No, I'm not dead...

CraftyCanadian here! Where the heck have I been? Well I've been here and nothing has gone awry in my life, I just haven't been inspired to blog for a while. Not sure why but I suspect Ravelry may be involved ;) I spend a lot of time over there and I'm able to share projects and stuff with a little less effort... so I guess it's mostly that I'm lazy.

Knitting-wise I have some things to share if anyone is still interested. If you'll indulge me, I'll just step back into my trusty time machine and go back before Christmas...

Since hubby's niece was SO appreciative of the first sweater I knit her, I had been thinking that I would like to knit another little something. In a twist of fate, I spied some lovely Lamb's Pride Superwash Bulky on sale at Suzoo's that would be just perfect for the Asymmetrical V-Neck Pullover from Loop-d-Loop. I purchased, I knit, and here's the result:

NG wasn't the happiest of campers when I took that picture. The night before, when I was finishing up the sleeves, she was running around in her jammies with the hat on and couldn't wait to get the sweater. She kept asking if she could 'do it' :)

I also knit the 'gauge swatch hat' in the same corrugated pattern. What a great way to test your gauge AND have a usable item afterward! I'll have to dig up pictures of NG in the hat. She was tickled pink :) I didn't complete the sleeves until we were in Texas and I could measure her and try the garment on. Due to the asymmetrical nature of the pattern the sleeves either wind up being well... asymmetrical. I think they compensated for this in the photos in the book by having the little girl hold hands with the lady in the adult sized sweater... tricky tricky...

My attempt at adjusting for this was to stop the corrugated pattern at about the elbow and knit the rest of the sleeve in garter. In the pattern they call for you to finish on a garter stich section on both sleeves but that would make it impossible to get them the same length! At least this way, I could knit a couple more rows of garter on one sleeve without it being 'slap you in the face' obvious that they were different.

Found the picture of NG in the hat!!

What Fiber Are You?

I saw this on knotsinarow's blog. It seemed fun. It turns out that I am

This is what they say about angora: “Angora has a warmth that rivals cashmere and softness that rivals qiviut. Best of all, it comes from cute little bunnies that look for all the world like furry footstools with ears.” –The Knitter’s Book of YarnAngoras are eager to please and are highly sensitive. Flexibility and adaptability are your strengths and sometimes your weakness, as well. You are essentially a warm and feeling person, and little escapes your impressionable mind. You are generous with others and strive for harmony in your relationships.

Not sure if it's completely accurate, but it was fun! So go look here and find what fiber are you.

The first FO of the year

My first FO of the year is a pair of socks. It's a gift for K.

The quick info: Started Christmas Eve last year. Finished January 3rd of this year.

Yarn: Smooshy! by Dream In Color. Colorway: Cloud Jungle. It was a gift from La Canadienne.

Needle Size: US 1 (2.5 mm)

Pattern: Simple Garter Ridge Socks from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch

Comments: Easy pattern to memorize. It would have been a quick knit, but K has pretty big feet. Those are his feet in the pictures. He wears a US Men Size 11. (That's almost 12 inches for the foot!)

In other news, I realize that I have way too much sock yarn. So, this year I am going to dedicate myself to knitting socks. I might knit an occassional sweater, scarf, hat, or mittens, but it will be all socks all the time. (But don't hold me to that! :-) )

Happy New Year and a Resolution or Two

Au Revoir 2007 et Bonjour 2008. Another year has gone, but I felt that I have acoomplished a few things last year. I was able to maintain my grades while working full time, kept up with my blogging, and finished a few projects. I finished 2 pairs of gloves, 4 pair of socks, 2 sweaters, and a felted computer bag. I started a lot of projects and left a lot of them hanging.

My plan for this year:
1. Continue with my education and finish my degree. (I'm hoping by May of 2009).
2. Finish some of the projects that I have started, frog the ones that I'm not interested in, and then cast on a few more new projects.
3. Curb my impulse buying habits. Curb my habit for buying things because I'm depressed, happy, etc.
4. Get into a decent fighting shape. That means start to run and swim more. Do more active things than just go to the movies with my bf.
5. Learn something new either a new language or a new skill. I'm taking Photography next semester, so I might take better pictures (or hopefully more artistic ones).

What are your goals for next year?