The Scenes from Biking

I’ve had these pictures (and more) on my camera for months wanting to put them up.  They’re ofmy bike and one of the spots on my ride to and from school.

With the nice weather,  biked to knit knite last time. D thought it was worth a picture when I got home.

Dress, lock, helmet, bike shoes, bag with knitting.  I’ve got it all!

Lots more to talk about,but not much time. More sometime sooner than 6 weeks from now!

Scenes from Biking

I bike. I try to bike a lot. I’m at over 600 kms for this year. I had hoped to be further along than that, but it’s a good number.

Doing 600 kms means I’ve spent a lot of time on my bike as well. Almost every ride has something to remember.  Last night it was a city bus running a red light. It had waited a long time, but it just pulled forward and turned left on a red. Everyone around was really shocked.

Last week I had my closest call yet with a vehicle.  I was in the left hand turn lane and a truck decided to pass me on the right and then pull into the lane before fully passing me.  I was going fast (~30 km/h) and I don’t think the trucker expected me to be going that fast.  I had to pull right over to the curb and jam on the brakes to avoid being hit.

I managed to remember the truck number, then I caught up to the truck at the next intersection and remembered the company name and street. A little googling led me to an e-mail address so I sent an e-mail. I didn’t want to get the driver fired, I wanted him to be warned that he had nearly hit me.

I am very impressed by the response of the company. I’ve have contact from two people including the driver supervisor wanting more information.  They both expressed that the company wants to make sure theirs drivers drive safely and that they will be educating all the drivers better.

I think I did my little bit with that one.

cottaging 2009

Cottaging 2009 got off to a great start this weekend.  Victoria Day in Canada.  The official start to good food and friends with beer.

We were up at an aunt’s cottage with cousins, friends and babies. So many pictures, I’ll put up a gallery. Never done this before, but I’ll let you tell me what you think.

No pictures

I can’t get up. Fred (the cat) is asleep next to me and he’s snoring and twitching. I don’t want to wake him as it’s really funny. I can’t laugh either, for fear of waking him and getting that “but I was having a good dream” glare.

I have a picture to show of my sister at mile 19 of the Boston Marathon. We went to cheer. We totally forgot to get pictures of the cheering squad. M asked us to have  stash of orange gatorade and shortbread cokies with us so she could have one if needed. The grocery store we found had a 5 pack of 11×17″ very bright poster boards so we also bought a really wide sharpie and wrote all sorts of messages. A few others with her first name were happy to see someone cheering (her name isn’t that common).

If you ever get the chance to attend the Boston Marathon DO IT! Wow. The people. The sheer number of ways that people run. Some people are leaning forwards, others back, some bounce up and down, others float.

A fw other members of my family (*cough* D and Dad *cough*) were very dismissive of my cheering and cowbelling. We were about 100m from the top of the hill before Heartbreak Hill. I was cheering “You’re nearly up this one, you can do it” and “Way to go Patty” or whatever name was on someone’s shirt. I figured if they went to the trouble of writing their name on their shirt, they wanted people to cheer. Many people smiled when I yelled their name or gave me the thumbs up.

The cowbell was also great. Free from a bike race many years ago, I dug it out in the last few minutes of packing. It’s gone into hibernation, but I will pull it out the next time it’s needed.

I’m knitting a blanket for a friend’s baby and yet another pair of socks for D. How’s that for a segue? I’ve got laundry going but the drier is taking forever, hence why I’m still up at midnight on a Thursday. I think school is off for tomorrow.  D’s out partying with my cousins because one is getting married on Saturday.  He’s booked off work, I’ve got nothing to do and the stupid drier is taking forever. Perhaps the sensor is messed up. We’ve had good luck fixing the appliances around here.

Fred just rolled over on his back and is now sleeping like a dog. I think I nearly have him fully converted to dogness.

The second purse

I had big plans for my 100th post. That’s why it was taing so long. Big plans to do SOMETHING, but I couldn’t decide what that would be. I was waiting for inspiration to hit. It hasn’t and I’ve had a request for pictures of my lastest FO.

I do hve a pair of socks fnished and the knitting of the woven bands pullover as well, but this is a sewing FO. It finished off my sewing machine too. I need to take it in for repairs.

Here it is Wendi – Purse #2. you can see it in person at knit knite.

It hold knitting and daytime and other purse detritus. I even put in a cell phone pocket and a zippered wallet pocket.

Totally dreamed up by me and fabricated by me. D helped with strip design. We’s a good team.

The Woven Bands Pullover is in the penalty box. It’s way too big. Fast knit, but not decent for the build of my husband.  Gotta figure out what to do.  Selective felting? It’s really jsut the arms. To redo the arms I have to rip it all out.

So torn.

Back to knitting a baby blanket!

Another BSJ Done and a New Project Started

I have to post again. I’ve gotten out of the habit.

I finished a BSJ this weekend for D’s coworker’s baby. I used Cascade 220 superwash paints. It’s pretty. I needed 1.7 balls (by mass!) that’s about 375 yards of worsted or aran weight yarn.

I only made 3 buttonholes because I don’t like a lot of buttons on my clothes. I hope the babys belly doesn’t get cold! The chest circumference is 19″ so is won’t fit the baby for a while, but hopefully it will be next fall/winter so it gets worn.

I started the woven bands pullover for D from interweave knits.  He bought the subscription so he should get a sweater!  I will say I’m using the pattern as a “suggestion” as the smallest size is smaller than D, I can’t get the row gauge right in a fabric we like (the sweater is knit side to side so row gauge is very important), it’s got 3/4 length sleeves and a boat neck.

I’m about 8″ up the right sleeve now. At this rate it might be done while it’s still cool enough to wear sweaters to work (or he’ll broil one day to wear it because it’s done).

I’m using the suggested Cascade Ecological Wool and it smells a bit farmy when wet. Fred can smell it when it’s dry. He took off with one of the skeins when it arrived here and has adopted the swatches as his own. He’s a very picky cat – only alpaca and ecological wool. Maybe something about south american yarn? He really did like the stuff my mom brought me back from Peru as well.

Anyways, pictures of the swatch in action

Maybe I’ll have a pair of socks done next?

It’s getting nice here so we got our second bike ride of the year in today. The BBQ also came out.  Finally the sun has some heat to it!

Sewing!!

I haven’t sewn in years. I had to dust off the machine after seeing this pattern. I stayed up too late last night and converted this:

into this:

I did use the pattern, but I did modify it significantly.

I widened the strap to 1.5″, so the strip was 3.5″.  I then also cut a strip2″ wide and 23″ long from both the black and the lining to add a gusset.  I sewed the gusset in at the appropriate time and topstitched it on the outside after assembling the outer shell.

I also put the strap in while sewing the top and bottom together by putting it between the right sides of the lining and the outer shell.  I then stiched a box and an x at the end of each strap for strength.

The material is cotton twill. When I make another one, I will use something with a little more body for the outer shell. This buckles a bit much.

If there’s something that’s not clear about what I changed, let me know!

torn

Ever had something that you are really not sure whether you feel good or bad about?

I’m in that spot right now.

D and I are on vacation. We’re snowboarding in a far away place.

The snowboarding is great. The rest is not.

We’re kinda with a group here. We get discounted lift tickets and there are a few on and off mountain events.  Otherwise, we’re on our own (hotel, meals etc.).

The riding has been great, but the interactions with some of the group have left me feeling horrible.

Since most of you are knitters, let’s put this in knitting terms.

Let’s say D and I have gone to MDSW. We’re knitting with the equivalent of Aero straights, everyone else is on Addi Turbos or Harmony interchangables. We’re being told “those Aeros are unsafe” and “why don’t you go out and buy a complete set of Turbos, you’ll knit much faster with them.”  People stopped talking to us when they found out we’re still using straights.Then, even worse, someone assumed that D is a beginner knitter because he’s a boy (OK, D isn’t really a knitter, but it was someone that made a big assumption about me because I am a girl).  There are also free needle trials at this fictional MDSW and I was standing around wiaitng for them, only to be told that the trials were nearly over even though I’d been there waiting to try one specific pair that was not returned on time.

D says I should point out that I’m a better “knitter” than most of the people judging me.

It’s really putting a bad vibe on this vacation. I’m not seeing the best side of humanity.  Being constantly put down, one little comment at a time, by a large group is really demoralizing.  This is a niche sport, we should be inclusive, instead I’m feeling left out for not having Addis.  It’s not that I am not interested in Addis, I just know they cost a lot and I’d like to understand what Addis offer that my old Aeros don’t.  I can’t get straight information, I just get assumptions, biased views and sloughed off comments.I tried to demo the Addis, but there were none in stock for someone who knits light weight like me.

I’m really debating about writing a letter to the people running the event, but it’s hard to put it into words that don’t sound like a whiney child.  They make a living off people buying Addis so why would they care about someone who still uses Aeros?

but I have a blog, so I’ll blog instead.

Socks to be you!

D here! I’m hijacking B’s blog again! What’s the occasion you may ask?

I got a new pair of socks!!!!

Oh, and she also left me alone with the ‘pooter for a few minutes. She’s out with her knitting pals.

So, back to the socks! They are verrry nice! B made up the pattern as she went so they are truly custom made for me. She had me try them on several times during throughout the fabrication process to ensure a perfect fit. Many fancy, high tech features have been incorporated into their design:

• Simultaneous knittage to eliminate “second-sock-angst” and to ensure uniform leg ascention
• Stylish full length power ribbing along the top of the foot. Nothing plain about these bad-boys!
• Super support arch ribbing to prevent unsightly sagging arches
• Ultra smooth texture under heel and ball of foot to virtually eliminate unsightly grooves on sensitive pressure points
• Extreme blue colour scheme – blue is good. I like blue.
• Asymmetrical stitch count (apparently one sock has several more stitches around – but I can’t tell so I think they were supposed to be that way). My ankles must be different circumferences.

These socks rule. B is awesome for making them for me.

That is all. Now back to your regularly scheduled blogger.

d.

It’s not February…

but I have the sweater for it.

I jumped on the bandwagon and knit the February Lady Sweater.  It has 3730 projects on Ravelry.

I used Cascade 220 handpaints in colourway 9930. It used 4 skeins. Every last little bit of 4 skeins.

If I did it again, I would do a few more rows before starting the lace pattern. I think the bunching under the arms is caused by not having enough length there.

Enough writing. You want pictures.

I had to crop my head out. I had horrible expressions as it was about -15C while we were taking pictures.