Clapotis

You guys know Clapotis, right?  It was published on Knitty.com in 2004 (I actually remember the first time I saw it - Knitty used to rock my world) and it kind of took the knitting world by storm.

As of this very moment, Clapotis is the most-knitted pattern on Ravelry (ever), with a project count of 19,635.  

In case you weren't sure, let me assure you that that is Crazy Town.

Thing is, I've never felt compelled to knit it.  Wasn't even sure I liked it (which I realize makes me sound more than somewhat delusional, but whatever).

Then I bought this silk yarn from the Mill (aka: my LYS) and I really wasn't sure what to do with it.  I bought it as a gift for someone and then when my trip got cancelled and I was really upset, I decided to make myself something with it, instead ('cause I'm supposed to avoid chocolate and the situation was dire).  I just didn't know what, yet.  I only had the one skein...

So while I was in Ottawa, I visited a neat little shop on Wellington called Wabi Sabi and the lady there was a dear.  She helped me find a coordinating skein of a lovely merino hand-dyed on Salt Spring Island (and I was supposed to visit Salt Spring Island on my trip...oh, the irony) called Kattikloo.

{Canada has a lot of (what the uneducated would call "funny-sounding") Native place names...like Gichigami and Nackawic and Kouchibouguac and Winnipegosis and Kejimkujik and Mactaquac.  These Cree/Ojibwe/Mi'kmaq/etc. names are imbued with ancient history and, at the risk of sounding like a crack-pot, a deep spiritual affinity that I think many Canadians - regardless of their ethnicity - feel towards their country's geography.  These names pay homage to our Native roots and make our country what it is.  All this to say that I'm not sure what "Kattikloo" means, but it sounds Native and if that is the case, I'm sure it was chosen for a very good reason.  I think I'll e-mail the dyer to ask...}

ANYWAY, as I was saying, I bought a coordinating skein of merino and I pored over the pattern possibilities in Ravelry and came up with this:

Um, yeah.  I love it.  Can't wait until Fall (*gasp*!) so I can wear it every day.

Caller Herrin

It's gettin' there.

Things I have learned (the hard way, naturally) about Fair Isle knitting:

1. It must be good and blocked.  After a good soaking.  No cheating allowed.
2. Fair Isle swatches lie.  The little guy at the top of this post is a liar liar pants on fire.  It still worked out, but I've got my eye on him...
3. The end-of-round jog isn't as noticeable as I thought it would be.
4. Surprisingly, I really enjoy it.

Alive and Kicking

Wow, so my last post was on May 17th, eh? 

Yikes.

Well, I'm not going to apologize or feel bad about that, 'cause you know what?  I started this blog for fun and I'll be damned if I'm going to start treating like a chore.

Having said that, I can still fill you in on what has been going on, right?

Work.  Work has been going on.

In October/November of last year, the company I work for (I run a small department that deals with drafting/facilities management of a 65-store retail company) decided to purchase and renovate a 100+ year-old building (former potato warehouse built in a post and beam style) as a new head office.  It is located in the oldest part of the city (on the harbour waterfront) and it is a heritage building.  Yours truly was in charge of the design and drafting, I managed the consultants, I wrote the specifications, I administered the contract, I managed the contractor, I tendered out the furniture contract and I also organized/managed the physical move itself (for 30+ employees).

Phew.  No wonder I wasn't blogging.

Some photos during the last weeks of construction (I don't have any before shots on this computer, but trust me when I say that it was AWFUL - picture cheap wood panelling and glass block and country blue walls with floral wallpaper borders...*shudder*):

So yeah, my spring and summer have been consumed with this massive (my first real honest-to-goodness, start-to-finish) interior design project and subsequent move.  And this is my office, now (fourth image from the top - the one with the birch doors).  It's pretty cool, but I gotta say: I'm so freaking relieved that it's over.

I'm finally starting to reclaim (my mind and) my life.  It's kind of scary to me how easy it is to get wrapped up in these projects - I hate that aspect of my work.  It feels like I gave birth to this stupid building and I really wish there was a way for me to do what I do without feeling so personal about it...  Oh well, that's a discussion for another time, perhaps.

So, what else happened?  Well, my awesome fantastic OMG cross-Canada road trip didn't.  It got cancelled.  Two days before I was scheduled to fly to Ottawa and meet my mom, she had to pull the plug.  It's a long, dramatic, epic tale of woe and I was totally heartbroken so I'm not going to get into it again.  I flew to Ottawa anyway, to visit with my mom (for Canada Day long weekend...*shudder*), and came back a few days later.  She eventually made her way to Winnipeg and just left there last week for Kamloops.  I think she's settled in there, now (note to self: call mother to verify survival of journey).

On the home front, I've been visiting the farmer's market religiously this summer (we have been experiencing a drought, but the farmers are hanging in there) and have made a few new acquaintances that are pretty inspiring.  We are ruminating some ideas for a new project together, which we may execute this fall/winter, so that's exciting.

The Mill has been holding some classes, which I've managed to miss (I was unaware of the first, away on my mini-trip for the second and apparently totally confused for the third), but hope to make the last one - the one on lace knitting.  I already know how to knit lace, but hey, what kind of self-respecting knitter passes up the chance to learn more about knitting?  What kind, I ask you?

And of course, there has been lots of knitting.  I think I can safely say that I have officially evolved into one of THOSE knitters - you know, the ones who knit everyday and see no issue with knitting at parties and barbecues?  Yup, that's me now.

(Photo documentation of said knitting to follow.)

The best thing about having a laptop

...is that I can tell you all about my weekend adventures while sitting in bed, wearing my pyjamas.

So, weekend adventures.  They are pretty exciting.  Last weekend, for example:

That's my friend Amber (the girl, not the sheep).  Her dad raises sheep and is one of the best sheep shearers in the region.  She grew up shearing sheep during her summer holidays.  She runs a printing shop and shears sheep on the weekends for extra cash.  She let me come along last weekend.  She's cool.

Halloooo, in there. 

This ewe's name is Marianne.  That made me smile.

Facts about sheep shearing that I learned on Saturday:

1. It's slimy work.  Amber is wearing funny felt slippers while she is shearing and it's because regular rubber-soled shoes are much too slippery after the first sheep is done - the lanolin gets everywhere.  The felt slippers just absorb it and stay grippy.
2. The fleece is really warm when it comes off the sheep.  Like really really warm.  Her two first sheep of the day were sweaty, she said.  They must feel so cool and comfortable, post-shearing.  Phew.
3. Sheep don't recognize each other right after they've been sheared.  They smell and look so different that they're all disoriented for a few days and can sometimes fight, thinking that new sheep have been introduced and they need to battle for supremacy all over again.  The wittle itty bitty lambs are so confused - they can't find their mamas for a bit.
4. Sheep fleece can be unbelievably disgustingly dirty.
5. Even though the sheep look uncomfortable during shearing, I think they actually like it.  They let Amber manipulate them and hold them down without struggling at all.  She's not a big girl - she's maybe 5'-4" and 140lbs - yet, she had no trouble wrestling them into submission (ok, yes, some of that is just plain old experience, but still).  She figures that a shearing for them is the equivalent of us going to the salon.  And everyone knows how good THAT feels.  Bliss.
6. There's a reason they dock the tails on sheep.  Long tails are really gross and full of poop.  Apparently not the easiest to shear, as you can imagine.

The owners of the sheep offered me the fleeces, but these sheep aren't bred for their fleece - they're meat sheep.  So I don't think the wool would have been very soft.  Also, I have no spinning wheel, nor do I have the ability to clean all that fleece.  And holy cow, the cleaning they would need...  No way.   That's ok - I will do more research and maybe see if Amber will let me assist in shearings happening in my neck of the woods.  It was really fun and so different from how I usually spend a Saturday morning.

My, how time flies

Right, so in the time that I've been away, the Blogger interface has completely changed and now I can't find my way around.  Dammit.  Let's see if I can do this without deleting everything...

So.  How ya been?  In the eons since I last posted, a lot of stuff has gone down around these parts.  First, I had another run-in with more crappy health (my IBS again...curses) and then miraculously woke up one day feeling like a million bucks (which is only *slightly* frustrating).

Then, my workload (at my day job) ramped up to 11 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Then, we contacted a contractor about getting all of our windows and exterior cladding replaced on our house, which necessitated some re-negotiation at the bank (we were up for mortgage renewal this year, so we decided to take advantage of the unbelievable interest rates).  So, new windows.  That's awesome.  But a lot of work to coordinate.

And then my computer pooched on me.  It had been on a long and steady decline so this wasn't entirely without warning.  And technically, it still works.  But the screen was crapping out on me (and would have cost $400 to fix) and something wasn't right with it's ability to surf the web without crashing.  Not sure what it was, but with the broken screen, I wasn't going to get too worked up about it.

So out came the credit card and welcome to my new padooder, everyone!

With the change in computer came the realization that my Photoshop software is from the paleolithic era and eventually, that catches up with you.  No more Photoshop for me.  So photos may be a little different around here, but oh well.  I'm not exactly Annie Leibovitz.

My iron died so I couldn't sew for a couple of weeks until I found a decent replacement (I think the problem is actually the hardness of our well water - it clogs up appliances/fixtures).  And then my sewing machine gave up the ghost...almost.  It turns out it was just in desperate need of a cleaning/oiling, so phew.  It's all good as new, now.  My sewing machine service people are some of my favourite people.  Really, they're dolls.

And THEN, I had to spend a weekend transplanting every. single. plant. we own into several new beds we my husband made.  Most of our stuff was all next to the house in planters or beds and because we're having all the shingles, trim and windows stripped, the contractors would have trampled the plants.  So, out they came, shuffle shuffle and back in they went.  All 100+ of them.  Phew.

Knitting update: I haven't made much progress on the Seamless Hybrid.  In fact, no progress.  Stay tuned.  Other than that, I am working on a couple of gifts that I can't show you (exciting, I know) and have yet ANOTHER bébé to knit something for.  He was born a few weeks early (but don't worry - there were no problems, he was just fully cooked and ready to come out of the oven) so I got caught with my proverbial pants down, gift-wise.  Ooops.  Emergency nursing cover, coming right up!

Hey, and get this: the new baby has the same name as my cousin's baby.  How convenient for me!

Anyway, that's all I have for you, at the moment.  It's a beautiful day, so I'm going to see if I can finish the laundry and hang it all on the line to dry.  Then I have to get sewing to catch up on some things I promised people and then I have to do some baking.

Have a great Sunday everyone (and Happy Saint's Mother's Day, if that applies to you)!  Here's a little parting gift for putting up with my pathetic blogging habits.  These little critters belong to some new acquaintances of mine - I'll fill you in on where/how I met them in an upcoming post.

Why I love my new dress form

Behold: 20 minutes worth of work.  And I already can tell this dress will suit me.  I didn't have to sew anything up, didn't have to lose patience - heck, I didn't even need a mirror.

(This is just a muslin, by the way.  That fabric was something like $1/metre and is full of flaws.  I have several fabrics in my stash that are on deck for this pattern.)

Love it.  Love it.  Love it.

Busy Bee

Before:

After: