Mated!

Okay...get your minds out of the gutter! I don't mean it THAT way!
My A-form socks are completed! The original sock has a mate.

The original sock.
The newly mated socks.

There are the specs:
Yarn Used: The Plucky Knitter's Superwash Merino Sock yarn in Blueberry Queen
Needle Size: US Size 1 (2.5mm)
Construction: Top down on 2 circulars
Pattern: My own!
If you like this design, you can download the pattern. It on the right hand side under A-form patterns.

We've been keeping a secret...

A little piece of news from Labrat and Crafty Canadian...

We have started up a little etsy shop! Currently we only have stitch markers available but stay tuned for other items in our "Knitterly Possessions" shop.

Stop by for a look :)

Yay! Hockey!

We've started mocking poor poor Martin Brodeur, "goalie" of the New Jersey Devils.



You are perhaps wondering from this image who won, was it a shut-out?

Well, let's check in with Don Cherry (okay, me imagining what he'd say):
"No, little 5 year old Ethan has even scored on Mary, er, Marty this
year. Devils lost in a shootout to the Lake Minnetonka Midget league
champion Mighty Goslings."

Tonight Mrs. Canadia and I are going to see some HOCKEY!!! YAY!

I'm still working on my sweater, I hope to have a F.O. (not frogged) soon :)

FO - Nantucket Jacket

I am thrilled to report that my Nantucket Jacket is COMPLETE! I am wearing it today in fact. Yes, I know it's well over 90 degrees outside, fortunately the air conditioning works very well in my office.

This was a nice knit and I'm not sure what took me so long to finish - knitting ADD I suspect. I started very shortly after the IK issue came out LAST YEAR and pulled it out again just a few weeks ago. This shows me what can happen when you give your full attention to a single project! Am I a convert? No, probably not but I am still on a mission to finish a few projects before casting on for something new. This is going to be especially difficult given the preview of the latest IK. I MUST knit the Ivy League Vest!! Already scoped out yarn and I'm willing to click 'buy' even before I have the magazine in my hands... we'll see how I hold up over the next few days :)

Anyway, here's a quick photo (taken by the trusty labrat). The light outside is totally wonky today (with the sun shrouded by clouds of smoke) so I had to work a little PS magic but it'll do for now at least...

Time from some cuteness!

It's been gloomy the last few days here because of the fire. I think it's time to lighten things up! Look who has teeth! Hey you gorgeous baby! I love you so much! Your auntie: the labrat

Continuation of Smoke in the Distance

Good news is that all of us at One Too Many Projects are safe and sound. However, this was the view leaving work yesterday.

The sun was red, the sky was very gray, and there was a ton of ash in the air.

Don't you love Southern California traffic? We are lucky we live on the coastal side of Orange County. So far, there are 1200 homes that have burned on the mountain side of Orange County.
As of this morning, the sun is still red, the day is still gray, and there is still ash. But the Santa Ana winds have stopped.

Smoke in the distance...

The firestorms are still raging and we have single digit humidity and high winds...

The canyon fires are uncomfortably close to where I live and work. They are raining down ash and smoke on us. It was bad yesterday and I thought it was getting better this morning but it seems I was wrong. There are homes being seriously threatened now. Yesterday it was mostly confined to the 'parks' but the Santa Ana winds are still strong and fueling/moving the fires. This is small in comparison to the destruction happening in San Diego county but it is affecting us nonetheless... I smell smoke again inside my office and I can see the plumes in the sky outside my window. I went home yesterday feeling nauseous and headachy but I'm going to try and stick it out today. I hope all your family and friends are safe and well!

-- Crafty Canadian

No-Knit scarf

Saw this over on Every Word's a Purl. I kinda like it...

Courtesy of Martha

SP11 gift!

After a long hard day at work and then at school, I come home totally pooped. I know many of you come home that way too. The best way to perk yourself up is to get a surprise gift in the mail! I love you SP11 pal! I received some heavenly scented soap in Lemon and Lime. There was even a warshcloth thrown in! I wish I had pictures, but I'm going to save your eyes by not posting pictures of me taking a bath! :-) I love the soap. It smells clean and refreshing. The perfect thing after a long days work!

On the knitting front, I've been working on a gift jacket for someone. I'll have her post pictures after I'm done and mailed it to her. Otherwise than that...I've been too pooped to pick up needles. But I do have plans. There's a few things I like to make.

Silly me. I saved the picture to my desktop, but I don't remember the pattern name or where I got it. Perhaps if someone was willing to help me tract down the pattern...there might be a yarn-y gift!


So, have a happy Thursday. If you really want a pick me up, go check out Dave's wednesday posts.

Reid update...

Remember Reid? I sent the darling little sweater off to Colorado to hubby's niece several weeks ago and I just got an update from M (sister-in-law) on Sunday with some pictures and the run down of how the sweater was recieved. The report was too cute to NOT share...

Apparently when N (not yet 4 years old) saw the sweater she said "Oh it's gorgeous, is that for MEEEE?!" Knowing what N looks and sounds like I could vividly imagine this darling sentiment coming from her and it was easily enough to make me teary... and THEN I saw the pictures...

Doing a little dance :)

Looks to me like she is vibrating with excitement!

And jumping for joy :)

If THAT wasn't enough to get my uterus in a tizzy, I don't know WHAT is!!! The sweater is clearly big for her but that's good - at least she'll be able to wear it more than twice :)

SP11 spoiler!

I have to admit that I have absolutely no clue who my SP11 pal is. All I know is that she lives in Austin. (Because I asked her about the other places we've mentioned...and deliberately left out Austin! Yeah, I'm smart like that!) But, she's an amazing pal. I get packages when I least expect them. Like Friday. I got home after a long day's work to find a mysterious package. I have no idea who the dealer was. I don't remember ordering anything. But then I'm getting old like that. I get packages when I don't remember ordering anything and then I get my credit card statement! Oy!
Back to the story. Well, my SP11 pal has been lurking on my site. She leaves comments under the name Anonymous! (What kind of name is that?! LOL) She knows that I love lace and have a lace yarn collection that is growing kinda out control. (It's now trying to take over another drawer in my little cabinet!) She gave me this:
Beautiful suri alpaca laceweight that has been handpainted in the softest aquamarine colors! The yarn is so so soft! It's gorgeous! Thank you SP11 pal...even though you won't let me know who you are! :D

I also received yarn that I do remember ordering. I got another Plucky Knitter order in on Saturday! I absolutely love these colors! They are so vibrant! It's a good thing that in Southern California with all the sunlight we get, it kinda mutes the colors (just a wee bit!) Or else, I'll be needing sunglasses to knit!
80/20 Merino-Cashmere Blend. The color way is Cocktails! It reminds me more of the ocean in the Caribbean. It has great blend of blues, teals, and greens. Yes, I started another sock! Shoot me! Spank me! (well...I might enjoy THAT!) It's Pomatomus from Cookie A. I thought it was appropriate.
The second yarn I received is this:
This is her Superwash Merino Sock Yarn! I haven't even taken it out of the bag. It's been sitting on my cabinet as an idol. I pray every morning that I'll be worthy of it and have the talent to transform it into something equally spectacular. Can you tell that I'm a total geek?! The color way is Islands in the Stream. I'm on a serious turquoise, teal, blue, green kick lately. It's quite a change from the purples, reds, and browns that I normally love. But still...I'm not worthy of such loveliness.
There are FOs to report. I'll do that later. I need to go and pray some more.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving in Canada today... I hope everyone in Canada is having a lovely day off and enjoying this time with family! It's Columbus Day here but I don't get the day off :(

I thought it would be nice to celebrate both the Canadian and US Thanksgivings this year... Hubby and I both enjoy turkey dinners a LOT so he was definately game! It wasn't until Saturday night that the plan actually came together in my head and it had to be done Sunday since we don't have the day off - talk about flying by the seat of my pants eh?

Since it was such a last minute plan (and there are very few fresh turkeys available here right now) I figured I could just cook a breast! It worked out well for everyone - less cooking time and that's the only part hubby eats anyway :) I had plans to make cranberry sauce and a cranberry dessert but cranberries were nowhere to be found, not even frozen ones! That solidified my standard explaination for the earlier observation of the holiday on Canada - the harvest must be earlier... Now I'm not sure if that's totally true but it seems to make sense at least to me.

The menu was definitely stripped down from my usual Thanksgiving feast (partly due to time and partly due to ingredients not being available) but it was delicious none the less:

- Roast Turkey Breast with Lemon Herb Butter - not sure how much the herb butter actually flavoured the meat but BOY did it smell heavenly while cooking!!

- Gravy (OF COURSE)

- Rustic Mashed Potatoes

- Southern Feather Rolls - bread machine special :)

- Roasted Beets and Carrots - this was simple but DELISH and will become a regular dish for us!

- Pumkin Mascarpone Pie - MMMmmm the crust turned out PERFECTLY if I do say so myself. The filling was a tad on the sweet side for me but yummy all the same. Totally forgot to take a picture of the pie... perhaps I'll do that tonight before we finish it off :)


The colourfully set table. I still love my Fiestaware dishes!

Look at the gorgeous beets and carrots together!

YARN Porn!

I know this is Friday and it should be the Lonely Singles Club. But I decided to forego it this week because you saw one of my lonely singles that I just completed. Fear not! Her mate is on the needles and half way done with the leg. Should be completed shortly.
I love Ravelry! I was invited in early July and been having on it ever since then! Unfortunately, it is also a great place to find new dealers (I mean vendors!) There is a group there that is an ode to Etsy. And you all know that I'm an ETSY junkie.
I came across this dealer. And she had this to sell...

And this...

And this...

They all wanted to come home with me... I'm helpless when beautiful yarns want to move in with me. It's a bit tight...but good thing, yarn is squishy!
Actually, the top two are gifts for a certain person who celebrated a certain "small" birthday!

Free Burma

I am a little late with this but it's still 10/4 (at least here).

Here's what you can do to help.

Someone's Got a Secret...

I've been working on a few things. I think once you get thoroughly enchanted by knitting, you reach a stage where you start thinking to yourself...I can do that. I can design my own stuff. There are basic formulas everywhere. For example, socks can be knit top down or toe up. There are basic formulas for those. Sweaters can be knit the same way. EZ does a great job describing her basic formula, AKA the percentage system.
Before long, I got the itch to start drawing things up and putting things together and see how they turned out. Since I'm not artist, I'm not going to show you my sketches. (I'm sure your 3 yo does better ones!)
But I do want to show you my first design. I wanted to design something small...so socks were a good idea. (especially living in Southern California, I don't have a need for gloves or mittens!) In my last post, I told you how I fell completely and utterly in love with the Plucky Knitter and her yarns. The one that grabbed me was Blueberry Queen 100% Superwash Merino Fingering Yarn. I have seldom been completely swept off my feet the way I was when I saw this yarn! The colors are just amazing!
I bet you are now all wanting the pictures.

Please meet: the A-form Sock. Name by the Unprepared Mind. The reasoning behind this name is the stitch resembles the A-form of DNA. (Can you say...GEEK?!) I totally agree with her though. A-form DNA is a relaxed double helix.
You can probably see the structure better here.
I decided to do a heel flap and knit the sock top down. I prefer socks that method.
A quick peek at the toe!
This pattern will be available soon.
In other news...a certain friend of ours is having a B-day. So here's a shoutout to Rogue Tess...
Happy B-day! May it be filled with laughter and lots of fibery goodness!

My winnings :)

Working as an engineer in an optics research lab it is quite rare to get an office with a window (outside light is the enemy). I count myself incredibly lucky to have been moved out of the actual lab into an office several years ago. At the time I was a bit sad at being moved away from the lab but now I truly appreciate the 3 lovely ladies I share this space with as well as the HUGE windows that cover one entire wall! We get beautiful morning light through those gigantic windows so I thought I'd take the opportunity to show my prize yarn. It is currently on display on my desk :)

Shown here are a few examples of my many interests... the fiber optic cables, the fish tank, and of course THE YARN...

And just for a bonus here's a cute picture of my two boys - Will (the gigantic fur ball) and Loki (the sleek black boy). I snapped this the other night. They love to cuddle like this and it just never gets old... Loki - by the way is quite enjoying his pain meds after the ordeal at the vet yesterday. Watching a 'stoned' cat makes for quite the evenings entertainment tee hee :)

what a lovely (sur)prize!

After picking up Loki from a VERY expensive vet visit (teeth cleaning etc) I really needed something to perk me up a little. I figured I should check the mailbox and was a little surprized to see a key which mean there was a package... Not just one but 2 packages!! One of them is a secret (but I was really surprised at the shipping speed) so I can't say anything more... the other was my prize from the Dave Daniels 2nd blogiversary contest! See the two pretty cakes of yarn in the upper right corner? I got one of those in a colorway called Peachy :D It is unbelievably soft and gorgeous. Thanks Dave! I promise I will take a picture tomorrow when I have proper light again.

Ode to the Plucky Knitter

As you all know, I am undoubtedly a yarn snob. I should even have a tote that says..."Acrylic...eeww!" Every once in a while, I will find an indie dyer that I absolutely adore! This is definitely the case. I stumbled onto her etsy site a while ago. And frankly, I never left.

Here are just some of my Plucky Knitter's stash. (She's so special that she has her own drawer within my stash!)

How do I love thee...let me count the ways!
Blueberry Queen in Superwash Merino Sock Yarn. So beautiful, I fell asleep with it!
Schnapps in Merino/Cashmere sock yarn
Faded Granduer in Blue Fleece Leceister Superwash Fingering weight
Wuthering Heights in Superwash Merino Sport Weight
Clippers in Merino/Cashmere Sock Yarn
Merlot in Merino/Silk Lace Weight (1400 yards!)
Grandpa's Cardigan in Merino Lace weight
Roasted Chestnut in Merino/Cashmere Sock Yarn
Pumpkin Latte in Merino Lace Weight
And finally...a sneak peek at a project that I'm designing...
It's a sock using the Blueberry Queen! It really shows off stitch definition!

(I'll give you her site...but please save some for me!)