Just keeping my head down and chugging along...

Put together a pair of quick-and-dirty pinstriped wool trousers for work, today.  So, now I won't look like a bum.  Much.

Pretty sexy window in the background there, eh?  Oh YEAH!  Renovations, I love you.

Hey, here's a question:  If I was inclined to put together a little tutorial on how I make these pants (these are my go-to pants, when I need work clothes), would be of any use to you?  It's not the kind of pattern you could take and duplicate - everyone's would be very different.  But, it might give people ideas...  Plus, they're very frugal, if you can make them work for you.

Let me know, k?

Also, I am in the process of creating a set of downloadable flash cards/cheat sheets for knitting.  You know, a little set of cards you could stick in your project bag (or use as bookmarks) that would have instructions for things like kitchener stitch (holy crap, how many times do I have to relearn it before it sticks IN MY BRAIN???!?!?!).  I also want to add a card or two for abbreviations and different cast on/bind off methods.  In fact, here's a list of stuff I want to detail (just off the top of my head):

• abbreviations
• kitchener stitch
• cast ons (flat knitting and in-the-round)
  
• bind offs
  
• different types of ribbing with photos
• a few stitch patterns that produce flat, even fabric (for edging and hems), so I don't have to keep depending on 2x2 ribbing or seed stitch
• all the different increases
• all the different decreases
• joining ends in the yarn
  
• buttonholes
• how to insert a thumb into a mitten
• an afterthought pocket (I'm channeling Elizabeth Zimmermann, here)?
• maybe some typical sizing (hat sizes for kids, men, women, etc)?
• seaming in different types of stitch patterns
• i-cord

Knitters, can you think of anything else you'd like to see?  The idea here is that these could be used by beginners while they're learning, but also by more advanced knitters to remember rarely-used skills.  They would be free and posted online for anyone to use.  Ideally, you'd print them onto card stock and cut them up into smaller cards, yourself.

Let me know about that too, ok?

**Edited to add:  Beginner knitters, you are in a unique position to help me!  I know you have come across mysterious instructions that have left you completely gobsmacked.  That has happened to all of us.  What were they?**

I can't believe I forgot to tell you!

Wood and I swapped some yarn, a few weeks ago.  It was so much fun (a little expensive, but fun)!  I sent her the leftover yarn from my Child's Placket Neck Sweater (a super soft buttercup yellow), which I thought would be perfect yarn for a sweater for Juniper.

Oddly, she received my package WAY before they told me she would, but I ain't complainin'.  I got mine on Christmas Eve and I sang a little ditty and did a lively jig of joy in the post office (it's ok, they know me there and didn't feel compelled to call the authorities).  When I got home, I very carefully opened it up, and this is what I found:

And can I just say that I really love my new Canon EOS 40D? (Thanks, Honey!)

Oops

Last week, when I was posting all those family recipes, I forgot to add the recipe for the best muffins ever concocted by humankind.

Here you go.

You're welcome.  Now, go and make them.

Oh, and HEY, I know some of you are making Joelle's Neck Placket sweater, using my tutorials.  Show me some photos, people!  I wanna see your handiwork.  Please?

Big Brother

For a couple of weeks now, I've been using Google Analytics to keep score on how much traffic comes through here.  I'm not spying on you, I just have an aversion to spending a bunch of time documenting stuff, only to discover that no-one is reading it.

When I moved into my current home 3 1/2 years ago, I started a personal blog to keep my out-of-town relatives in the loop.  I have a HUGE family (8 aunts and uncles, 20-odd cousins and several grandparents - and that's just on my mom's side) and it turns out my sister and grandmother were the only ones who bothered to log on to read it.  I had my dog Maggie for 9 months before my mom found out (I had blogged extensively about her and had assumed my mother was reading it).

So, all this to say:  Hi, Arizona!  Turns out, you're my biggest market!  Weird, but true, apparently.

Music and other obsessions

I received an iTunes gift card from my dad this Christmas and I wasted exactly zero time cashing it in for some new music.  I love music.  No, I really mean it.  I looooooooove music.  I have no musical talent and I am completely tone-deaf.  But, I love listening and singing along to music, and because I can really relate to the songs, I especially like Canadian music.  My iPod Touch has somewhere in the neighbourhood of 500 songs, and I would say that approximately half of them are by Canadian artists.  We have some pretty amazing songwriters/performers in this country who get little or no attention from the rest of the world.  Which, in some ways, is nice for us (they play in the smaller cities and their ticket prices remain very reasonable), but kind of sucks for them (it's nice to get money, don't you think?).  I try to support them as much as possible.

I bought 3 albums (yes, I'm an album girl - buying individual songs is weird...go big or go home, I always say).  The first album I bought is not Canadian - it is the soundtrack for the movie "Once" (if you have not yet seen this movie, go out RIGHT NOW and rent it), by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.  Awesome.  Really soulful, mellow and melancholy.  Just what I like.

The next two albums ARE Canadian and they both feature Jim Cuddy.  The first was "Palace of Gold", by his band Blue Rodeo.  Again, soulful and mellow.  Perfect.  Next, I got his solo record "The Light That Guides You Home", which has completely blown my socks off.  Completely.  They're lying on the floor right now.  Blown off.  If I wasn't already married, I would pack my bags and head to Toronto, track him down and camp out on his doorstep until he agreed to make me his love slave.  On second thought, that might seem a *bit* desperate.  On second thought, maybe (to, you know, preserve some dignity), I would just offer to carry his bags everywhere, for the rest of my days.  That doesn't seem too needy and obsessive, does it?

As I mentioned, I don't own a TV.  This leads to me feeling a little out of the loop, sometimes.  I was not aware that Jim Cuddy had a solo album, or else I would have hunted it down a while ago.  I took some time this week to Google him and found the following video on YouTube (do yourself a favour and watch this in fullscreen):



I have been admiring this video for days now, and not just because he's beautiful and wonderful and perfect. Did you SEE that photography? Is that not the most stunning imagery? I'm a sucker for dramatic shots and this just pushed all my buttons. All that deep black (did you notice how in almost every single shot, at least one side of the image bleeds into the black border of the frame - oh, negative space, how I love you)! All that atmospheric blue!  All those saturated colours.

*Sigh*.  Some days I just feel like giving up trying to make art.  I couldn't do any better than this video and to try feels criminal.   Does that make any sense?

Anyway, the feeling obviously doesn't last.  I just had to do something with all this inspiration, so I whipped this up as a little virtual gift for my sister, who is a huge Blue Rodeo fan, herself. Here you go, Trish. This one's for you:

Recipes (not gluten-free, sorry)

I finally got around to dressing up some of my favourite family recipes.  Here they are (they're going in the sidebar, too):

Turkey and Stuffing (oh my god, if you try this, you will NOT regret it)
Cinnamon Swirl Loaf
Oat Bran Cookies (you could make these with raisins or chocolate chips...)
Scones

Enjoy!

PS: Sorry for the non-existent posting.  I've been going insane.  I'll be back in a few days, when I have a chance to breathe.

Phooey

I had a nice little blog post planned for tonight, celebrating the arrival of my early Christmas present (a previously-enjoyed Canon EOS 40D DSLR camera...oh yeah, baby!).  HOWEVER, when I plugged it into the computer to download everything, I discovered that the memory card was corrupt and I lost all of my photos from today.

Argh.

And this day was going so well...