still here

I am not my usual self these days. I am battling a mysterious pain in my mouth/jaw. I've been to the dentist 3 times in the last 2 weeks. Two dentists can't figure out what's wrong. I've been xray'd and poked and prodded. And those salt water rinses are gross. I have one more appointment scheduled for this week where they will check to make sure my nightguard fits properly. If it's fine, I need to make an appointment with a specialist.

In a fit of knitting last week, I got the birthday present finished and in the mail. I hope it gets there in time. I'll post pictures when it arrives.

This weekend, I snagged hubby into taking some decent pictures of me in the Helleborus Yoke Cardi. Compare these pictures to the pre-block ones:


It lengthened a lot and I think that explains why it got smaller in the bust.


Stitches tend to stretch more widthwise and since this garment is constructed in the opposite direction than a traditionally seamed sweater, the horizontal stretch that you expect is now in the vertical direction.


I've worn it a few times and I'm ok with the fit. Too bad Sis! Phhhhhbbbbt!!! If she wants one, she'll have to knit it herself.


These pictures make me cringe when I think about how badly that boxwood needs pruning.

On Fri, I stopped at Costco to pick up a bag of potatoes and I also came home with 6 pounds of mussels which forced me to make a side trip for bouillabaisse supplies.


One of my better impulse buys. LOL! The crusty bread dipped in the broth was the best part.

downgrade to silver

I can't claim the gold medal. Why? Because gauge swatches lie. They are such liars. You knit one, wash & block it and what does it tell you? Lies - all lies.

So now that my Helleborus Yoke is dry, it's too small. The sweater was designed to have positive ease. I knit the size that would give me zero ease (because the next size up would be too big) and now I have negative ease. ARGH!


Ricky sez, "If you're not wearing that sweater, can I sleep on it?"

Reminder: Contest ends tomorrow at midnight. Go here to enter. There are 3 correct answers (one of them isn't specific enough but I'll give her points for trying ;) so your chances are very good at winning.

Contest closed.

golden

After a flurry of knitting and weaving in a bajillion ends, my Helleborus Yoke is finished in time for me to claim a gold medal.


Pattern: Helleborus Yoke by Mathew Gnagy
Yarn: Cascade Ecological Wool; col 8010; 2 skeins (250g; 478 yds per skein)
Needles: 5.5mm & 5mm Addi circs


Mods: I made a lot of them. I'll just highlight the big ones...
- knit extra rows in the yoke for a larger sleeve diameter
- knit garter sleeve cuff in the round (instead of rib) to match button bands & hem
- knit the body in one piece rather than casting off at sides & seaming
- knit the collar & attached it to the body at the same time
- centered the button holes on the band

Post Knit Analysis
- I knit the second size which gives me absolutely no ease. The next size up is way too big for me.
- Cascade Eco wool is awesome!!!! Great yardage for the price. It's very soft and the cables really pop.
- I have a huge button collection but ended up buying 7 Mission Falls B10 buttons.
- The sweater needs a good wash and block because my stitch gauge is way out which is why it looks a bit short. I'm hoping the block will also fix the pulling at the top of the yoke and open up the yoke section.

I'm going to wear this sweater a lot. I find my Mondo Cable Cardi a bit too warm to wear everyday. Although, the Eco wool is thicker, the sleeves are short so it's almost like wearing a vest and perfect for when I need just a little extra warmth.

aiming for gold

No time to blog... Busy knitting for a gold medal:


I'll distract you with a picture of my nephew-dog, Gizmo:


Gizmo sez, "I am the cutest thing on this blog!"

Uh oh... those are fightin' words.

Canada wins gold!

We won a gold medal yesterday. Yahoo! What better way to start my Olympic tourist day than to visit some gold...


This is the Royal Canadian Mint's $1M gold coin. It's huge!!!


And then I tried to heft a gold bar. I tried to do it with one hand but I was warned to use both because it weighs 28 pounds.

I wanted to see the Olympic medals but the wait was approx. 3.5 hours which would take up half of my day so I moved on to the Northern Canada House.


This is Mister Muskox. Pretty scary looking horns. Although Gladys was unable to join me today, I managed to enable myself into a little qiviut.


The sock touched the oldest rock in the world. And then we trooped over to the waterfront and visited the Olympic flame.


Here's a better picture sans chainlink fence:


I met up with hubby and we had lunch on the Library Square steps - just like the good ole days when I used to work downtown. After lunch, I waited in line to enter the Bell Ice Cube (nothing exciting to see in there). A woman saw me knitting and asked me if I was magic looping. I nearly dropped my sock!!! I gave her a brief demo before she moved away. Someone else in the line asked me if I was knitting a hat because it was so small. A husband in a different part of the line made some comment to his wife and I heard her response, "You want me to do something useful standing in line?". He is sleeping on the couch tonite!

I stopped in at one of the celebration sites and convinced a coupla Mounties to pose with my sock:


Lookit the dimples on Mr. Hunk!!! They asked me what the sock was about and I explained the whole Knitting Olympics and watched their eyes glaze over.

And this is as close as we got to Sochi World:


The line ups were crazy and by late afternoon, my feet were sore and I could feel myself getting cranky. So I'm back home and contemplating my Ravelympic project:


I actually finished the sleeve and tried it on. Too tight!!! So I've frogged it all the way back to the beginning of the sleeve and I'll add a few rows here and there to make it bigger. I hate my big arms.

let the games begin

I watched the Olympic torch as it made its way around Vancouver. It passed right in front of hubby's office building. He went out to watch and I took pictures of the event on our big screen TV. I got a picture of him:


Click to embiggen. He's on the left - I circled his head.

I've got all my Olympic gear ready to go.


And yes, that's a real cow bell. Scares the daylights out of Ricky when I shake it. LOL!


For the Ravelympics/Knitting Olympics, I am making Helleborus Yoke.




I don't know what to say about these two pictures except that Ricky is really attracted to wet wool.