she loves it!

After several delays (the poor girl was very sick), I finally gave Anna her (drumroll - please) Tangled Yoke Cardigan.


Pattern: Tangled Yoke Cardigan by Eunny Jang from Interweave Knits Fall 2007, smallest size
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, 6 skeins in colour 10 (woad)
Needles: 3.5mm addi turbos for the body, 3.25mm addi turbos for the garter ribbing on sleeves, 3.5mm and 3.75mm addi turbos for rest of sleeves, 3mm addi lace for neck and button bands
Mods: I used slightly larger buttons so I knit 2 extra rows on both button bands. I knit 4 fewer rows for the neck band to match the picture in the magazine. I knit the sleeves a little longer and used smaller needles to cast on for narrower cuffs.
Notes: One sleeve ended up slightly longer than the other and despite blocking, they're still not quite the same length. But they're long enough that it's not noticeable. The use of the smaller needles for the body made the cardi just small enough for a little bit of negative ease.

Overall, I am extremely happy with the project. It fits Anna very well and all the changes in needle size resulted in a well-fitting garment. Yahoo!!!!

I don't know how I'm going to top this next Christmas. Maybe it's time for another pair of mittens or perhaps a pair of socks. What do you think, Anna?

And Anna gave me a lovely handwoven chenille scarf in my favourite colour - purple! I will have to wait for some good light to take pictures as the chenille is shiny and very hard to photograph indoors. It's very, very soft and cuddly. I might just wear it all the time.

the aftermath

I feel like I've been sucked into a tornado and spit out the other end. Christmas started out quietly. The cat alarm rang just before 8am so we got up to feed them and proceeded to have a leisurely breakfast. Over brekkie, we opened up some presents that we weren't taking to my parents' house. My sil got my name in the Christmas draw and she gave me a gc to Three Bags Full (can't wait for their belated Boxing Day sale) and a pair of shoes to wear with my hand knitted socks.


For those of you who are thinking about buying a pair, they fit exactly the same as the Sloggers premium clogs. These are soooo awesome. I can't wait to wear them to the next knit nite.

The excitement level cranked up a notch or 2 when we got to my parents' just before lunch. It took us about 3 hours to get all the presents opened. My Dad tried to watch all the festivities but gave up and found a quiet corner of the house to have his daily afternoon nap. Smart man.

The nieces got spoiled. My parents got spoiled (Mom got a colour laser printer!) and so did everyone else. My sister got some spectacular jewellery from her husband. I got lots of great stuff - mostly books, mugs (one of them has a nudie gardener on it :), and a lot of knitting stuff: a knitting pattern-a-day calendar, Knit Picks Harmony dpns, Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Sock Book, and a kacha counter.

While we were opening presents, it started snowing! We rarely ever have a white Christmas so it was an extra special treat. Some of us (like the ones who live in the land of the many-foot snowdrifts) were less excited about the snow.

Hubby and I woke up early on Boxing Day and hit the sales. Hubby bought himself several games for his Xbox 360 (and he bought more today when I sent him out to run an errand) and we bought a few things for the computer/digital camera. But I spent more money than he did - I got myself a new pair of glasses. I didn't get the red one in the picture. I decided to play it safe and I got the navy blue ones.

We went to a big Boxing Day party yesterday night. My co-blogger gave me some yummy Apple Laine Apple Pie sock yarn in the colour 'purple haze'. Thanks, Gladys. It's sooo soft.


There was a ton of food. Our hosts made a turducken:


I got to carve this beast. It was pretty tasty.

Today, I slept in as much as I could and I've spent a good portion of the day playing with all my prezzies. I also knit a little on my Juno Regina stole.


There's a pretty big boo boo at the top of the lacy diamond but I'm not ripping back to fix it. It bugs me but not enough. I don't think many people will notice it. My sis just dropped off my bil so he and hubby are upstairs shooting things on the Xbox. Sigh... He's staying the night so I expect the gaming to go on until the wee hours in the morning. Sigh...

Meowy Christmas!

I finished the puppet mittens today.


Pattern: Puppet mittens from a vintage pamphlet
Yarn: Rowan Pure Wool DK
Needles: 3.5mm Addi Turbo circs
Mods: I chose to knit the pinkie and thumb in a solid colour rather than continuing the stripes. I added an i-cord so there's less chance for the mittens to go MIA.

I need to wrap them and then I'll be officially ready for Christmas.

Instead of casting on the second purple Trekking sock, I cast on for Juno Regina instead.


I have almost finished the last repeat of chart 3. So far, so good. Just a few more rows and I'll be onto the easy part.

The cats and I would like to wish everyone a Meowy Christmas (please ignore the disgusted look on Ricky's face. He was having fun during the photo shoot - really!)

baking, shopping, and even some knitting

I went over to my parents' house on Thurs and spent the day baking with Mom. We made about 6 doz sugar cookies, 4 doz shortbread cookies, and 2 and a half doz butter tarts. I think that'll do nicely for fattening up my nieces when they show up later today. My deep freezer is loaded with some appys that I made earlier in the week (mini quiches and chicken wings). I also made a huge tub of spinach dip and some carmelized onion spread/dip which takes care of the savory snacks. I think that between myself and my parents, we have enough food to feed everyone (for at least a few days ;).

And despite the crowds, I've been doing a little shopping (while out delivering Christmas prezzies). Dollarama yielded some great stickers for the nieces to play with plus some vinyl placemats for sock blockers. We went to Daiso yesterday and I bought more chopstick holders for my dpns and I picked up a 3 pack of crochet hooks (1mm, 0.9mm, and 0.75mm) for beading lace. I also bought a plastic case to hold my ever growing collection of variegated quilting threads.

In between the baking and the shopping, I've been busy knitting. I finished sock #1 for Pauline.


I should've been knitting the puppet mitts. They are almost finished.


I just have to knit the pinky on one mitten, seam up the side, weave in the ends, embroider the eyes, nose, mouth, sew on the hair, and attach the i-cord.

I received a very unexpected package this week.


Ronnie sent me Tudora and Fetching. Thanks so very much, Ronnie! They're soooooooooo soft. She made them from the leftover cashmere (!!!) from the dressing gown that she knit for herself (do follow the link - it is worth it).

We have more presents to deliver today and one more Christmas gift to buy. Hubby is already working on his Boxing Day shopping list LOL! I had a quick peek and he's planning to expand his collection of Xbox 360 games.

Well, I should get back to work on those puppet mittens before we head out for the day. Maybe I'll get them finished tonite and then I can finish my Trekking socks!

sock, sari silk, speed bumps

I don't have a lot of time to blog today but I had to show you my finished purple Trekking XXL sock!

I just love love the colour and the random stripes. I ripped the heel back and reknit it so the foot fits perfectly now. I can't wait to get the second sock done!

Some recycled sari silk yarn arrived for me yesterday.


This is 550g of worsted weight (maybe 450-500yds?). It is a little stinky but not that bad and of course, the colours are different from skein to skein. I don't know what to make with it yet... Maybe a tote bag? Or a Clapotis?

At our house, you really have to watch where you're walking because there might be a speed bump in the way.

"wha? You want to go down the stairs?" - Speed bump Phoebe

"s-s-s-t-r-e-e-e-e-e-t-c-h" - Speed bump Ricky

mmmmm.... socks

I love knitting socks! It is so nice to be knitting them again. Pauline's first sock is almost done.


I got bored of knitting it so I started a sock for myself.


Do you recognize the yarn, Purling Pirate? I love this colourway. The striping is completely unpredictable. I tried the sock on and it's a little too long so I'm going to rip it back and reknit the heel.

And I did start the puppet mitten.


The thumb's finished and the stitches for the pinkie are held on scrap yarn while I knit the top. It's a quick knit but fiddly because you knit, then you sew a seam, you knit some more, you sew another seam, etc. I don't care - they're going to be so cute when they're finished.

mitten FO and socks

My mitts are done!


Pattern: Cabled fingerless gloves (Panda Wool Mitts on Ravelry)
Yarn: Schachenmayr Nomotta Extra, 2 skeins in colour 3685
Needles: 3.25mm Susan Bates Silvalume dpns (love, love these needles!)
Mods: knit the fingers longer for more coverage
Notes: There are 2 errors in the pattern. Under Right Thumb where it says "work 8 stitches at top in pattern", it should actually say "work 7 stitches at top in pattern". Under Left Glove where it says "work 7 stitches in pattern" in 2 places, both should be replaced with "work 8 stitches in pattern". I've alerted the pattern designer so hopefully, the errors will be fixed. There were lots of breaks in one of the skeins - the other one was fine. They feel a bit itchy around the wrists but I'm hoping a Eucalan bath will fix that problem.

And this is how much I like 'em:


Hubby was helping me photograph the mitts so we got a bit silly. Now that the needles are free, I should start those puppet mittens, eh?

Nah! It's time for some socks.


We were watching Pushing Daisies episode 8 (hubby hadn't seen it yet) via broadband Mon night and I can't watch and knit the mitten at the same time so I cast on a pair of socks. These are a commission. I made the first pair waaaay back in Sept. It feels like I haven't knit socks in ages. I am using the Susan Bates Silvalume dpns and I do like them. They feel nicer than my usual steel dpns and I can definitely tell they're lighter. It will be interesting to see if I'll bend the aluminum the way I bend bamboo.

While I was tidying up earlier this week, I realized that I no longer have any sportweight yarn to make hubby socks with. I bought 2 skeins earlier this year and I used one skein for mittens and one skein for his Christmas socks. So I did a little searching and I found some Regia 6ply in manly colours at Herrchners. I only ordered 3 skeins because I don't know whether I can standing knitting plain socks with solid yarn. Maybe it's time he got some patterned socks...