I Wanna Webkinz

DD#2: I wanna a Webkinz.
Me: A what?
DD#2: A Webkinz.
Me: We'll see. (Translation.......I have no idea what a Webkinz is and probably don't want to know.)

No matter how cool I think that I might be, somewhere there is a group of people who are conspiring against me. They lie awake at night thinking of things that my kids will want to buy. They will also think of ways to market them to my kids so that I won't have a clue that these things exist.

So as not to appear too dorky, I avoid the subject of Webkinz. It works until we went Christmas shopping at a toy store that specializes in bobble heads. (Don't get me started on those.) The last aisle we go through has a Webkinz display.

Me (to myself): Maybe now I'll figure out what these things are.

The display is quite empty except for miniature T-shirts and body spray. This is NO help at all. I have gained no new insight at all. I mean...body spray???? targeted at kids???? Not even my children want to go around smelling like bananas.

Has the world sunk to a new level of stupid? I just don't understand.

DD#2: I can have Webkinz?

I ignore the question. I turn around and join DS . He is playing with Transformers. I understand those.

Last night I did what I should have originally done. I asked Google, what is a Webkinz?

Google told me that is was just another way for the toy people to rid me of my hard earned dollars and to give up Internet time.

I think that I'll go back to my 9.4 rating on the hick-o-meter and wait for the next fad.

Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic

Big Wishes in Little Packages

For many years now, I've bought tree ornaments for the kids. Each year I try to get something unique that can be personalized with their name and the year. Earlier this year, I bought the book Charmed Knits and using the pattern for the ornaments, I decided to make the kids their own Weasley sweaters.

The sweaters are great for using up scraps. All you need is 10g of DK (8ply) for the sweater and an arm's length of a contrasting colour for the initial. Because I needed so little yarn , and because I have a lot of scraps each kid was able to pick the colour for their sweater. DH had some wire that I used to make the hanger. What do the kids think of them? They love their sweaters!



I'm sure that you all remember how I use up leftovers of sock yarn with my crazy socks. Here is another way I use up the leftovers.

Please note: This is a pattern for those who already know the basics of sock knitting.


Sock Ornament

Under 5g of sock wool
2.25 or 2.50mm (US 1 or 1 1/2) DPNs

Cast on 24 sts (leave a long tail- this will be what you use to hang the sock on the tree). Divide onto 3 needles and join for working in the round.
Rib for 2 cm (3/4")
Change to stocking stitch and knit until leg is 6 cm (2 1/2")
Using 12 sts make a short row heel. Make sure that the cast on tail falls in the center of the heel. (use the last 6 sts from previous round and the 6 sts from the next)
Knit until foot is 3.5 cm (1 1/5"), then begin toe.
Decrease toe until there are 12 sts left, and finish the toe with the kitchener stitch.


I'm wishing you all the best this Christmas Season. All I ask is that you remember that the best gift of all doesn't cost a cent.

Until Next Time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic

Deja Vu

There was Deck the Hall-ing, there was Fa la la-ing and even even some Ho Ho Ho-ing. And I had to sit through all of it. DH got to miss out using work as a lame excuse. The things people miss out on when the have a full time, can't get out of it, type job.

The Kindergarten kids were, as usual, the most entertaining. They got to sing a song with so many verses that after a while we honestly thought the song was over, so we applauded. Nope.....not done yet.....there's another verse. I guess the little ones think that it's normal for the audience to clap 3 - 4 times during a song. Here is DD #2...can you tell which one she is....I think that she spent the whole time on stage waving at me...



Two of my kids attend a small school. It goes from JK to grade 4. But when they hold the Christmas concert, enough people show up to cause problems. The Fire Marshall told the school the the capacity of the gym is 177 people, not 250. So what do they do? Divide the concert in two with half the classes performing today and the other half yesterday. So if one afternoon of bad singing and crazy dance routines was bad enough.....guess what I did yesterday?

I'd like to thank however divided up the concert in a way to force me to attend both days. Hence the Deja Vu.



DS dressed up for the event. I had one lady stop me in the hall afterwards to tell me how cute he was.

I'm so glad that Christmas only comes once a year....Sigh...I know what you're thinking....in the near future my kids will get older and Christmas concerts will be a thing of the past.....and that I will miss going to them. Sigh.....you couldn't be more correct.

Plus it is a great time to work on a basic sock. It's great for when you're suppose to at least pretend that you're paying attention.




Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic

The Weather Outside is Frightful

Last Sunday the Ottawa Valley got dumped on.....by a lot of snow that is. Throughout the area, we got between 37-50 cm. That's 14.8- 20 inches for those of you not metrically inclined. Insane is what I call it. I mean really people....what are we suppose to do with all this snow? Here is view from my back door during the storm. The blurriness, this time, cannot be blamed on my camera or photographic skills. The fuzzy look is from the continual curtain of snow falling.
This is my front deck. It's kinda sad that we haven't removed the snow from the last massive snowstorm we had 2 weeks ago. I've been busy knitting...not sure what DH's excuse is. I decided to stretch my legs and do a bit of shoveling. and discovered at it's highest point, the snow on my deck is up to my mid thigh. And that is just wrong!!!! Very Wrong!!!

The snow is still powdery so I quickly make progress. I got rid of about 1/5 of the snow.....just enough to look impressive but not enough to make DH think that I'll do the whole job myself. So as I am putting in all this effort, working up a sweat, engaging in this backbreaking work...what is my dog doing??????

She is just standing there....watching me. That dog is is a born supervisor, I think that she gets it from the kids.

I've finished the green sweater. I didn't take a picture of it as I couldn't wait to get it out the door. I really need to knit something for me. Wahhhhh, I can't! I've got two more projects that I've been hired to do. Enough of my pity party.....

Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic

Bye Buy Bunnies

The babies are ready to leave home. As much as I would like to keep them all, it's getting crowded in the cage. Two of them are already spoken for and will be gone as soon as I get payment. So here you go, the last pictures of this litter.
These cuties are three lovable boys who love attention.

These two bucks were given the name "the twins" by one of my kids. They are the only white ones of the bunch. One of them is even the pick of the litter.

And last but definitely not least are my two does. I'm going to miss them all, but they've got to go.
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And now for some knitting! I started this scarf during my trip to Australia as I wanted something besides socks to work on while on the bus. It is Lucy Neatby's Sea Lettuce scarf. I purchased the Vero by Naturally from the Shearing Shed in Canberra. When I saw the colours I knew that it would be perfect for a project for my pink loving 8 year old. It is going to be a Christmas gift. (I guess that it is possible for me to finish a scarf)
Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic

Go ahead....spoil me!

The famous brown truck came to my house today. Fortunately my dog didn't attack and eat the nice man. He did, however, thank DH for having the dog tied up. My dog is a subject for another day but let's just say that she is somewhat possessive of the house and her family.

What did Mr. UPS bring the Fibreholic today.....lots of goodies. My package arrived from my Hogwart's swap pal. Her name is Nancy and she lives in Denver, CO. Check out her blog, she makes gorgeous dolls.

First is the pair of socks she knitted for me. I was sorted into the Gryffindor house so the colours are scarlet and gold. I just love them. I think that I'll wear them to work on Monday and force everyone to admire them.But wait, that was only the beginning. She also sent a Christmas tree ornament, stitch markers, goat's milk soap, sock yarn leftovers, chocolates and two sets of crystal palace bamboo DPNs. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to trying out those needles. I think this calls for a cast on party, just me, some yummy sock yarn and Cat Bordhi's new book. What she may not have realized when she packed this parcel was I can find a crafty use for the green, red and gold tissue paper that was in the box.


My only regret....it wasn't summer so Mr. UPS wasn't wearing his cute brown shorts. :)

Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic

Finally an end to the Montanas mess

Yes....we're back to that. Here is what has been happening between myself and that restaurant over the past month.

Nov. 7th-DH and I decide to try Montanas Cookhouse for the first time. Very rude staff and substandard food. Read all the details here.

Nov. 11th- Fill out the online feedback questionnaire and tell them what happened.

Nov. 12th- Get a call from the manager of that location. She apologizes and tells me that she would like to send me a give-X (gift card) as compensation. That would be fine with me. I give her my address and prepare to write a blog post on how promptly and efficiently this woman took care of the situation.

Nov. 26th- Nothing has arrived in the mail from Montanas. I call the restaurant. The manager says they are backed up, they just got the give-Xs in last Friday and it'll be mail out that week. She does write a letter apologizing once again and hopes the card will get me back into the restaurant.

Nov. 30th- Still nothing. I call the customer service at the head office and tell them.

Dec. 7th - The card and letter are sent.

Dec. 11th - My compensation arrived. It was bad enough having a birthday celebration ruined by rude staff and being put off by the manager, but a measly $25 gift card after all that is nothing more than a slap in the face.

The least I was hoping for was enough for a meal for two. Guess my good opinion isn't even worth that.

Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic

Larger than Life in Canada

I got this off a site called the American's Guide to Canada. Here are a few of her observations of Canada.

1. It's really, really big.
2. Ontario is huge. Ontario is at least two days' worth of driving on its own.
3. Canada's terrain is varied and gorgeous. From Cape Breton Island to Prince Edward Island to the Canadian Shield (a very old mountain range that in its day was taller than the Rockies) to north of Superior to the Prairies to the Rockies to Vancouver Island and back again, it's just stunning.
4. Canada seems to have this thing for putting very large...well, things into the middle of town. You'll see what I mean.

She's right, we do seem to like to put large things in the middle of a town. Nothing portrays this quirky behavior of Canadians better than during the first season of the show Corner Gas. The citizens of Dog River wanted to erect some large thing, as a tourist attraction, in the middle of their town. So we now have the episode of the "Big Dirty Hoe"

Here are a few of the large.....things that I have either visited, gone to the town/city for other reasons and had no choice but to see these things (because they were so big) or driven bye them along the highway.

1. A giant lobster in Shediac, New Brunswick
2. A UFO landing pad in St. Paul's, Alberta...(yes you read that correctly)
3. A giant magnet outside of Moncton, New Brunswick
4. Vilna mushrooms in Vilna, Alberta (question is which was named first?)
5. A giant Pryogy in Glendon, Alberta

This is just a VERY small sampling of the roadside/in town attractions that Canadians have. I encourage every one to check out these sites to see the others. Big Things and Large Canadian Roadside Attractions.

You'll get to see just how quirky we Canadians really are.

Until Next Time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic

A post from my sick bed

It was bound to happen, I've got a nasty cold. Therefore I must be brief. Since I can' think of anything clever to say, I'll give you a quote from a book. Jejune did this awhile back and tagged the rest of us to do the same.

So here goes.....turning to page 161..... and here is the 5th sentence.

For once he decided to forsake his more adventurous tastes for a favorite from his younger days, pastrami drenched in messy Russian dressing on rye bread.

"Died in the wool by Mary Kruger"

You know that you are turning into a one trick pony when the librarian looks for books, with a knitting theme, for you. Not because you asked her to, but because that's all you seem to be reading lately.

Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic

Trying desperately to catch up

I read a wide variety of blogs. While I've been largely ignoring my own blog, I have been visiting others and thought that I'd give you an overview of how I spend my time on the Internet. While I visit more blogs than this, it's the best I can do with rambunctious kids in the background.

Mad Mad got off her death bed to let us know about the importance of a Tuna sandwich. She also discovered the whereabouts of the kid we all used to blame stuff on, when we were young. This kid didn't live at our house but always seem to be capable of household destruction. (or at least that's who we blamed) This kid is now all grown up and cleaning Mad Mad's house.

One of Mad's readers had a wardrobe malfunction at the police station. She was trying to get some information for a story.
In a deep husky voice "So Officer, how was your day?"

Georgie was hit but a truck, but fortunately is recovering with the aid of some gorgeous fibre. Tinkingbell gave away Australia. I was hoping to win, but it's probably best that she gave it to someone local. I learnt that Cathy has pain issues. Either that or she is willing to endure anything for the sake of knitting.

Jejune is in the middle of a move, having babies with attitude and is about to become famous. Stay tuned people. As well as Georgie, Kristen and Nancy have been posting some AB FAB recipes. Nancy's house has also been taken over by short winter type people. Mandie has recently been converted to blogism so we'll have to see what happens.

Poor Taph! I fear that she'll never get to wear hand knit socks ever again. I believe it's a family conspiracy and they are plotting against her. This lady also pumps out hats faster than you can say "Store wide sale, all regular priced yarn is 20% off" I am in awe of this woman.

Franklin recently posted a request for a Dolores body double. The poor gal needed a respite from her notoriety by creating a cunning ruse. I entered Isolde as a possible candidate in this contest. I'll let you know if she wins.

Here is how things are going with the commissions. The first is getting near the end. The sleeves are done and both the front an the back are knit up to the armholes. The tank top yarn has been swatched. The last is a Jo Sharp design that a client wants me to finish. She knit up to the armpits and is worried about messing up the top portion.



Lastly, someone recently found my blog by googling "Turkey sex scarf hidden video" Hmmm not sure how I feel about that.

Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic