Eye Pillows

Tonight in class, I gave my students the eye pillows I sewed up over the break. I think they were a hit! I sure enjoyed making them.

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Hiatus my ass!

Yarn hiatus, schmarn hiatus.

My spending spree has continued! I swear, after today, though, I not spending another dime on yarn. My stash bin is bursting at the seams!
I was catsitting over the holidays and decided to take the money I earned to LK's annual Boxing Day sale.

I bought yarn for another pair of fuzzy socks, two toques (a variagated Malibrigo), legwarmers (Orange Malabrigo Rios - gorgeous yarn!) and another pair of leg warmers (Berroco Vintage, a very soft teal colour).
I also picked up two winter-themed project bags because they were so cheap ($5 each!) and a de-fuzzer because I sorely need one.

I saved a lot of money, but really, really and truly, I'm through buying yarn.

Done. No more.

I swear.

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Do Not Disturb

During the holidays, I enjoy a quaint ritual: I watch movies based on Jane Austen books. My favourite is BBC's 'Pride and Predjudice' series, but I also have 'Sense and Sensibility' and 'Persuasion'. Fittingly, as I watched, I embroidered. I'm trying to get all the embroidery done on those eye pillows so I can sew them up tomorrow.

The embroidery is taking a while, but it looks really retro and cute. I'm enjoying it too! I sewed up one of the eye pillows last night (with the embroidery) and it looks great! I'm actually floored by how cute it turned out!

I had a brief panic episode with my sewing machine yesterday. The handwheel jammed. I phoned my Sewing Guru at the shop I bought it at and she said she couldn't tell me how to fix it over the phone, but I could come in.

Then she dropped a hint about the bobbin area and caught thread. It was just enough information that I could figure it out if I was so inclined. So I took apart the bobbin area and released the caught thread and carried on. It wasn't that hard and I was so proud of myself for solving the problem.

I spoke to my mother yesterday and told her about the sewing machine. Technically, it's her Christmas gift to me and I think she's very pleased. And she offered me her Bernina Serger, said I could take it home with me the next time I visited. OMG. Bernina is the 'cadillac' of sewing machines and the sergers are expensive. I'm not sure what I would do with a serger, but I'm sure I would figure it out!

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Shopping spree!

Remember that 'yarn hiatus' I was talking about? Oh, I was *so* doomed!

I went a little bit crazy yesterday. Yarn crazy. Let me explain.

On Friday morning, I had an appointment at the dentist that I was 99% sure would result in an expensive and painful root canal. I was *so* sure, in fact, that I cleared my schedule for the rest of the day so I could recover. My dentist, Dr. Awesome (no joke - he really is the best dentist ever) examined me and ordered X-rays and guess what? The tooth in question was perfectly healthy! No root canal!

I felt like I'd won the lottery and suddenly, my bank account felt very full.

So after my noon class on Saturday, I stopped in at PP, my non-local yarn shop. I bought three skeins of Cascade Superwash 220 to knit up some full size mitts, my 'homework' after the Mitten Bootcamp. I chose purple and a light blue so I can wear them with either one of my favourite toques. I also bought a skein of yellow yarn to knit another pair of bed socks.

Then I went a bit nuts in the notions section. I bought stitch holders for DPNs (to keep them from poking through my project bags), stitch holders and a lavender lotion bar. Then I bought a bunch of DPNs.

Let me explain: I've been accumulating various sizes of DPNs to the extent that I nearly have a complete set between 2.5mm and 5mm. I completed the set! As of today, between my Hiya Hiya Interchangeables set, my DPN set and the larger needles in my Denise set, I will never need to buy knitting needles again.

At least, I hope not!

Then I went home and did something awesome. I got out my sewing machine and sewed up a roll-up case for my 'new' DPN set. It was an awesome melding of my two hobbies and wholly satisfying to use my sewing machine for a practical purpose.


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Mitten Bootcamp

The long-anticipated Mitten bootcamp was this evening. I've been looking forward to this all month!

I thought I might be late, but instead, I was the first to arrive, even before Kate, instructor. The shop (this class was at LK) was *so* cold. By the time the class started, I fingers were icy. The space heater was on and I had some hot tea, but it was still chilly enough that I was shaking after two hours of knitting. There were four of us in the class - a mother/daughter pair and...wait for it...Serena, the Big Raffle Winner! LOL!

The class itself was fun. I love knitting classes - it's like 'Knit Night' with a specific goal, plus I learn so much better hands-on with someone showing me the ropes. I just sat there and followed directions and glanced at the pattern when I needed help and a couple hours later, I had a tiny maroon mitt!

I learned some interesting new things.

- You shouldn't wind a skein of yarn until you're ready to knit it up (the yarn can stretch).
- When doing a backwards loop increase, I need to cinch it up *much* tighter which explains the 'holes' in my work that I've noticed when I use this technique. I was just doing it wrong. Kate checked and I'm doing it correctly, I'm just not knitting it tightly enough. And I can always replace the backwards loop with a M1R.
- Kate doesn't recommend Manos and Malabrigo yarns because they're fragile yarns and pill easily.
- Double-stranding worsted weight yarn creates a more insulating mitten.

And finally, mittens are not all that hard to knit! I had all the skills in place already. I'm ready to knit full mittens!

Of course, with mittens, I run into the same problem I had had with the toques - namely, there are only so many mittens one person can wear. But it's a good skill to have.

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My Gangsta Name is Serena

The LK holiday 'Knit Night' (I like that name so much better than 'Stitch 'n Bitch') was last night. I showed up close to 7 and the party was already in full swing.

I brought hummus and crackers to share, but OMG, the desserts. Pretty much everyone had bought desserts. I wisely ate supper beforehand because I know that unless I'm going to a vegan-gluten-free-crunchy-hippy-party, it's a good bet that I won't be able to eat the food on offer. I ended up munching on my own hummus with rice crackers and casting a longing eye towards the desserts.

I'm shy at regular parties. Turns, out, I'm shy at knitting parties too! Except, at a knitting party, I'm allowed to *knit*, a far better option than standing around with a cocktail glass full of cranberry juice cocktail.

I sat tucked away in a corner near the table. The woman who was sitting there introduced herself and I enjoyed watching her sew on a project (Yes, sew! Not everyone was knitting!) She was sewing a Christmas stocking for her mother with a design constructed of felt and sequins and beads. The kit was only $15! She put in hours of work into constructing it, though.

There was a raffle. I usually don't go for raffles because I have terrible luck, but it was for charity - a local food bank - and the prizes (Yarn! Books! Patterns!) were alluring, so I bought six tickets. A woman sitting to my left, named Serena, bought 18 tickets.

I figured she'd probably win something and she did she ever! It was hilarious! The raffle started and Serena was winning prize after prize after prize. A few people who didn't want their prizes put them back into the draw and Serena won them! When someone put their newly won copy of 'Stitch and Bitch' back in, it was reraffled and the winner was...*drumroll*...Serena! I was having trouble hiding my mirth. It was just SO funny.

Of course, I didn't win a thing. And this is why I don't buy lottery tickets. ;-)

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Knitting in a Handbasket

After reading the legwarmer pattern more carefully, I realised that I need *two* different sets of DPNs for that project. The cuff is knit with with the smaller DPNs, the body of the legwarmer with the larger. Apparently, this is a 'thing' - mittens are knit the same way.

After lunch, I caught a streetcar down to LK to pick up the DPNs I needed. The store was pretty busy. I settled onto a sofa with the owner's three little dogs and I knit there for over an hour. It was fun to watch the bustle of the store as I knit.

I chatted with the shop owner for awhile. She seemed curious about how I had appeared seemingly of nowhere, already familiar with her shop (she bought the shop last summer) and the knitting scene - she clearly assumed that I had 'been away'. I gave her an abbreviated description of my years of intense yoga practice that left time for nothing else, the shoulder injury and my renewed efforts to 'get back into my hobbies'.

I explained my yoga practice is intense. She wasn't surprised, said that I struck her as a 'Type A' personality. And *this* surprised me because she really doesn't know me that well. Do I come across that way to a casual observer? Am I a 'Type A' knitter? Is there such a thing?

Around closing, I paid for my DPNs and headed home. I *didn't* buy yarn! I'm finally taking my 'yarn hiatus' seriously! Especially sock yarn - I have enough to last me for several months at least.

I'm acquiring a nice little collection of these stainless steel DPNs. For now, I'm keeping them in my interchangeable circular case. Looking through them, I realised that I now own all the DPNs necessary for the 'Mittens Bootcamp' class I'm taking this Thursday

On Monday night, I walked over to Mirvish Village and stopped in at EK to buy one of those row-counter-thingies. I already have one, but I could use a second. I bought the green counter that you string on a cord to put around your neck. It's great, actually - much better than my red one. The green counter even has a lock.

I also stopped in at the home decor outlet and picked up two baskets lined with embroidered cotton. They're meant to be wastebaskets, but they work fine as storage receptacles for crafting supplies, which is what I bought them for. One basket holds my current knitting projects (my actual stash is in a plastic storage bin) and the other holds my sewing supplies. Everything is much better organised now!


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