Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas!!!

All the best for the season from Casa KnittyKitty!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We had a very good day and that was the most important thing. I wish the same for you all!

Monday, November 29, 2010

In a knititng funk... and other stories

Yep, so it's been a very long time since I've picked up my needles and did anything crafty. I've done more looking for inspiration (ever so often at that) on ravelry than anything else. I have more time to knit since finishing exams but really haven't done anything since then. Socks and shawls and blogs are languishing... the start of a cardigan frogged. It's beginning to feel like I need a stressful situation (like studying) to pick up the needles and do something. And no thank you fate, I am not asking for a stressful situation!!

Maybe it's the lack of a yarn store here that I could go in and fondle skeins at will and feel motivated to do something. Online shopping doesn't give that immediate satisfaction that a LYS would. Too many hops and charges just to get it into my hands.

But it isn't only the knitting that's suffering. It's the sewing, the French lessons and the weight loss. I feel stuck. I feel... aimless.Goal less. It feels like forever waiting for the official word on my accreditation. The most I've been doing nowadays is playing Bejeweled and Sudoku on my ipod. Excitement!

Christmas may find me a tad more invigorated but cautiously so as the government here has raised taxes and cut people's income. Luckily for my kids their presents were bought before the budgetary spanking was shared out...

Maybe I need a vacation. A positive change in scenery and something good and wonderful to happen to me...

Maybe by next post!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Drive by post

Hello! Just popping in to say hi. Nothing more. No knitting updates or anything new there either. Thinking of Eileen from knitty.com.

This blog turned 4 years old on October 4th. Forgot it again.

Still trying to learn French.

Thinking of trying to sew a pants. Need a cool machine though.

Hopefully I'll get inspired to actually get past the swatch for Eileen.

How goes the crafty side of life for you guys? Hopefully better than mine!

Friday, September 17, 2010

What to do next...?

Salutations! How is everyone doing? Apart from a slight headache that I'm fighting off and being a bit sleep hungover (I slept away most of the day and am now kinda loopy from it lol!) I'm just peachy.

Nothing new to report today apart from finishing Miralda. Well, I actually finished her on September 7th and have added her to my list of "to block" FOs. I'm very happy with her even though I messed up the kitchener bind off at the end. But you can't really tell that it's a mess because it blends very nicely into the stitches.

Below is my requisite awful photo of a beautiful FO (maybe I'll get a camera for Christmas... or by then the i.P.ads will come equipped with one).

Yarn: Berocco Ultra Alpaca Fine in Oceanic Mix
Needles: Size 6
Start date: August 7
Finish date: September 7

Again, this is a wonderfully simple knit with stunning results (don't take above photo quality word for it LOL!). I had been hankering to make it for a while and now that I have made it, I will say that it is worth every positive review it has gotten. I made mine with the nupps - other people have eliminated them and I'm pretty sure that would have made for faster knitting (I did have a few breaks in between knitting this so it wasn't a constantly going project) but I like the texture of the wearisome nupps!

So my only issue now is what to do next. There's Juneberry that I also want to make. I have the magazine and the yarn and the needles on standby already but it's just to get started. There's also my Aeolian shawl that has been sitting unattended for the past however long. I think I mentioned that the Deep V Argyle was finished as well? I can't remember and am too lazy to back back over my few posts LOL! I finished it August 8 and that too needs blocking.

Here it is (again?)



So apart from the knitting, I've just rekindled my love for the French language and have started taking classes to get back into it. I studied it at school but that was years ago and am rustier than a wrought iron gate by the seaside. But it's fun speaking and relearning it.

Finally, it's the hubster's birthday next week and once again I'm going looking for ingredients to make a no-bake cheesecake. I'm thinking of trying this but the night is young and there's time to find another one that has more reviews. I love N.ig.ella, but it would be comforting to try a recipe where more people can weigh in on it and give advice in case things go south.

What about you guys? What has been keeping you busy?

A bientot!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

An unexpected day off

Firstly, thank you guys for your birthday well wishes! It's nice to feel the love from near and far : )

Okay, who here doesn't like a day off? A day to relax, to unwind, to maybe catch up on a few minor chores or best of all to finish up a project. Well I certainly don't mind a day off, like I had today - but definitely not under these circumstances.

Have I mentioned before that I'm on the path to a healthier, better body? Read as I'm working out and trying to eat right. Some days, those two ends of the coin actually work well together and I feel super duper. Yesterday I had a good breakfast, drank my water, made a blueberry banana smoothie and had a nice lunch. In the evening, in an attempt to get the other side of the weight loss sucess coin going I headed off to the gym to the much anticipated step class. Let me say here that I've always been kind of afraid of the step - I look down at it to make sure my feet are on there properly and that I don't go flying across the room.

So, this was my third step class and it was going great! I was burning fat and sweating like nobody's business. Suddenly, the world went off kilter and guess what? I went flying across the room. Well not exactly flying but I can't for the life of me figure out how I got so far from the step AND facing the other direction. Man, the pain shot up and down my leg, and my ankle almost instantly began to expand.

Yes, not only was my ankle hurt but my pride as well. That class was full. And there were onlookers waiting to get in the class after that one. So, yah. I had to take the day off. I am now able to put some weight on the poor thing but now it is the size of a large egg.

The plus side of this sad tale is that I got to do some extra knitting on Miralda. I am getting to the point where the rows are getting noticably shorter and the pattern is really very evident. I have no doubt at all that the Berocco Ultra Alpaca Fine was an excellent choice. I am almost finished this first skein of yarn and will have to take down my trusty-ish home made swift and get a-winding soon.

Wanna see a pic?

I am looking forward to finishing it up and blocking it. I'm going to have a blocking party soon too as Ishbel, Damson and the leaf tee all await some shaping love.

Well I'm off for now. I think my knee wants to join in on the hurting action.

Ciao!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Another year, another birthday

Hola peeps!

Today is my birthday and it was a nice one. Nothing spectacular or mind blowing but I felt covered in love and appreciation and those are two things that no one should be short on. Plus it was a vast improvement over last year. Those were not good times!

So the hubby bought me a beautiful foodie gift basket. See below!


In there I found camembert cheese - an acquired taste for me I have to say! Table water biscuits seasoned with black pepper to go with the cheese. A bar of Lindt white coconut chocolate, St. Dalfour's peach preserves, a box of mixed teas, roasted seaweed, bamboo rolling mat and paddle, sushi rice and white miso soup and to top it off pirouline chocolate hazelnut cookies. If you can't tell by now, I am a closet foodie. I love food mainly because I get so bored of the traditional fare we tend to cook here. Once I do my research I'll try my hand at the sushi. But since it takes years and years and more years to become a sushi master, I'll settle for just being able to make something that vaguely resembles what I get in the restaurants and hopefully taste just as good... or relatively close. LOL!

Last post I mentioned that I was going to make a white chocolate cheesecake for my birthday but it didn't happen. Went to the store and behold, no white chocolate. So I resolved to make this cake instead. Another no-bake cake. Here's evidence of my attempt:

As you can see, it's not quite like Martha's LOL! It did set up quite nicely as promised but after the minimum 6 hour leave alone requirement, it tasted like someone spilled chocolate in their ricotta. The tastes did not as they say on the cooking channel marry each other. However, a day and a spoon later revealed that this cake is really quite good! I used pulverized oreos instead of the wafers and that added even more fat, er, taste. The oreo crumbs didn't stand up to the top layer of the ricotta/chocolate mixture and kind of spread outwards to the sides. It's not a cake that can sit on the counter for a long time for obvious reasons and so it is not remembered that often by the rest of the family. But I guarantee you that once I pull out a saucer and put a slice on it, everyone wants piece. I don't think I'll make it again though. The ingredients are quite expensive (eg USD$14 for a litre of ultra pasteurized cream that I'm not using everyday...) and a pill to find.


Okay, so that's the cooking/ food section of the blog for the day. On to knitting. No pics (as it kind of looks almost the same as you last saw it) but Miralda is coming along beautifully as last indicated. I am now to the diamonds. Somewhere along the way, I neglected to decrease three stitches so now I have 284 instead of the required 281. I am going to fudge it and take off the extra stitches at the ends and hope that doesn't mess my knitting life up too badly.

So that's it for me today. Another year God has blessed me with good life and the ability to enjoy my family and that's the best birthday gift I can think of!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Progress!

One of the first things I did this morning after getting out of bed was to reach across to my bedside table and grab Miralda and start to knit on her. This is really shaping up beautifully in the pattern itself and the colour of the shawl. Since this is a bottom up shawl (well that's what I call it anyways - is that the correct term?) there's alot of the knitted fabric in hand after each row passes and this berroco ultra alpaca feels heavenly. No sneezing or itching here so maybe that other yarn for the clogs as mentioned in a previous post had in a different combination or different fiber content. Anyways, this a total joy so far.

Just a heads up though - this pattern comes with an two errata sheets here and here

Here's a pic to show you how far I've gotten:


 Besides the knitting, I have a few other plans that my husband in particular is looking forward to - the main one being my first attempt at making a no-bake white chocolate cheesecake presumably for my birthday on Wednesday (it takes 24 hours to set - or so the recipe tells me) but I somehow think that he'll get into it once it's set tomorrow.

What are your plans for this beautiful Sunday morning?

Friday, August 06, 2010

Let the knitting begin (again anyways)

After a fair amount of postman stalking, my expected package arrived. I am very happy to finally have in my hands the St-Denis Nordique yarn in ruby wine, Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine yarn and the St-Denis Magazine issue 2. Here are a few of my cell phone pics attached:

St-Denis Nordique in Ruby Wine and St-Denis Magazine Issue 2

The St-Denis Nordique is 100% wool and does not feel terribly soft under my fingers. It doesn't feel terrible either - just a tad coarse. Not as coarse as hemp but not as soft as Malabrigo lace. The colour is deep and rich and to my untrained eye the balls looks the same without any mild variations of red.

Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in Oceanic Mix

Now I must confess that I am totally in love with the Berroco. I really wasn't sure what to expect with this yarn and the colour. But the colour is totally amazing. It is a beautiful mix of blue and subtle greens that the cell camera isn't picking up. The name Oceanic Mix is absolutely spot on as it reminds me of our beaches on a hot scorching day - much like today! It's soft and a bit hairy. Which brings to mind a memory of itchy nostrils and skin back when I was knitting some clogs out of an alpaca blend of yarn. Someone suggested to me then freezing the yarn before knitting and that did work. I don't suspect or rather I hope not to have any problems of that kind with this beautiful yarn.

I'm torn as to which one to start first! The Juneberry Triangle or the Miralda Shawl. Decisions decisions!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Unpaused

Hello readers! Are you confused? Don't be... just changing up the look of the ol' blog here. I didn't really like that last template design (plus it wiped out all my previous FO's and WIP's lists... they should be mostly back now...) and have settled on a simpler cleaner layout. Hope you like! I do : )

While away, hubby and I celebrated 10 years of married-ness. That certainly went by fast! We celebrated by going to our fave Japanese/Thai restaurant and took the kids since it coincided with our daughter's birthday with was a few days after our anniversary. The highlight of the evening was their attempts at eating with the chop sticks and my son wondering why the rice was so clumped together LOL!!(Bajan men prefer their rice grains not so cozy with each other!). I had the tasting menu which consisted of tempura veggies and a tempura prawn (which was given promptly to hubby because of my shell fish allergy), a California roll, some sashimi, a giant salad, teriyaki chicken and jasmine rice. The kids had teriyaki chicken and beef and hubby had a shellfish dish off the Thai menu. Dessert was icecream for me and fried cheesecake for the kiddos. We were well stuffed!! It wasn't the cruise that I was hoping to do but it was fun nonetheless.

Since June I've been on pause with regards to my studies. I sat my last two exams and had to wait six weeks to get my results.With much trepidation and with my heart in my mouth, I clicked on "course history", scrolled down and looked for that magical word. That one word that carried with it so many possibilities. See, the word could be either Failed or Passed.

Failed would mean having to resit the exam, delay in getting certified and just the overall feeling of depression stemming from the failure and acceptance of the loss of money spent to the course (about $600+ Cad a pop!).

Passed would mean the complete opposite - it would involve looking at the world through certified eyes, it would mean I did not spend the last few months studying so hard for nothing, it would mean that I'll be a bad ass - in a good way! LOL! It would mean SUCCESS.

People, I saw PASSED. On BOTH courses so this means that I am officially done with my studies. There's one more administrative step and I'll have those three extra letters behind my name. To say I am happy would be the biggest understatement of the year. But, it's late and I cannot think of anything smart and cute to say that would impress you so happy it is.

Completion of my studies as a student should essentially mean that I should be knitting like a woman starved for her needles and yarn. But I am not. It's like my body is on a strike or something - refusing to do anything that entails reading or the s-word i.e. studying. Reading a pattern right now involves figuring out instructions and following instructions and the like. I did however, at least TRY to start Miralda from Knitted Lace of Estonia: Techniques, Patterns, and Traditions but I seemed to have some difficulty counting the 300+ stitches needed for the cast on. When I figured that out, I kept doing something really stupid and wasn't getting the required amount of stitches at the end of the rows. Once I got that sorted out, I realized that I really and truly didn't like how it was knitting up with the Malabrigo Lace. It was too fuzzy and the stitch definition was crap. So I frogged it, found a yarn store that ships directly to Barbados without charging me my first born son and bought two skeins of Berocco Ultra Alpaca Fine in some bluish colourway, three skeins of St. Denis Nordique in Ruby Wine to make the Juneberry shawl (cause I love the colour of Jared Flood's!) and the St-Denis Magazine issue 2. As we speak they should be on their way. I say should because the whole shipping thing is another story. It would be extra nice to get these this week but that's me being very very hopeful. So once those arrive I should be in the mood to knit one or the other.

Then I'll have some actual knitting content to share.

Friday, July 02, 2010

Victory

Ladies and gentlemen(?) Damson is done. There is nothing quite like finishing up a project that was so easy to knit but yet has beautiful results! Well the results will be beautiful once I block it. Like the Ishbel before it, Damson will remain unblocked until I get my hands on some blocking mats and blocking wires. Hopefully that will be this month once I get a few things on my list squared away.

Here she is in all of her unblocked glory:

I had one or two problems with this pattern though - even as ridiculously easy as it was. I lost count of some yarn overs and was too lazy to go back and untink my mistakes (I did a lot of untinking further on but not on this initial error) If you look closely at the two main yarnover sections there you will see that I am talking about. The problem is so minor in my books that I've left it as is and am still happy. I guess mainly because it's an error on both sides. Now if it was an error on only one side it would have been ripped out.

Second problem is that I ran out of yarn. On the bind off - halfway through. Bah. I asked if any one over on ravelry had some scraps to send me and was basically told to go buy a skein. People can be so nice! I guess it's which part of the world you hail from and maybe your knitty superstardom as well. I can't imagine anyone not helping the yarnharlot should she have a similar quandry. But then again, such a harlot would never run out of yarn on the bind off. Maybe I shouldn't expect those who purport to be nice to be actually so. Maybe I shouldn't think that everyone out there will do as I have done in the past. Ah well. I wound up getting out some debbie bliss 100% merino yarn I had, cutting off a length of it, splitting it in two sections (each section made up of 3 strands of yarn), splicing it to the malabrigo sock yarn and binding off. If this is successful remains to be seen when I block this baby out.

So next up is my prize! Earthtonesgirl - Denise sent me the lovely skein of yarn that I won over on her blog some weeks back. She mailed it when she said she would and it arrived in no time at all! I LOVE getting good mail and this definitely falls into that category. Here are two pics of the yarn. Denise, if you're reading, we weren't able to take the skein to Oistins for a photo op as we've all (excepting hubby) been under the weather and are now recovering. My daughter had the worst of it I think as on top of her cold, she had a double eye infection. Not pretty at all but today her eyes are nice and clear. Hooray for medicine!

Yarn looking wistfully out of the window wondering where the heck she is:


Yarny in better light:

Thanks again to Denise! I have a few ideas about what I want to make with it so stay tuned if you will : )

Today if everything goes well, the much talked about Miralda will be cast on. Yay!

Later guys!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Nothin' like a Friday at home

To get me back in the swing of things, I've picked back up Damson first. It is a simple knit - mind you I am not sure where I went wrong on a few rows back but had to do some creative knitting to get to the right stitch count one or two times - and I figured that's the best place to get my fingers and wrists accustomed to the needles and yarn thing once again. Aeolian might have been a little fiddly going back in as the yarn I'm using is very thin and not to mention the beads!

Here are two progress pics. The yarn being black might make it a tad hard to see, coupled with the fact that I've taken said pics with my cell phone camera. But you get the idea!

 It is an enjoyable knit that's for sure.

So what else is on the cards today? The family has requested some bread and chocolate cake - it seems as though they intend to fill up my free time as best as they could - no hardship though! They know that I enjoy the process of baking thoroughly so it's a win win.

Well, I best get to it then. Happy knitting all - and baking too ; )

Friday, June 11, 2010

What a wonderful way to get back in the swing - er knit of things!

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

My - well if it hasn't been a month of Sunday's since I've been on here. That's because I've been studying two intense courses at once all in the name of becoming certified in my career. I do not know the results until later and am excited and nervous and do not want to think about them until I really have to.

I've missed being on here and am happy to get back to it : ) Knitting is the first order of business and call it a good sign or just call it luck but I just got home, opened up my email to read that I've won a skein of yarn over at Earthtonesgirl !!!! I can't remember the last time I won anything - actually that's because I've never won anything that I can remember. I am just already imagining what I'll knit with my surprise.

So what have you all been up to? Knitting like crazy I hope! LOL! Over here in addition to knitting I've been baking up a storm using the The Bread Bible: 300 Favorite Recipes my favourite so far being the old fashioned raisin bread. I've made hamburger buns too and they came out great as well. The only one that didn't come out so great was the vienna bread but that was totally my fault. I didn't (and still don't) know how to shape the bread into an oval and stuffed it (with a tad more effort than was required) into a loaf pan. Came out shapeless and a little small because of the mistreatment but the texture and taste was excellent. Will try again soon. Danishes may be on the agenda next because the folks in this house loves them some home baked bread!

Sewing - ah yes, that has also been going on amid the studying and baking. I'm still learing to sew and the class that I am taking is a free hand class so it has its pros and cons but I think I'll be able to sew a shirt on my own if my notes are good enough. Actually, this weekend I'm planning to try to make one for my son. We'll see how well that turns out. I'm hopeful!

Not really last and not least is Plants versus Zombies. I just bought it on my iTouch and the kids and I are hooked. Hubby is even thinking of giving it a try LOL! It is really addictive. Those zombies are kinda cute - but creepy... especially when you first start the level and they warn "we're coming..." ...shudder.

Okay, that's it for now. This weekend I plan to reintroduce myself to the movies with S.AT.C 2, Karate Kid, Ir.on Ma.n and Rob.in Hoo.d. How lovely life looks now that I am not covered in books! Crossing all crossables that everything goes in my favour.

Later my friends!

Friday, April 16, 2010

First Entrelac

Hihi!

Just sticking my head in to say hi :D Things are still busy over here but we were able to get a little vacation thrown in which was a welcome distraction. For me it was a working vacation as I still had assignments to study for and submit. We took a trip to visit that famous mouse over in Orlando - yep - we went to D*isn*ey. The kids had a blast as this was their first trip. They were mostly well behaved and we all got back safe and sound so I say it was a success all around.

The only down side to the trip was that I did not get to go to the two yarn stores that were closest to where we were staying as they were both 45-50 minutes away. Ah well, next time! I did get to visit a Joann's and was totally overwhelmed by all the gorgeous stuff they sell! I got some dress patterns for myself and my daughter, the latest IK knits, Vogue knitting, a rotary cutter and a few sewing books.

Since getting back however, I was met with some school drama that took me for a loop. Someone used my work as their own and I was punished along with them for it. I was totally oblivious that it happened as I was having fun in Orlando. So, I resorted to my old friend knitting and was able to get my heartrate down to an acceptable level. I spent a few hours knitting this discloth turned wash cloth from half a skein of one of the two sugar and cream skeins of yarn I bought in Joann's.

Here are the results of my first ever entrelac attempt.



I am happy with it and plan to do more since I am now confident with it and know what to expect. I used this pattern (ravelry link) and it was pretty straight forward and easy to follow. If you haven't tried entrelac for whatever reason, give this pattern a try and you shouldn't be disappointed.

Until next time knitty friends!

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

A few choice words...

... that sum up what's been going on this end.

Studying

Damson

Studying

Freaking out about assignments

Judo

LOST

Studying and feeling pressured to study.

Hope your choice words are more fun than mine!!!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

If you have a moment or two...

Please pray for Haiti.

My daughter's school sponsors a number of orphans there and we don't know if they are alive or dead. Such distruction, so much loss...

Sometimes people ask for prayer and we say "yes, I'll remember them in prayer" and don't. Also, see if any legitimate organizations near you need donations of food/ clothes/ toilettries as so many people only have the clothes on their back as their only possessions.

I'll do my part. Will you?

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

My knitting basket

Since Old Years Night I've been thinking long and hard about which knitting project to start 2010 with. I need a strong project I said to myself. Something a little different but interesting... something that can be knit from my stash because I am holding off buying yarn until March (I think...) and guess what I came up with.

Nothing.

Nada.

Zilch.

Not a good way to kick off the new knitting year! But as the old people here say "tekking time ain't laziness". So I've given it a bit more thought because since Ishbel (which remains unblocked in the yarn hamper!) I haven't touched my knitting. And I really need to. When studying, knitting has been a calming yet productive go to to relax my mind and get me through the next chapters. But I just wasn't getting around to making a final decision. So I pulled out this tonight.

Ladies and gentlemen (?) my knitting basket:



Let's take a look at what's in there:

On the Needles

1. Deep V Argyle Vest (on the second arm band with the neck to go and will be done)
2. Pomatomus socks - or shall I say sock? Shall I gift it? Have two people in mind
3. Aeolian shawl - I would love to knit on this but the beads take too much concentration. Right now, I can do a more challenging project but sans the fiddly beads thank you.
4. The beginnings of Tussie Mussie that will probably be frogged.

Yarn

The yarn is sitting in there to inspire me to get on the other projects I said I would start and finish

1. Rowan kidsilk night for the Bird's Eye Shawl
2. Malabrigo Lace for the Miralda Shawl
3. Handmaiden Seasilk in Rose for ??
4. Various skeins of sock yarn for my son's socks (owed him a pair for his birthday!)
5. A few skeins of Rowan Calmer - maybe that hoodie for my daughter
6. Rowan wool cotton originally for the Tussie Mussie - maybe that hoodie for my son

A few books and patterns litter the basket as well along with my notions. It's virtually a project or 10 waiting to happen!!! So what I am going to choose?

I'm thinking Pomatomus - since one sock is almost done and the other shouldn't take too long, it will make for a good first FO for 2010. At the very least, working on them will give me time to decide on project number 2.

Pomatomus progress:



What project did you kick the New Year off with?

Friday, January 01, 2010

Happy New Year!!

Wow! 2010. Sounds so futuristic no? LOL!

I hope everyone had a blast last night whatever you did. I'm looking forward to this year filled with great expectations for the future - knitting included.

Has anyone done the requisite new year's resolutions? One of my knitting ones is to attend at least ONE of the big knitting gatherings like a stitches east or a knitting retreat. We'll see : )

What are your knitting resolutions and otherwise?

To 2010! May it bring us God's continued blessings, peace, excellent health, and success in whatever we put our hands to : )