kim through
   the looking glass

(The idea for that pun came from Brad … I think I’m beginning to influence him!)

Honestly, these socks are easy to knit. Only in turning the heel did I have to scrunch my forehead up, stick my tongue out, and do some research.

In this second picture, you can see really well how the toe seam is the wrong way. You can’t even tell when it’s on, though! It is awfully comfortable … I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to discover that I enjoy knitting socks.

Relatively short turn-around, portable, always something new to do (cast-on, increase for toe, work foot, do heel, work leg, start ribbing, bind-off).

Fun, fun, fun! I’m casting on for the second sock right now

Shockingly, I’m actually finished my first sock. It fits perfect other than a little mistake where I made the heel in the wrong place (thus putting the seam for the toes in the wrong orientation around my foot …. erg …). All I have to do is cast-off, which I’m kind of nervous about since my cast-off ends always seem a bit on the tight side. I’m going to be trying this cast-off, which is apparently EZ’s Sewn Cast-off.

I’ve been having a lot of fun knitting this sock, and I’m excited to start sock #2 and then maybe move on to an actual patterned sock. GASP.

I started knitting a pair of socks around Christmas 2007 - and stopped because I kept breaking my size 2 needles! My sister bought me a set of metal sock knitting needles for Christmas, and I quickly switched them out, turning my first heel on Boxing Day.

After which I promptly put them in my small knitting bag and left them. Until a few days ago.

I was spurred on by the Yarn Harlot’s post, Riddle Me This. I’m always so impressed by her sock knitting, by the fact that socks are truly a portable project, and, let’s get serious - I LOVE FUN SOCKS!! If I have to wear a pair of socks - which I definitely do in Canadian fall, winter, and spring, which accounts for about 5/6 of the year - they’d better be fun. My sock drawer is filled with socks that are pink, brown, blue, green, striped, polka-dotted, argyle, have snowmen on them, etc. etc. I have very few boring white, black, or grey socks.

So, after reading her post, I pulled out my half-knit sock. And tried it on. And realized that the foot portion was waaaaaay too big for my feet.

So I frogged it.

The Yarn Harlot was following a toe-up sock recipe, but since I haven’t ever even made a full sock before, I decided maybe I should follow just a regular pattern first. BUT, I liked the idea of toe-up socks - that way I could try on the socks while I was knitting them to make sure they fit. But how on earth do you cast on toes?

I used knitty.com’s Tiptop Toes article that details three different types of toe cast-ons. I used the Figure-Eight Toes - it was surprisingly easy! From there, I’m using Wendy Johnson’s Generic Toe-up Sock Pattern. I’m about 98% sure that I’m using a Socks That Rock yarn … but yeah. I bought this stuff in the summer of 2007 and I don’t think I kept the band label.

Finished Toes

I’m greatly enjoying my knitting time lately - and wishing that I had just a smidgen more of it!

Wow. A knitting-related post. Have you picked your jaw off the floor yet?

I thought I’d go back and write about my last finished object. I have a good reason for not writing about it right when I finished.

See the belly in that picture? I finished this puppy on June 11, 2008. The day I went into labour. For scale, you can see my iPod Mini in the right corner. I’m standing on my bed trying to get a full picture of it and you can *barely* see the left edge. (Oh. And I love that you can see my sexy support hose. Oh baby, oh baby!)

I don’t remember very many details about this project. It is a prayer shawl for my Aunt Connie, who was, at the time, undergoing some very intensive chemotherapy for breast cancer.

It’s basically a big, purple hug.

Her favourite colour was purple, so I found a beautiful purple variegated cotton yarn, a fun novelty yarn, and a nice white yarn - Rowan All Seasons Cotton. The middle piece is double knit with the purple variegated and the novelty yarn, whereas the arm portions are some sort of patterned ribbin which I can’t remember.

To be fair, this was 7 months and a lifetime ago.

I knit most of it with my feet up on the couch or sitting on my bed listening to a LibriVox recordings of Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island, by L.M. Mongomery, timing Braxton-Hicks contractions that were coming every 5 - 7 minutes, and waiting for June Bug to arrive.

She was obviously waiting for me to finish this before she came.

A post about something other than June Bug! I was beginning to think it wasn’t possible!!

However, my bloggy friends, I’m actually going to write about knitting. I have missed it. I haven’t picked up yarn and needles since Christmas when my sister got me my fabulous metal sock needles and I COMPLETELY lost any amount of time to seriously devote to the craft that I love. However, after receiving a certain email (I won’t talk about it now because it’ll give away my project!!), I was spurred into action. I needed to knit something, and I needed to start knitting it now and finish the object ASAP.

So, I took my butt down to Yarnopolis (aka Ashley Yarns) and there I met a very lovely knitter and yarn store manager, Steph! She helped me pick out my yarn and we had a lovely chat about various women’s studies issues. I loved the store, and I’m very glad I made the venture!! It’s not the most convenient of yarn store locations (try a mighty long 30 min bus ride!), but it’s the closest yarn store to me, which I suppose makes it my LYS (aka Local Yarn Store). They even carry a selection of fair trade yarns!!!

Anyways, we picked out two yarns - a cotton weight and a novelty yarn … I’m knitting double stranded, yo! (No …. not yarn over … I actually meant ‘yo’.)

Can I say how it never ceases to amaze me that you can start with yarn and needles and end with fabric? It’s incredible that I can make something by pulling loops of yarn through other yarn. I’m hoping to finish this object this weekend, if I can, so you won’t have to wait too long in utter suspense of what it is =) The picture doesn’t quite do the hues of purple justice, but it’s all I had to work with … the other pics were either too fuzzy or too blue.

p.s. I finished The Friday Night Knitting Club. It was phenomenal. That may or may not have something to do with the why I was so excited to pick up my knitting again. May or may not.

So, I finished my last day of clinical today.

Which means I’m officially done my University Degree.

My wonderful preceptor (Hi Heather!) gave me a classical music CD to play for June Bug, a hippie (lol - it’s so me) bracelet that she made (she makes micro-macramé jewelery - it’s really pretty!!), and a book I’ve been wanting forever (how’d she know??) - The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. I can’t wait to relax and read it!

The end to my University career feels so anti-climactic. Maybe it’s because I have to go to bed early so I can get up at 5:30 so I can walk to work for a 6:30 - 14:30 shift … maybe it’s because it doesn’t quite feel real yet. Either way, it’s done, and that’s that!

Well, it feels like the Christmas season has come to a close, so I’ll update about our holidays before it gets tacky for me to do so =)

Brad and I managed to get home to visit my in-laws for a few hours on Christmas Eve and then go to the Candlelight Service at my parent’s church. I always love the midnight Christmas services - at my parent’s church, they always give everyone a candle and light them during the second last song. Then they turn out all the lights in the church and everyone sings “Silent Night”. It’s soooo beautiful having the church lit by candles and voices.

We spent Christmas day with my family (like we have for many a year now), and the whole crew was home - except for my brother-in-law, Shaun, and Becky’s boyfriend Ben. We drew names this year (we piloted this idea for last Christmas) and set a cap and we send around our wish lists so that we know we’ll get a gift we really want, we just don’t necessarily know what! Becky drew my name and gave me EVERYTHING on my list. Literally! I got a 5-pack of size 2 HiyaHiya stainless steel double-pointed needles and promptly replaced the wooden set I was using in my socks. So. Much. Easier. To. Knit!! She also gave me an Old Navy gift certificate, two balls of yarn, a mini box of chocolates, and Crazy Aunt Purl’s Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair. Yeah - like I said, literally everything on my list - thanks, Becky!

Brad got Oblivion. Need I say more? He’s thrilled and has finally finished cleaning up his hard-drive to install it. I wonder what he’ll be doing this weekend?

The baby (who, by the way, I think I’m going to start referring to as ‘June-bug’ due to some cheesy pet names that Brad and I have for each other … no, I won’t reveal them. ) received a 5-pack of 6 month size onesies, a little green hat, and a homemade receiving blanket from my Aunt Alice. What a nice surprise! (Oh, and my sister brought down her bassinet FULL of baby clothes, so that’s awesome!!) We’ve also been given a crib (free!) and a high chair (free!). We’re so blessed!

I made this set:

(here modeled by Jenny under the directions of “you’re an animal in the woods!”)

For this absolutely, ridiculously cute little guy:

My nephew Liam (here held by my hubby, Brad, who I can’t wait to see with June-bug!).

We ate ourselves into a food coma, played some Christmas euchre, and slept well! Brad and I went to my in-laws on Boxing Day and spent some great time with his folks and siblings (of which I have no proof, since I didn’t break out the camera!). We also pulled names there and his dad got my a pair of maternity jeans - my first pair!

Oh - and we also played the Wii on my dad’s huge tv. Lots of Wii - especially on Friday, when we brought Brad’s siblings up to my parents house and played some four-player tennis and bowling. What a hoot! Did I mention that I want one? I think, though, that I’ll settle for the X-box my dad lent us =)

14 weeks!! WUHOO! Now, according to everybody, I’m in my second trimester, which is pretty darned exciting! And only two more sleeps till I get to hear our wee one’s heartbeat. I’m going to bring the camera with because it records sounds so Brad can hear it! (And if I can figure out how to upload sound files, you all can, too!) So this week our baby’s a little bigger than a lemon, and by the end will be 4 - 4.5 inches crown-to-rump (that’s actually pretty big, since that’s minus the legs!!). Apparently he/she is making lots of cute faces (due to electrical brain impulses) and can even suck his/her thumb!! I’m getting impatient trying to see if I can feel the baby moving. Not yet … but hopefully soon!!

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First of all, I see by my stats that a lot of people check out this here blog. I don’t know who’s reading my blog lately, and I’m definitely missing all the comments I used to get - so please, leave me a note in the comments and let me know you’ve stopped by … I’d love to know who’s reading =) On to more interesting things …

A knitting post! Imagine that!

What with all the schoolin’ I done been doing, there’s been very little time to knit! I have been working on my first pair of socks since … well, for a while, anyways!

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So, as I’m sure many of you guessed, the secret knitting that I was doing was for my big sister’s baby shower =)

The first item I knitted was a set of baby booties, find the pattern here:

These were SOOOOO much fun to make! I did use some modifications - I braided the green yarn for the ties (because I don’t know how to crochet!) and I didn’t do as many rounds at the top as the pattern called for. I think they are absolutely the cutest baby booties ever. And it’s a great pattern to adapt as baby gets bigger - it’s really a very simple pattern and although I learned lots of new techniques, I wasn’t ever confused by it! Here’s a close-up of the stiching:

The other knitted items I made were these cute and fun Dinosaurs! (Find the pattern here)

These guys were tonnes of fun too! Here’s a close-up of Bronty:

and one of Trice:

I had such a fun time making the dinos! They were overall pretty easy to knit, but sewing them up and then seaming on the legs (and the head, for Bronty) was a bit tedious. I hate seaming - but I think after this project, I’m better than I was! One of the best parts was how inexpensive materials were! And they’re such a hit that I’ve already got a request for a set for a friend’s birthday =)

To see more pics of the booties, the dinos, and their construction, click on my Flickr widget in the sidebar and click on the ‘knitting’ photo set.

So, what do you all think? Are these patterns great, or what?