My Sweater Boy

Here he is...scruffy face and all. This friends, is the face of a knitter's husband. When you've bought your second load of wool, while on vacation, this is the kind of guy who tells you to buy a suitcase for your wool purchases. He does this because there is not enough room in luggage you brought. He also knows that with a week still left to go.....you'll be buying more. He also brings you back two canvas totebags, from his stop-over, and tells you that they are for your stash.......

Here is a close up the sweater......

I took the picture of DH last night, in the basement....which explains the poor lighting conditions. The close up was taken this morning on my deck in natural light.....
In Other News
I've got to make a quilt for a baby shower....next week. Now I'll bet that you are wondering why I am quilting a baby gift instead of knitting something. You weren't???? Oh.....well......(this is me stammering, wondering what to say) Shhh don't let the yarn stash know....but I also have a fabric stash.
I needed to get fabric.....I tried to shop local.....I really did...only to find out that my local fabric shop is closed for holidays.
Now if you look at the time that it take me to get anywhere, plus the selection of the fabric when I get there........Sigh... I will confess, I went cross-border shopping.

Canada Customs vs US Customs
Going to the states they ask you for photo ID plus many other questions like.... where are you going? what is the purpose of your visit? Are those your kids? Can I see some ID for them....etc...official stuff like that....and he gets out of his booth to do a walk around of the van.

Coming back to Canada is another story altogether....What is the citizenship of everyone? How many are there in the vehicle? Are those your kids? Does their father know where they are? How long where you gone? How much did you spend?
At this point...I can't believe my ears and I start to fume all the way home about how LAME Canada Customs is. The guy wanted to know if DH knew where we were (a valid question in the case of child custody issues) BUT did not ask for any proof that these kids were actually mine or proof of who I was. Grrrrrrrrr!!!!!!

With that issue dealt with....I won't tell you where we went as I'll save that for another day. As we drove around town, I noticed many things that I could take the sock to see and photograph. Here's what happened when I mentioned it.

ME: Hmmmm next time I'll bring the sock and take a picture of that sign.
teenage DD: Oh No Mom! Anything but the sock!!!!

Life is good....Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic

A glutton for punishment

I will readily admit it....I have NO patience for scarves. I've been working on a Harry Potter scarf for my oldest kid since the fourth movie came out. I keep it in the car to work on when I'm bored for the project I did bring along for the road trip. You know, out of sight.....out of mind.

So what do you think I went and did.....ARRRGGGGHHHH...I've started a new scarf!!!!

It is currently 25"/63 cm long. It is a fingering weight merino/silk blend that I dyed myself and knit on 4mm needles in a lovely lace pattern. Very nice to work with BUT after spending hours on the scarf I discovered this.........

I have 70 grams left of the ball......from the 100g ball ......Enough to make a grown woman cry......WAAAAAAA!!!! Why do I do this to myself????WHY, WHY, WHY???????

It is another stinky hot day.....tomorrow they promise rain and if it happens I'm going to go outside and enjoy every single rain drop.

Movie News......wouldn't you know it....another movie will be released in August that was out last May in Aus. Becoming Jane......I didn't see it as it was a scheduling thing, DH and I ended up seeing Half Nelson instead. So there....Australia isn't always the last on the list.

SOCK SWAP NEWS

I've got my sock swap partner in the Hogwarts sock swap. She's from Ravenclaw. I dyed 50g in a gorgeous blue. The other 50g were dyed using black food colouring.....didn't turn out so well.....I think it turned out to be the colour of the cadaver in my biology text book. Maybe I'll break down and buy a ball of light grey sock wool to make the socks with, I'm sure that my swap partner will be grateful.

On the other hand, I think that I'll design a new sock pattern just for the occasion......

With the possibilities being endless I say.....

Yours in Yarn,

The Fibreholic

I embarrass her

DD: Do you have to knit at the movies?

DD: You and your yarn.

DD: I'm so embarrassed.

Not only was it the knitting in public....but I laugh too loud at the movies. She is 13 and I can't do anything right.....I'll live with it....

I took her to see The Order of the Phoenix last night. Not a bad movie, but some of my favorite scenes from the book never made it to the big screen.

But in other movie news....there was a trailer for Mr. Bean's Holiday before the feature started. It is being released in North America August 24th. I was shocked!!!! I've already seen the movie. It was playing in Canberra, AUS back in May. DH and I saw it there and loved it. We'll be taking the whole clan to see it....

I've been reading some blogs and have noticed some have put pixs up of their neighbourhood. I've decided to do the same every now and then. First is a pix of one of my neighbour's pets....her name it piggly wiggly.....we know not to get too close as she will bite. Every now and then, she'll escape and come for a visit. That's my rooster in the background. His name is Henry...it's short for Henry the hen-pecked.

Next is my favorite tree on my property. It's a Weeping Willow.

Nothing really crafty to report today as it's just too stinky hot to do much of anything. Hopefully I'll soon be able to convince DH to model his sweater that I recently finished. But wearing a wool sweater in 30 degree weather (with humidity) is not his idea of fun no matter how much he likes it.

Until next time

Yours in Yarn

The Fibreholic

I just shake my head....

Okay....so it is nice to know how smart you are, but the teen is taking it far too seriously. She is on the net every chance she gets taking IQ tests. She has discovered that she is 20% smarter than a 5th grader. She's going into grade 9 in September.

ME: I wouldn't go bragging about being 20% smarter than a 5th grader....
DD: totally ignores the comment as she is busy completing another IQ test.

And we all know that because the tests are on the net they must be highly scientific and accurate.

In other news.....
I am taking said teen to see Harry Potter tonight. She is currently reading book 7 in between doing her hair and taking IQ tests. I saw the last movie on my own and I realized something about myself...knitting is in my blood.

When you get to a part of the movie where they show close ups of the scarves and you find yourself counting the rows in the stripes......you discover that your brain is wired differently.

Take from that what you will and analyse me is what ever way seems best to you.....I care not.... just don't try to take my knitting from me.

Until next time
Yours in Yarn
The Fibreholic

Let the games begin

I've got the teenager back......and the hormones are running wild.....how many more days until September 4th?????

Seriously though....

We picked her up on Thursday night, from cadet camp, in Kingston, ON with the plans of watching her graduation parade. Because of all the rain it was held inside. After my experience with it last year, I came prepared. I brought Variegated with me. But I shouldn't have worried because of the parade being held indoors the whole thing, thank yous and awards last only about 45 minutes.

Can you pick her out???? Didn't think so....it took me a while to find her. Even DH had trouble.

DH: Looks like she gained weight in the last three weeks.

ME: Really??? I wouldn't have thought so with all the activity.

DH: Oh wait...I was looking at the wrong kid.

She was there for three weeks and did her first level of the boatswain course. She spent her time on motorized whalers and a tall ship. However during the training session on the tall ship a fire broke out. Read all about it here. The kid even has a trophy from the event... a blanket from the US Coast Guard. Six of their boats came to evacuate many of the cadets. The Canadian Coast Guard had come and gone taking the few cadets, with injuries, for medical attention. For the suspicious reading this...the fire happened on Friday the 13th.

Back to Thursday.

You'd better believe I made her hold the Sock....under great protest though. She thinks I'm weird now. Actually she did before....but now she has witnesses. And if you think she was embarrassed to hold the Sock.....wait until you see what I did next.

This is "Brucie". He was the gift of the RMC Club on the year of the school's centennial. This cadet camp is held at the Royal Military College (there are several camps throughout Canada). As a prank, "Brucie" gets painted in regimental colours during the school year. So DH doesn't think he minded holding the Sock....besides mojo must be collected!!!

DD: Mom you're embarrassing me....

DH: Guys get out of the picture....your mom needs to take this...

DD: I'm not related to any of you....

And because this picture is just soooo cute, I've just got to post it. Yup....for all her talk...she missed her little brother and sister.

Until next time,

Yours in Yarn

The Fibreholic

My First Swap

Okay...it was inevitable that I was going to join in some on line knitting activity. So here it is .... a Hogwarts Sock Swap. Feel free to check it all out (any maybe even join) at http://hogwarts-sock-swap-two.blogspot.com/
Sign-ups started on July 14 th....last I checked there was no room left in the first year class but they still had room in year 2.


Hogwarts Sock Swap Questionnaire

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into? Gryffindor

2. Shoe size? 9 ladies

3. Foot Length? 9 3/4 inches

4. Foot Circumference? 9 3/4 inches

5. List your three favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length.
a.SRK 2mm 6 inches
b.SRK 2.5mm 6 inches
c.Inox express 1.75 mm 8inches

6. Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length?
any bamboo or coated metal needles 2 or 2.5 mm 6 inches

7. If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference? N/A

8. Allergies? Do you have any? Will your knitting be exposed to smoke or animals?
I have no allergies but my knitting will be exposed to pets (dog and bunnies)

9. Are you an international participant (outside US)? Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal?
I live outside the US and don't mind where my Sock Pal lives.

Okay there you have it.....personal info galore.....So now that I've publicly declared my foot size I wonder if a sock fairy will come........

There you have it.......until next time
Yours in Yarn
The Fibreholic

Ode to my Green Merino

Ode to my green merino

so lovely and green.

Ode to my green merino

the nicest I've ever seen.

The moment I saw you,

I knew you would be mine.

So soft, lovely

and very fine.

In a bag you were,

waiting to be spun.

When I saw you,

I knew we would have fun.

That other lady wanted you,

she didn't even say please.

I knew to have you,

I'd have to beat her to her knees.

Even though she was a senior,

it didn't matter to me.

She might have been an older lady,

but you and I had to become a "we".

You are a delight

and compared to others, you are the boss.

You are practical as well,

my green merino super wash.

I can't begin to tell you,

of how you are nice.

Better still,

you cost me half price.

How do I show my love?

Do I spin you right away?

Perhaps I'll wait,

and think on it for a day.

Will you be a sweater,

or many pairs of mitts?

Doesn't matter green merino,

for me you are it.

So lovely and soft,

you didn't cost much cash.

But let's dispense with shallow sentimentality,

I bought you for my stash.

A conversion to Knitology

On Sunday I had a brilliant idea. I bought cheap (or should I say inexpensive) knitting needles at Wal-Mart for my two youngest kids. Yarn doesn't slide that well on them so the chance of losing stitches is minimal. I'm looking forward to this wonderful time of sharing and bonding with my 8 and 6 year old. DH thinks it's a great idea. The kids will gain many useful skills including sitting quietly and concentrating on something besides TV.

Reality has a way of removing all romance out of a situation!!!

I've already taught my 6 year old son to knit so I figured that he could handle learning how to cast on. NOPE!!! He tells me, through his tears, that he needs a bunch of knitting on the needle before he can knit. Eight year old DD is not crying at this point, but is clearly not ready for cast on lessons.

So here's what I do instead of pulling out my hair....cast on 10 stitches for each of them and knit a couple of rows in garter stitch. DS takes off needing little help but DD is another matter. This girl has a hard time being still and has the attention span of a gnat. She is easily frustrated and tells me "just because you know how to knit doesn't mean that have to force us to learn." I then explain all the benefits of knitting and tell her that while I'm not forcing her, she still has to try. She is doing quite well technically so I let her go after knitting 10 stitches on her own.

DS is another matter. He is going great guns and tells me that he wants to keep knitting. He knits 2.5 rows in the time his sister knits one. He decided to stop when his sister does. I'll try again tomorrow for another short session. Get them hooked gradually.

Have you ever gone to the movies and got your popcorn in a plastic bucket imprinted with an ad for an upcoming movie? I've got one for Pirates of the Caribbean and last Friday night I picked one up for The Simpson Movie. DS told me that I should keep it for a knitting bucket. Does that kid know me or what? We've also got popcorn in buckets with the kid's combo so they have their own knitting bucket.

WOOHOO!!! I have FOs

This is Stripes. I started her on the plane trip over to Aus. She was very pleased with the final results and #1 and #2 were happy to finally be paired up.

Did I ever tell you that I'm a genius? Well I think so! Okay maybe I was just being very MacGyverish with this pair of socks. Just in case you were wondering the socks were made with Koigu and they feel sooooo nice. Back to my geniusness..... I made the leg one pattern repeat too long thus coming up ever so short at the toe of the second sock.

In a case like this....you can frog the socks and restart, go buy another skein of Koigu (can't as I bought the last of that colour) or improvise.

Using leftovers from another sock, I finished the sock. As you can see while it doesn't exactly blend in, there is not enough to worry about.

Well gotta run, the kids are complaining about being hungry....

Yours in Yarn

The Fibreholic

Bouncing Baby Bunnies

Let me tell you a story about something that happened to me last April.
I'm still in shock!!!


I should give you a piece of background info. My DH is allergic to rabbits and this is how a one time conversation regarding the subject of bunnies went.

ME: What do you think about me getting a bunny?
DH: Okay as long as we keep it outside.
ME: I won't bother then. If I get a bunny I want it as a pet, in the house.

Back to last April......out of the blue DH tells me that he wouldn't mind if I got a bunny. THUD (this is me fainting and hitting my head on the floor) When I come to....I realize that he was serious. So if I'm getting a green light for the bunny, I'm getting one with benefits.

This is Tristan at 8 weeks. He's an English Angora and is just a sweetheart. I picked him up the second last week in June. Did I mention that Angora spinning fibre is out of this world expensive? Once he lightens up (as he has already begun to), he'll be an off white. So I'll have no problem dyeing his fibre.

How did DH react to my cuddly baby boy? He agreed that Tristan was cute and he calls him Bunny Boy and says that he looks more like a fuzzy slipper than an animal. After five days DH actually picked him up (washing his hands afterwards) and commented on how soft he was.

"But Janet." you say, "you can't get much fibre from one bunny"

To which I reply...."No you can't.....looks like I'll need more than one"......DH is in Montreal right now and will be back tomorrow....and BOY is he in for a surprise. Remember my fascination with James Franco's eyes???? He is the reason I named my boy bunny Tristan (BTW it is a very English name), from the movie Tristan & Isolde. When DH comes home tomorrow night he'll meet none other than.......

You guessed it.....Isolde. She is a little more timid than Tristan, but is still very cuddly. She is the same colour as Tristan but her wool is already starting to lighten up. Won't they make the cutest babies????....OOPS did I say that out loud? hehehehehehehehe Nothing like a little S.E.X in your own home.

Better sign off before I say something really over the top.

Yours in Yarn,

The Fibreholic

Time Travel

Stripes is Finished!!!!


I figured that if I was going to finish Stripes, I might as well do it with pizazz. Stripes and I travelled back through time to the year 1860. We visited a tourist attraction and Historical Site called Fort Henry in Kingston along Lake Ontario.


Now it was STINKY HOT that day. MAJOR humidity and I don't do well with humidity. The only reason I was there was because it was the year end trip for my daughter's sea cadet unit and I ended up driving a bunch of them there. That wasn't the plan, as I was hoping for 1 1/2 hours of knitting time in A/C comfort. I have however discovered how to keep 5 teenagers quite for a 1 1/2 hour car ride.

1. Yell at DH for getting you into playing chauffeur then....


2. Tear out of the parking lot like a mad woman.


3. Then your DD says "Guys I've never seen my mom drive like this"

We stopped at McDonald's for supper, scaring some kid with the long line up.

DH: See this long line up? We're all on the same bill.

Teenager boy behind counter looking very nervous: Okay, but go slow.

Then on to the Fort. It was a mad house for parking. There was a free show being put on by the Snowbirds (Canadian Force's Precision Aerobatic Team) so the whole area was lined with people and cars.

Did I mention that it was HOT???????


HOWEVER

The moment I got into the courtyard of the fort.......there was such a refreshing wind coming off the lake. By the end of the show many spectators were actually complaining of being chilly. Three cheers for the person who planned this year end trip for the Sunset Ceremony.

On to the Sock

Feeling the need to explain, my DH turned to the others and said..."It's an internet thing."

There are times when a massive amount of people gathered together, are compelled to respond in similar ways. People will applaud, shout and boo in unison regardless of race, religion, background, political beliefs etc. They feel the need to express something else......

During the ceremony, a member of the unit brought out the regimental mascot...a goat. This said goat did what goats do....poops in the middle of the parade square. Said goat gets led out. The colour party then enters the scene, walking in a set course to the middle of the parade square....you guesses it.... right through goat poop.
A loud EWWWWWW came from the crowd.

I'm off to the library, it's another stinky hot day....and they have air.
Until next time
Yours in Yarn
The Fibreholic

The Eyes Have IT

Okay, now it's confession time.

I am totally in love with James Franco's eyes. So Last night I watched Tristan & Isolde for about the 10th time. I'll probably watch it many, many, many more times. I was watching East of Eden the other night starring James Dean and I commented to DH of the striking resemblance Franco had to Dean. DH agreed and said that if anyone were to play the life of Dean, James Franco would be a good choice. Lo and behold....James Franco played James Dean in a TV movie titled none other than James Dean. It's now on my list of movies to watch.

I should also confess that I am a big movie fan. I watch very little TV because I'm always watching a DVD instead. While in AUS, I went to the movies 4 times. Talk about luxury...with 3 kids I'd never get to go to so many movies in a two week period. DH doesn't have a problem with my movie fascination because 1) I have good taste when it comes to movies (The Fantastic Four DOESN'T count) and 2) He thinks that most TV shows being produced now are a bunch of crap.

When people come to visit me, one thing they notice is the amount of works in progress I have. While it seems that I have a knitting project in every room of the house, the kid's rooms and the bathrooms are WIP free. I make up for that by having several WIP in the TV room. .....Sigh..... and still I yearn to start more projects.

My mom, on one of her rare visits, asked me how I ever get anything done with so many projects on the go. Maybe I should tell her about the scarf. I finished the second sleeve of my summer sweater/top and am now beavering away at the front (aka the final piece).

I have an eight year old in the house today...yesterday she was only seven.....How did that happen????? I'm feeling so old........wait...... A couple of months ago a woman came into work and couldn't believe that I had a 13-year old. Now THAT made me feel WONDERFUL!!!!!!!! I agreed to work on my DD's birthday so I'd better cut this short and spend some time with her.

So with that being said, I must be off
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic.

With Great Patience

Slow and Steady

Sigh...a gal shouldn't have to deal with these things when she's got so much to say. The new computer is up and running once again but it looks like the old hard drive is toast and will have to go to a recovery expert. GRRRRRRR..... IT WAS FINE BEFORE HE STARTED PLAYING COMPUTER TECH!!!!!!!!
I'm okay now, thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

So what have I been doing since we last chatted? I've been traveling down the path of discovery.

Things I've Discovered

1. Hot pink dye is hard to wash off.
2. 8 year old girls are harder to wrangle than 6 year old boys.
3. My 13 year old has an unnatural urge to shoot rodents.
4. The house is so much quieter when said 13 year old is at camp.
5. It is possible for me to finish knitting a scarf.
6. I can't knit a patterned sock and watch Johnny Depp on the big screen at the same time.
7. If you're not sure you want to see a certain movie...don't go just to see a movie. You are probably going to waste your money. Ex. The Fabulous Four- The Rise of the Silver Surfer. Good thing I bought some nice spinning fibre so the day wasn't a total write-off.
8. My kids don't mind if I knit at the movies, in the van or in McDonald's. According to my eight-year old I'm an expert knitter and I'm not weird because I don't knit underwear.
9. Sitting in front of a giant fan makes spinning possible in summer.
10. And it is possible to frighten 5 teens into silence as you drive 1 hour to a year end trip.

I'm working on a summer sweater that I started last summer...(Yeah, I know). I'm working on the second sleeve and have the front to do. I'd let you see it but I'm still waiting for certain programs to be added to this machine. This is me exercising great patience.

And with that... I must be off
Yours in Yarn
The Fibreholic