Presents for a Friend

Unfortunately the photoshoot of my Clapotis didn't happen this weekend, however, I'm going home this weekend so I should have many opportunities to get some gorgeous shots. Until then, I'll tide you over with some FO pictures.

One of the best things to come out of my most recent schooling (besides my fabulous job) is my friend Kristy. We bonded instantly as soon as we met, sharing a background in theatre and love of all things wedding-related. When I got engaged, she was always up for a trip to the wedding dress store, or the florist, or a bridal show. She's even more organized than I am and I am so relieved that she'll be coordinating our wedding. I call her my Wedding Fairy.

Her birthday was in November and I just had to knit something for her. I know how cold the theatre she works at can be so I made her a pair of fingerless gloves.

(My hands, her's are much daintier and she doesn't have my ring)
Pattern: Women's Hand Warmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts (thanks for the suggestion Heather!)
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in plum, 1 ball (thanks for the swap, Heather!)
Mods: I wanted to make them longer so I added a full pattern repeat to the arms before the thumb.

Shortly before Christmas, Kristy mentioned that she needed a new scarf. Naturally, I couldn't let her buy something when I was happy to knit a scarf for her. I offered many different pattern and yarn suggestions to get a sense of what she'd like.

This is what she wanted:
Pattern: Just Enough Ruffles from Cosmic Pluto
Yarn: Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Emerald Blue (a gorgeous blue/green)
Mods: I was worried that the scarf would overwhelm her so I did 3 fewer short-rows than the pattern calls for.

Verdict: Kristy loves them!

A Few Little Things

There will be no WIP Wednesday today. I've been working exclusively on my Malabrigo Clapotis and it doesn't look all that different from last week. Actually, it does look somewhat different as it has doubled in size but since I'm halfway through the decreases right now I'm hoping for a FO post some time this weekend. In lieu of a WIP to show you, I thought I'd talk about a few small projects I knit in December.

As I'm sure many of you would agree, one of the best things about Ravelry and the online knitting community in general is the ability to make friends with people all over the world. Tam is one such friend. We met in the wedding planning community on Rav and just hit it off. Last fall, when she told me that she was pregnant, I was so excited that I just had to make something for her. I couldn't even wait until she found out if it was a boy or a girl. I usually worry about the gender neutrality of colours and go with green to be on the safe side but this time I was able to be neutral and still have fun. 

This poor misshapen thing is actually a baby bear hat.  I'm sure it will look much cuter on a little one. Tam, make sure you take pictures!

Pattern: Bunny Tails from Itty-Bitty Hats

Yarn: Elann Superwash Worsted (which is totally misnamed since it knits to dk gauge)

Modification: shortening the ears

In December I was procrastinating from working on Granny's tall socks so I decided to whip off some Christmas tree ornaments for some of my coworkers.

I took this basic pattern and had fun with it. I don't know how well you can see it in this picture (clearly my idea of using the tree as a model isn't panning out so well) but the ornament in the bottom right has beads on it. My coworkers loved their presents and were so impressed that I'd made them. 

Next up, on Random Friday, I will introduce you to my favourite new toy.

My New Camera (Part 1)

Pete and I have been thinking about getting a new camera for a while now. We knew that we wanted to have one for our trip to Halifax this summer and we thought it would make sense to buy it ahead of time so we could practice using it. Because of all the great deals just prior to Christmas, we decided it was time to take the plunge.  Of course, it wasn't as easy as that to decide on a camera. There are so many great ones out there which are all so similar and yet slightly different, so it was hard to find the perfect one for us.  Armed with our wish list, we visited Henry's, a highly-recommended camera store where the Canon Powershot G10 was suggested to us. After doing some research on our own, we decided that it was the perfect camera for our needs, very customizable with lots of features but also simple to use. The Christmas holidays proved the perfect opportunity to play with our new toy.

Warning, the rest of this post is pretty picture heavy (click to embiggen).

Pete took this shot from the car when we were driving from his parents' house to mine on Christmas day.  I love how the sunbeams are breaking through the clouds.

Here's a picture of Cleo rockin' the macro setting. She spent most of the time she was at my parents' house without us hiding under the foam on the bed, only emerging for food. This picture was done without flash, relying on the light from the bedside lamp. 

I love being able to take pictures of the Christmas tree without flash. It makes everything look so much truer to life. 

Here we are making use of the self-timer feature in order to send a picture to my brother who was in Tanzania over Christmas. We miss you, Neil!!

Pete is the more adventurous one with the camera (I usually stick to point and shoot, though I have started to play with some features, more on this in the second post). In this shot, he was experimenting with a really long exposure. Partway through, Cleo decided to wander in and lie down in front of the camera resulting in the ghostly image. 

That's it for now. I hope everything had a lovely weekend. I'm going to go knit in front of the tv for the rest of my Sunday. More on what I'm knitting on WIP Wednesday (something I'm going to try).

My New Home

Welcome to my new blog! For the past two years I have enjoyed sharing a joint blog with my friend Heather. We decided to try blogging on our own and here I am! I don't have all my pictures together but I was so excited to put up my first post that I couldn't wait.


Like many of my fellow knitters, Christmas is a time of much fun and much stress. This year I decided to reduce my stress by only knitting for a handful of people. There is one person in my life who always gets a handknit present at Christmas, my beloved Granny. For as long as I've been knitting (since May 2005) she has been receiving handknit socks. I don't know which one of us gets more pleasure out of them, her for getting to wear them or me for knowing how much she loves and wears them.

Look how happy she is!

Pattern: my own stockinette sock recipe, carefully designed for her specs (I've got it down to a science by now)

Yarn: Handmaiden Casbah (mmmm... cashmere) in Paris with Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solids (from Bertha!) in Amethyst for the contrasting heel and toe

Last year I knit my Uncle Peter a turtle (Sheldon from Knitty). It went over so well that I knew I had to make him something good this year as well. I was inspired by SpillyJane's Swedish Fish Mittens as my uncle is an avid fisherman. Mittens weren't right for him so I decided to modify the pattern (with Jane's permission). Uncle Peter always carries a water bottle around with him and lately I've been on a knitted-water-bottle-cozy kick lately (more on that some other time), so I altered the pattern to make a cozy for him.

He seems to like it (though he was mighty confused when he opened the present. I guess next year I should make him something more identifiable).

Pattern: my own water bottle cozy formula using SpillyJane's fishy chart

Yarn: Elann's Superwash Worsted in Celestial Teal and White (which I dyed orange)

That's all for now but there is definitely more to come.