatoes, but i am saving them for some other meal.

i was having so much fun with the harvest, i even collected all the wee ones. cuteness overload.

they were placed (unwashed) into an empty ice cream container (cause i am fancy like that), where they remained (uncovered) for over a month before ending up in last night's meal.

i studied my favorite animator's face as he took his time chewing the first bite, while i (im)patiently awaited some comment on the meal (we tend to give most things the food-critic treatment... which is as absurd as it sound, but we are easily amused). he got through the first mouthful without a word and was working on the second bite as i sat there drowning in a sea of anxiety. how was it? did i go overboard with the spices? too much salt? not enough salt? could he detect the hint of thai basil or the (equally-locally-sourced) green onions? for the love of all that is holy... please say something!!! finally, he spoke:

him: wow! our potatoes are amazing!
me: and the rest of the curry...?
him: oh, that's delicious. but, man... those potatoes!

i lifted the fork to my mouth and took a bite. man... those potatoes!