Update - Sunday Night edition

We're finally starting to thaw out a bit here in Calgary - but we've had a lot of freezing fog in the morning and certainly have had to scrape the car every morning. It makes for some very pretty frost on the trees.

Been knitting a lot this past week - but no spinning.

Finished up a pair of toe up after thought heel socks - ended up ripping out the cuff once they were finished and adding 6+ stripes per sock. Nice and tall now :)

The colour is more accurate in the previous post - the pink is much more vibrant.

I started another pair of toe up stripey socks - I bought this yarn in a destash from a friend. The information is on my Ravelry project page if you really must know more about the yarn. This yarn has only been in the stash for a few months - max

They're going slowly - my mindless get ready for bed socks.

I've also got a pair of Charade socks on the needles in Dancing Dog Dyeworks yarn on the Jive base - the main colour is Owlies and the contrast solid is Beach Glass - this yarn has been in the stash for less than a year. I can't believe how colourful these are turning out. The photo is from earlier today - I'm now almost done the gusset - flying off the needles, free pattern. Probably the funniest gauge I've ever seen written in a pattern (Gauge: Meh.) You can see Zoie in a shoe box in the background - the girls love that box so much I've repaired it.

And in other news - my students wrote their midterm on Monday. Ellie helped me mark - she's good like that yo.

Catching up

Long time no post - well not really given my track record but longer than I'd like. I visited my mom in Kelowna before she left for Italy for 2 months (to visit family) so that threw a monkey wrench in the posting - well that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Here's a few photos that I've taken in the last few weeks - I'll use them to catch up.

I finished my Jedi Mind Trick socks - love them - have loved most of the patterns and all of the yarns this year in the CookieA club. I'm 90% certain I'll sign up for the club again - my only issue is that it takes so long to knit socks that if I wanted to knit all the socks in the club I'd knit little else through the year. And I'd like to knit a few sweaters - it makes sense given the climate I live in. I'm a little torn. I think I'll sign up again and delay my decision for a year. I've knit 3 out of the 5 sets of patterns - so 3 out of 10 patterns but still 3 from 5 shipments. I think that's pretty good - right? right!

In Kelowna I visited with mom and my canine brother - Zeke. He's a love but he smells a little like a dog and likes to steal my seat. He's a beautiful, chubby, pure bred beagle.

While in Kelowna I knit most of a pair of after thought stripey socks - love stripey sock yarn - these would be done but I had a lot left over so I ripped out the cuff and am knitting them taller. The cuff was annoyingly short. Socks would go so much faster, I'm sure, if I didn't rip out bind offs. The yarn is Canon Hand Dyed - Charles base (I think) in the colourway, In Mine Eye She is the Sweetest Lady. It is my entry for the AlphaKal that my LYS is holding. I've got until Oct 31st to complete them and I should make it.

And finally, we've really hit winter weather here in Calgary. I've got to be honest - winter is my favourite season. I don't mind the cold, and I love how the world looks with snow all over. I like that I can add layers and be warm and snug - whereas in the summer there are only so many layers that you can take off in public. Plus we don't have air conditioning or windows we can open to create a through breeze. I also like watching hockey (though with the strike we're watching a lot more NFL and so I'm starting to understand football and therefore liking it more). I also like how winter makes my hobby really useful and there is a lot of time in which to use hand knits. It has been knit sock weather for quite awhile here - LOVE IT! What I don't like is driving in winter conditions - or taking transit when roads are bad. Transit has already been disrupted 2-3 times this season and that is a lot given how many weeks of winter we've had. It doesn't bode well for the rest of the winter.

On the Wheel and the Needles

Not great at posting - and I think the goal eventually will be 3 posts per week. If I could do 1-2 posts per week in the near future I think that would be great. Today we'll take a look at recent spinning.

Just off the wheel - superwash merino in Wanderlust from Sweet Georgia yarns - September 2012 fiber club shipment. I love this club - always ships near the start of the month and because she's based in Vancouver BC I get my yarn fast. If I had my act together I'd be the one posting the first spoiler photo! And she seems like good people.

I had issues with breakage while skeining the yarn - I think I'm under spinning and/or under plying my yarn. I got about 450 yards from 4 oz of fiber. Oh and it is a 2 ply

Previously on the wheel - Merino, bamboo nylon blend from Gnome Acres in Southwest Zombie. It goes through the 3 colours 3 times - it is an n-ply. Amanda's good people too.

I got just under 230 yards from 4 oz.

And before that was Swirl BFL in Beryl from the Unwind Yarn Company - Dana's good people too - I'm saying that a lot this post but it's true - these dyers take their businesses seriously, are nice and have a great product. I'll be buying from all of them again.

I got about 400yds from 4.3 oz - no wonder it took so long to spin and ply...

New to the stash and soon on the wheel (after what I've got on there is done - might be a bit because it is spinning very very fine - I've got the first of 2 plies done)...

This is the October 2012 shipment of the Sweet Georgia Fiber club in Turning Leaf on BFL (not superwash). LOVE IT!

And in other news, winter was here for a brief visit and has left the building temporarily. First transit disruption of the season - buses were having issues with the black ice this past Thursday:

It looks worse than it was, I think the temperature that morning was only -4C (25F) so it isn't that cold. It felt cold-ish but it is self preservation to say that it wasn't cold because it will get much much colder.

On the needles:

Jedi Mind Trick socks - Cookie A sock club August shipment

This is an old photo but it gives you an idea. I'm now well into the foot of the second sock - and am doing the foot plain so that they are more comfortable in shoes.

I also need to knit 2+ more of these hats for friends and coworkers - I've knit 3 so far - resounding success

The pattern is the Umbilical Cord Hat from Stitch 'n Bitch

I went to add labels and thought I'd lost my post - but blogger now auto-saves. I was ready to say I hated blogger and then noticed the auto save thing on the new post - right now I'm feeling some Blogger love... Then I noticed that the photos I'd linked from Flickr weren't showing up - less pleased but still happier than if I'd had to re-write this post...

Autumn has Arrived

 Posts on back to back days?! Yeah, don't get used to it - I'm just tired and procrastinating...

Autumn has arrived in Calgary - the trees are changing quickly and the leaves are already falling. I love this time of year - the air is crisp and cool (handknit sock weather for the win) but it isn't so cold that you need to bundle up a lot.

A bit blurry but this photo was taken this morning as I walked in to school. As you can see the leaves are really dry and are already being ground into a fine powder. I think it looks really neat.

And finally - this is from this weekend - along the route I run there are 1-2 houses with cat paw prints on the driveways. I always think of how cute it looks and how upset that kitty must have been when it happened.

Everyone in the blog-o-sphere seems to be posting pictures of crocuses and saying that spring is on its way. Well here in Calgary old man winter is exerting his dominance again - more snow and no signs of spring. We had some warm-ish weather for a few days but it was really just a teaser.

The time change was a bit of a pain in the arse but at least now there is sunlight when I leave work (always a bonus) and the cat still thinks that the time hasn't changed so she doesn't wake me up before the alarm (definitely a bonus).

The cats both have dental work scheduled in two weeks - that will be painfully expensive (I figure $900-1000 per cat) but it is necessary - they will both need extractions. I'm glad that it is soon because then it will be over with. I'm having a fair amount of anxiety about the process. I'm just thankful that we have the money right now - though redoing the flooring will be delayed as will the spinning wheel. It is just as well with the spinning wheel because I seriously don't have the time. In terms of yarn money... well I've got some nice stuff in a box beside me that I want to use before I buy more - which is hard now that I'm looking on etsy and reading even more blogs - the list on the side is out of date.

I'm still a bit sick - mainly just coughing during the night and blowing my nose more than often during the day. And so far Cory isn't sick... (crosses fingers that it stays that way).

I took a break from seaming the mitered square blanket and knit up this little guy.



The pattern is a free pattern - Moby Dick (second one is a ravelry link)by Brenda Burrell (ravelry link) of Artemis Adornments. Quick, easy and kinda cute. Mine has a bit of a pointy head, not sure why - but with earbuds coming out his mouth I think he looks great.

Cheers!

Here is some proof of spring in Calgary, the leaves are beginning to unfurl. Also, the weather yesterday was hot enough to make my husband complain (28oC I think... not very hot at all I know).



Bells requested some photos of my fat lamb in natural light. I really enjoyed the pattern but I think that the difference in gauge between the snout and the wooly part was too large. He is growing on me a little bit and I know he will be loved by his recipient. I gave him to my mom for her church charity group (same charity that got the elefante before I took a finished picture). I wonder what the kid will name him.




I have started another two toy patterns, I swear they are addictive. The first is Uh-Ohs (by Anna Hrachovec and I love the caption on the pattern: How in the world did they get themselves into this predicament? Knit them and find out!). I was just going to make two that were joined but I think I may make more links. Now I am just waiting for other left over fingering weight yarn to make the other links. I think my mom mentioned having some suitable left overs. I'm heading back to Kelowna for a brief visit on Wednesday. My Nonna Lucia will be there from Italy and my brother, sister-in-law and two nieces (Lucy and Emma, from Edmonton) will be there too. I am super excited all around, Lucy and I are super close (she is only 8 years my junior) and I've only seen Emma once despite only living 2-3 hours away from Edmonton and her being over a year old. Anyway, the picture of the in progress Uh-Ohs



And as I mentioned earlier, I have another toy in progress - another fuzzy lamb (Fuzzy Thoughts, Barbara Prime )- and I love it (well it will be a her/him but without the face on I don't know which it is).



And you can see in the photos the lovely gift that my mom gave me when we went out to Chapters - the three knitting Harmony Guides. I wanted them because I really want to design some knits and perhaps publish them - you know, so the right side of my brain doesn't atrophy... I saw this really great comic once that showed a scientist dancing in front of a blackboard full of mathematical equations with the caption: "every now and then he breaks out into an interpretive dance so that his right brain doesn't atrophy" and I laugh when I think of it. I will start small and go from there but seeing these books on my shelf or on my desk will remind me of this goal. Thanks again mom!

And on a final note, a gratuitous photo of a cat that would rather be sleeping in peace. Ellie meows to be put up on the top shelf of the closet where she will sleep for hours. Luckily she now knows how to get down on her own.

Calgary

So as many of y'all know I moved to Calgary in August with the husband (Cory). I'm doing the graduate school thing (hence part of the name of the blog) and he is doing the work thing this semester (at Mount Royal College). I'm getting to know the city now and even have a few favorite places/stores. There are some things that are wierd about Calgary too though. The foremost of these is the Chinook phenomenon. The temperature fluctuates hugely here with little warning it seems. The weather forecast is even more of a crapshoot, unless it is the day of, then it is just a normal crapshoot. It can be warm (relative, remember we are still in Canada people) and therefore above zero in the morning, say around 9am, and then when you leave school it is cold and snowing and there is a cm or two of snow on the ground at 4pm. And people here don't think this is strange. The upshot of this is that it is seldom cold for extended periods of time. We've had about 1 week of what I'd call cold winter weather here so far. The rest is just a bit chilly. Of course that freakin cold week is when mom and dad came to visit... murphy's law I suppose. The downside is that all of your clothes need to be accessible. Not so bad in our place where we don't really have a place to put summer clothes away, they just go to less used drawers.

Places I like or am beginning to love in Calgary:
1) Springbank Cheese Store - Jesse works there, they have AWESOME cheese at reasonable prices. Cheese is now one of my favorite foods
2) Make One Yarn Store - Only been their once, Boxing Day, so it was crazy busy but the people seem really nice. I look forward to heading back.
3) The River Cafe - again Jesse works there, expensive but good food
4) Administration Building, University of Calgary - this is where my lab, office etc. exists. This is where I spend most of my time and thus by familiarity I like it. I don't like how I work in the basement with no windows but the people in the basement are nice and are my friends.

And of course I like our appartment. I would rather a house, but have you seen the prices of things in Calgary? No freakin' way we could afford one right now.