Greetings from the south shore of St. Thomas. No snow for this bunny, I’m feeling tan already.

Filed by Julia at 6:07 pm under General
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Merry Christmas!
First things first. I finished the little Christmas something, and then somebody got a bath. This pic was too cute not to share!

Because, you know, I can’t have a dirty stinky squirrel chasing dog wearing my handknits.

The surprise was for my sister, who, at Thanksgiving went on a rant about Louie and sweaters and Christmas. So I surprised her. Everybody was waiting around the tree for presents, and then I pulled the “Wait! I need coffee! Lou, come help me!” and I put it on him in the Kitchen, and sent him running out. She loved it, and then loved it even more when she knew I knit it just for him. Custom fit, even. I knit most of it back at home, and did the final knitting once I had fit him. I ended up riping out the yoke part about 3 times. I just had to have it right. He won’t move if it’s not comfortable.

It’s very basic, two main pieces are knit, and then seamed, leaving openings for the legs. I really liked working the mock cabling. My dad liked it too, he felt it and said, it feels nice, it’s like a cable, but not a cable. My dad knows his knits!

Some Specs:

Pattern: Based on a Fiber Trends pattern, 211x, with huge mods in the numbers. Since Lou did not fit any single size exactly. I ended up shortening the belly piece after I had started to seam. I cut out a row, ripped some out, and then grafted the ribbing back on using the Kitchener stitch. I also took the collar and yoke part apart a couple of times. I had to make the belly piece longer than the back, so that it would fit the curve of his chest, and the back piece wouldn’t ride up on his neck. So basically the pattern was more of a guideline.

Yarn: I used under two skeins of Plymouth Galway, color 12. 100% Wool. I have alot left. The two skeins I used were differant dyelots, but are so close I can’t even tell in sunlight.

Needles: Addi Turbos, US 8, 5mm. The pattern called for 6′s, but I know Galway, and I like knitting it with 8′s. So I did.

This was a good knit, very entertaining. Not that I intend to make a career of knitting doggie sweaters. Once in a while will be fine. Other than this I’m working on some socks. In a few hours we’ll be going to my Aunts house for dinner. Last night we had Christmas Eve here, at my parents. I ate too much, but that’s what Christmas is for! So everybody out there, Merry Christmas, and a safe and Happy New Year!

Filed by Julia at 2:05 pm under FO!,Family,Knitting,Louie
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Hee. Want to read my blog as translated into Gansta? You know you do. Courtousy of Gizoogle.

You can do it to your blog too. Go to Gizoogle, and search for your blog, click on it, and it will instantly translate it for you. You can do it with any site. So. Funny.

Filed by Julia at 6:26 pm under General
8 Comments

I know. You probably need to sit down for a minute. Go ahead, I’ll wait. I haven’t been knitting too much, mostly I’m completely wrapped up in Yarning. I’m trying to dye up as much as possible before I leave (again) next week. Can I tell you how sick and tired I am with leaving town so often? I am. I can’t wait til after New Years, when I’ll be home for a couple of months before traveling again. I feel like I can’t get anything done leaving all the time like this. Gah.

So my knitting isn’t keeping me interested lately. You know that kind of knitting? All blah. I’m not even interested in started something new either. I’m just tired. I have one thing I’m knitting for a certain someone for Christmas this year. As a rule I don’t knit Christmas presents. I don’t like to toil and sweat over something someone might like. I knit for myself. But this year I am knitting one fun thing, and if I finish it it’ll be a good laugh when I give it to its intended recipient. If not, I’m not worried about it. I will show you a snippet though.

I’m knitting this in Plymouth Galway, which is my hands down favorite no nonsense wool. Color 12. It’s a really nice deep cranberry color. This pattern is super easy too, it’s actually a mock cable pattern, which I haven’t done before, but I’m pretty amused at how authentic it looks. If I wasn’t a knitter, I wouldn’t even know.

I have to show you these,

This blue blob is two, count them two, finished Whiskey Sleeves. As yet unblocked. I finished them a few days ago, the last few rows before the sleeve cap on the second one nearly did me in, but I got a second wind when I started the cap shaping, which didn’t take more than an evening. When I compared the 2nd cap to the first, I decided that I must have been drunk when I knit the first one. Seriously. Some of the decreases made no sense at all. They did not follow the pattern, and I completely glanced over an entire section. I rewrote the sleeves, but pretty much stuck to the way the cap shaping was written, although I did reshape the very top, so I wouldn’t end up with the poofy cap sleeves that the pattern has. I ended up ripping the 1st cap almost all the way down and reknit it, but again, it didn’t take to long.

As a little reward for finishing these babies, I started the back of a new sweater with the Araucania Nature wool I bought myself for my blogiversary. I was all gung ho about the whiskey sweater, but you know what, I’m supposed to enjoy my knitting, and I’ll start what I want when I want. Damnit. I’ll just work on them simultainiously.

I’m really liking this yarn. Nice and wooly. I’m knitting a pattern that I’ve knit before, and that sweater has become my most favorite, most worn sweater. So I’m knitting another, but adjusting my gauge for this thinner yarn. I can not get enough of the color.

So that’s about all. Except for the mandatory, take everywhere sock, of course.

Filed by Julia at 1:20 am under Knitting
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Filed by Julia at 5:39 pm under General
8 Comments

Hey there. Hi. I finally almost feel back into the swing of things after last weekend. Monday and Tuesday I cleaned. It’s insane what can happen to my house when one man and 4 cats are left to their own devices for 6 days. So clean I did. Yesterday I had roofers over to replace the soffit underneath my 3rd floor box gutter. You should have seen all the rotted wood they pulled out from under there, and the genius who put up the aluminum in the first place apparently didn’t think it would be a good idea to install some support brackets under the gutter, so it was by shear will and alot of luck the whole thing didn’t fall on some unsuspecting pedestrian. But it’s all better now, and it looks good as new.

So me and the fam headed up to Toronto last weekend, and man did we eat. It was also wonderful. I love love love Toronto. My sister and I walked all over, and took the subway (the most clean subway ever) and the streetcar. We shopped, but mostly just looked at everything. I made multiple trips to Lettuce Knit, including joining the regulars for the most entertaining knit night I’ve ever been to.

There were so many knitters! Including, but definately not limited to, Laura,, Megan, Stephanie, Michelle, Denny, The knitorius Rachel H., Yarn Harlot Stephanie, even, and Knitty Amy, and Ken and and and….. If you’ve ever been there, you know its a tiny place, but it’s also fabulous. So knitters were squeezed in everywhere, along both shop walls, chairs perched over baskets of yarn, standing and chatting, it was awesome. My mom and my sister were there too, my Mom knit, and my sister brought her fantastic chocolate chip cookies. I talked my Mom into a skein of Handmaiden SeaSilk, and the Knitted wings shawl. Of course all I had to do was show it to her, and she was sold! I picked up two skeins of Fleece Artist sock yarn, you know, since I was there and all….and they had just gotten an order of it that day….how perfect is that timing?
I chatted with so many knitters, Stephanie, in particular, who was just starting the 2nd of her step-ups then, and as you can see, she’s still mostly sane, and mostly sober……

I did bring a box of Vesper sock with me, and seconds after I put it down it was ravaged by sock yarn hungry knitters. It was a spectacular sight, and all night people trickled in on their way to where ever to pick up a skein or two. By the time I stopped by the next day, around 4:30-5, it was all gone. Awesome.

Also, in my next life, I want to come back as Megans’ cat-

Most of the photos I took last weekend are of the boys. The dogs Vinny and Louie.

Notice their matching red polos? I love it when they match. Also, it’s festive. They don’t mind it too much, and it’s really hysterically funny when my dad wears a matching polo too. I don’t think he did this trip, but maybe when Christmas comes up. Louie is half laying on the box of my yarn. He’s a good guard dog. He also helped with the dishes……

He kills me. He loved the turkey we had. Between that and all the walks we took him on, and all the running around, he was a very tired young man, and slept just about the whole way home. Vinge man too, but by the end of an uber urban weekend, white dogs ain’t so white anymore.

As far as my knitting, uh, yeah. I did knit alot on my Whiskey sleeve, and am about 50 rows from the cap shaping. I have almost a new sock finished. Who was I kidding when I said I would wait to start another sock? hahahahaha.
Not my woolarina sock though, after 3 false starts, I had had it with that one for awhile. So yeah, that’s me right now.

Filed by Julia at 10:35 pm under Family,Louie
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