Just under the wire

Done, done , done and just in the nick of time . It seems that knitting a shawl and watching the Olympics leads to a lot of unknitting in my case . It really should have been finished sooner except for the fact that one row of the spider lace pattern gave me no end of problems . I kept repeating the same mistake over and over again . Anyway it's done , but still needs to be blocked . I ended up doing only 10 repeats of the main pattern . The finished size looks to be just what I'd hoped for .

I'm sorry that the Olympics are over . There were so many memorable moments from Alex Bilodeau starting Canada's run for gold to Joannie Rochette's performance through personal tragedy right through to the last event , the Canada versus USA hockey game . What a nail biter that was ! Not to mention all the athletes from the world over who gave us their best performances and were a thrill to watch .

I'll be away from the computer for a few days . I'll be replacing my former boss who's taking a week off for March break . It's a family run retail business and none of regular employees are available early in the week . I'm a little nervous , having the responsibility of keeping things running even if it's just for a week . Wish me luck !

Knitting Olympics update

Coming to you from the Short Track Shawl event . No medal in sight yet , but ever hopeful . The shawl looks pretty much the same as this photo , only larger . I've completed 7 repeats of the main spider lace pattern . After tinking back several times I've finally got the pattern in my head . I'm looking at the size so far and I'm guesstimating that I'll have to do at least 12 repeats to get the shawl size I'd like . With just over a week left in the competition things are looking good for completion before the closing ceremonies , barring any unexpected setbacks .



We woke up to a few centimetres of snow this morning . Just when I thought that possiby spring was not too far away . I actually wore shoes this week instead of boots when I went out . So much for that .






With the spring fever came an urge to cast on something green . Here's the next pair of socks on the needles . These are the Summer Lovin Socks . You surely didn't think I could be faithful to only one project did you ? I baby sit Jessey on Wednesdays and wanted a small portable project and these socks fit the bill . Not that I get a chance to sit and knit when he's around , but he does nap for a bit in the afternoon . I love my Wednesdays with Jessey , it's just the two of us , special one on one time . The day just flies by .




Have a good weekend with lots of time to do whatever your heart desires ...

Oh Canada !

What a weekend ! I've never watched so much TV . We were glued to all the Olympic coverage , starting with the starting with the unbelievably beautiful opening ceremonies to Alex Bilodeau 's terrific run for the gold medal . The opening brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion . Vancouver did us all proud ! We're 3 hours behind Vancouver time so I'm feeling the effects of a weekend of late nights , but it is so worth it .



Knitting updates : The Wakefield socks were done on Friday evening just before Olympic coverage started . Talk about cutting it close !
This was a super pattern and I'm really happy with the finished socks .The Tanis Fiber Arts is absolutely wonderful to work with. I won't wait so long to use up the other skeins in the stash .






I had my Ravelympics project chosen and the yarn at the ready but I didn't cast on till Saturday . Lace knitting and charts mixed with TV are a recipe for disaster for me . Plus we had friends over and there was food and drink involved . As it was I ended up tinking back a few times . Things are going more smoothly now that I've worked a few repeats of the spider lace pattern . I didn't want an overly large shawl , but using lace weight yarn instead of the recommended sport weight is making it considerably smaller than I'd hoped . That means more repeats before starting the edging . I'm an awful judge of how much yarn is needed when attempting a shawl . I'm playing it safe with this yarn ,1260 yds should be more than enough to give me a decent sized shawl . I'm patting myself on the back for continuing to use what I have on hand . February 15th and so far so good vis a vis the yarn diet . Wish my diet to lose weight , was going as well . Oh well , one day at a time ...

Baby cuteness

You might remember the baby sweater knitting binge I had going on last fall . Earlier this week I received an email with this photo attached . How cute are these two strapping little guys ! Can you believe that they weighed little more than 3 pounds each at birth . I just can't get over how much they've changed since I saw them last . This photo made my day !

I'm still working on my Wakefield socks . I've got one done and am at the heel on the second one . They'd be done if I wasn't constantly stopping to pet the loveliness that is the Tanis yarn . These socks were supposed to go in the gift box , but they might just end up with yours truly . The set deadline to have them done is tomorrow in time for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics . It should be no problem especially with the season opener of Survivor on tonight . I'm still a fan even after all these years .

The week that was

Gosh almighty , but time flies ! I didn't see much of this week , there was so much going on . DH Mike celebrated his 60th birthday on Monday . We had a special birthday dinner with the family on the weekend , this weekend we're supposed to have a get together with friends . I say supposed to because the birthday boy has succumbed to a yucky stomach bug and is decidedly not in any shape to party. So we've postponed that . I have to laugh because Mike was definitely having trouble accepting this birthday . He's never complained or moaned about his age , but for some reason this birthday has got him cranky . He didn't want any fuss or bother , no party , no gifts , just get it over and we'll move on . I'm thinking he's really gone to extreme lengths to avoid a celebration . We'll get him yet ...

This bug has gone through the family both literally and figuratively . I baby sat Jessey because , guess what , he was sick again . Yep same bug. Dad Casey was next on the hit list and then yours truly , Omi . This gastro thing is a rare experience for me and not one I want to repeat any time soon .

Anyway on the good side I started another pair of socks . I have a few "special " yarns in the stash , one of them being a really pretty hand dyed deep pink one called Royal Flush by Tanis Fiber Arts . On Tuesday evening when I was still feeling relatively okay I started this pattern . Lovely pattern , beautiful yarn , just not a good match . The socks were not going to fit even though I was using 2,00 mm dpns . I'd knit all the way to the heel and despite my optimism , finally faced the fact that they WERE not going to fit . Yesterday afternoon I ripped and found another pattern (Wakefield Socks ) . This one is perfect , not too big , not too small , or as Goldilocks would say "just right " ....

Who turned off the heat ?

After saying what warm rainy weather we've been having someone came along and turned off the heat . It was sooooo bitterly cold this past weekend . Not great to spend time outdoors but wonderful weather to stay home and knit .


Delphine's little sweater is done . Not much knitting was accomplished on my so called "benylin day " . You know what the say about the best laid plans not always working out . Anyway it did get done and though I still have some issues with the sleeves , I'm pretty happy with this little sweater . You can find the details here on my Ravelry page . This time I made some notes to help with the sleeves should I ever knit it again . Depends on whether or not some one ever gives me a little granddaughter :-))