Rainy Day Vest

Fitted, simple, and just a wee bit artsy/funky - perfect for dodging bears en route to the school bus.



Close-up:



Pattern: Original (so to speak - it's a pretty basic V-necked vest)
Yarn: recycled sari silk, wool (Briggs and Little Regal) - one strand of each knitted together for the body, borders knitted of 2 strands of wool alone. The sari silk is handspun from weaving mill remnants, and is generated by a series of women's cooperatives and cottage industries, primarily (I believe) in Nepal. I bought mine a couple years ago on Ebay - it is seriously overspun, dramatically varies in thickness, and there are some twiggy bits to pick out - nevertheless, it behaves remarkably well when knitted together with wool. I believe substantially more refined versions are now available.
Comments: I'm very pleased with the fit and the look - it turned out exactly as envisioned (which was by no means a certainty with such an oddball yarn.) I still have a fair bit of the sari silk left - perhaps I'll make a little jacket for DD, or else a set of funky ski hats for the family. Later.

BTW, the pendant in the photo is my own - part of the botanical collection I'm working on presently - more on that Monday.

Round the Cape of Equanimity: part 1

Sorry for the double publishing - couldn't resist adding a few pics, now that we're home from the photo shop.

One of my very favorite things to do as a knitter is to sit down with a whack of yarn and a great big stitch dictionary and Make Something, changing patterns as the mood strikes me. I hate swatching, (although I have - at last - reached the level of self-discipline wherein I do it for the sake of properly fitted results) so I much prefer to have a wearable (or at least functional) object at the end of all this impulsiveness, as opposed to a bunch of little squares. (I know, I could make a blanket, but I hate seaming even more than I hate swatching.) Sometimes it becomes what I had in mind, and sometimes it goes for a little ride in the washing machine. Virtually anything (wool things, anyway) can become a nifty felted bag.

This time it's an Aran cape, with Barbara Walker's first and second Treasuries to pick from as the mood strikes. The wool is Briggs and Little Regal in Horizon Blue

2700 yards (it was a really good sale) of worsted weight ought to at least get down to my waist, I think.

1) I decided (by draping the tape measure around my shoulders until it looked about right) that the starting neck measurement should be 30 inches around. I want to leave plenty of room to make up my mind about the actual neckline design later.

2) I chose Triple-Braided Diamonds

as the starting spokes of the wheel - a small swatch

tells me that the panel works up nice and crisply at 4.5 inches wide on 4 mm needles.

3) A little math:
30/4.5 = 6.66
Six panels would be nicely symmetrical - two in front, two in back, one down each arm. The remaining .66 of a panel amounts to about 3 inches (actually a little less by the time I add in a single line of stockinette between the panels) - a quick trip back to the mirror with the tape measure reveals that 27 inches will still work, especially if I were to add a nice wide button band after the fact. (Michael Kors has a capelet with a delicious double breasted look.)

4)Six panels it is, then: 30 stitches each, plus 7 lines of stockinette to divide and border them: 30 x 6 + 7 = 187 stitches to cast on.

5)The increasing can't be left to chance, so a little more math:
I'm going to make a 3/4 circle, so as not to be swimming in fabric. Based on the principle that the circumference of a circle grows in direct proportion to the radius, I calculate that the number of stitches must increase by a factor of 1.5 every time the radius doubles. (I have chosen to ignore the difference between row and stitch gauge, as well as the pulling-in effect of the cables. This is, after all, supposed to be fun and spontaneous.) I want to work my increases in the columns of stockinette between the six panels: 5 points at which to increase. (187/.75)/(2x3.14)= 40 mythical rows in the starting radius of the circle. That means that by my actual row 40 I need to have 187 x 1.5 = 281 stitches. 281-187 = 94 stitches/40 = 2.35 stitches increased per row, or (how fortuitous!)approximately 5 stitches every other row. So: I will increase one stitch in each of the 5 dividing columns on every right side row. Which is what intuitively seemed about right (based mostly on the fact that it is tidy and convenient) - but it's always nice to know the numbers add up.

That'll keep me going until the columns get wide enough to insert another motif - stay tuned. (BTW, any mathematical folks out there who detect a gaping hole in my logic - feel free to comment sooner rather than later. Please.....)

Harmony

My poor sniffly DD stayed home yesterday to bask in TLC and far too much television (although my militant position on the evils of TV has been softened somewhat by the Magic School Bus). Roundabout lunchtime she announced that her continued existence might well be futile if I did not sew exact replicas of Spiderman's costume for her and her brother this year. Hedging with the standard mom line "we'll see", I pointed out that it was a pretty tough proposition. "Mom," she said, patting my shoulder kindly, "it's your job to do tough things. You know how to knit, and that's a tough thing, so I'm sure you can do this if you try." My initial reaction was, "Isn't that sweet, she's still young enough to have absolute faith in my abilities." But I got to thinking.... Knitting! One knits balaclavas for practical purposes, so it might be possible. Seems like something more up Lee Ann's alley, but I'll have to give it some thought.

Moving on, here's this week's colour project:

Upper Harmony Lake, at the top of Whistler mountain:


Pixellated to tease out the colours:


The chosen palette:


The pattern:

Wasted

I had one of those "can't believe I didn't think of that before" brainwaves yesterday, and after a brief search, found and downloaded my camera driver off the Web. Brilliant, no? Especially since my DD is home sick for the second day in a row and I couldn't get to the post office even if the package were there. I then proceeded to spend the entire morning trying in vain to get it to connect with the camera. All indications are that the software is loaded correctly, it just won't procure the photos from the camera, and I vaguely recall back when we first purchased the camera that there was some business about Windows 98 not working well with digitals and really what did I expect from a $300 used laptop?

Still, there's nothing quite like the sickening feeling of waste that computers generate - the way they suck up hours and hours of precious time that was needed for so many other things, the tantalizing promise that if I only try one more thing, the software will work and I will be able to do this terribly important task efficiently forevermore. And when all avenues are exhausted and it still doesn't work, it feels a bit like losing a wallet full of cash, or discovering that the entire flat of organic peaches you were going to can today went moldy all at once last night.

So, that's all to say that until October, I'm back to square one, paying the camera shop to download the card to CD, and I have resolved NOT to fret, because goodness knows I need every scrap of fret energy for parenting right now.

To end on a happy note, here's a bit of eye candy from the mountain, all of which will eventually become design inspiration of some sort:

Oh..... why not?

The Rainy Day vest finished up on the weekend, and I'm very pleased with the final result. Photos to be downloaded later this week, subject to expedient behaviour on the part of Canada Post (insert hysterical laughter).

Meantime, here is a bit of eye candy from our trip up Whistler mountain at the end of August:

I have always loved the saturated colours of high alpine lakes. This one yielded a lovely palette, and I've got a design in the works for later this week.

I have until now resisted the whole poncho/cape/gargantuan-blanket-around-the-shoulders Thing. Not entirely because I didn't like the look, but because it seemed like a heck of a lot of knitting for something that was bound to become glaringly unfashionable the moment it came off the needles.

But I have Aran on the brain of late, and the fall runways were overflowing with spectacular cabled capes and capelets. I have a load of steely blue worsted weight Briggs and Little in the stash from an irresistable ebay sale last year - it's not soft enough for anything next to the skin, but it does make marvelously crisp cables. I need a "wing it" project to balance the meticulous planning required by the other designs currently in the works, and I'm thinking of casting on a neckline's worth of stitches and having a go at a split circle, adding new cabled "spokes" whenever the space between the existing spokes gets big enough. Not unlike the spontaneous doodling of Mandalas (though I didn't know that's what they were) I used to do as a child. Like all impulsively started projects, it has greater than average potential for disappointment - but what's life without a little risk? Perhaps I'll achieve equanimity in the process.

Wish List

A healthy helping of the following: equanimity (one of my very favorite words), aplomb, assurance, calm, calmness, composure, confidence, cool, coolness, detachment, equability, imperturbability, patience, peace, placidity, poise, sangfroid, self-possession, serenity, steadiness, tranquility.

Also, hats off to everyone out there single parenting for the long-term. Talk about digging deep for hidden strengths....

Saturday Morning

With any luck, next week I'll be able to post a proper Saturday sky photo. Until then, check out this Whistler webcam for live footage of my sky!

Roll Call

This seems to be the present trend in blogland, and I couldn't resist, in spite of the fact that doing it without pictures is ever so slightly lame. Disturbingly, I can only access a stripped down version of Blogger at present - none of the icons for preview, photo loading, links, etc. Always something........ and only 20 more days until the desktop arrives.

So, enough whining, and on to The List:

1) On the needles, and almost finished (after only 2 days!): a funky recycled sari silk vest. This was an "it's getting chilly sooner than I thought and most of my clothes are still in Saskatchewan" sort of project. I bought the silk a couple of years ago on ebay because I loved the colours (blues and greens - what else?) and the concept. Never mind that it is horrifically overspun and takes the "thick and thin" thing to a whole new level - I HAD to use it, and it HAD to become a garment. I paired it with a no nonsense Briggs and Little worsted weight wool and knitted it in plain stockinette on big needles. There was a small crisis of confidence halfway through, but having just knitted the shoulder seams together, it does not look like fun fur after all, and I think it is going to be perfect. The last step now is to add ribbing at the borders in doubled wool alone on slightly smaller needles, to keep everything tidy.

2) Taking a little break while waiting for #1: The navy and white striped cotton sweater (which deserves a much better name). Will also come in very handy for the aforementioned chilly weather.

3) Swatching: An ornate, bright white, heavy Aran pullover, slated to be chic outerwear for fall. I bought the wool for this two years ago, and now that I am finally getting around to it, I see that bright white designer Arans are everywhere this fall. So much for being ahead of the curve. Presently I am lying awake nights fitfully rearranging cables and knotwork, waiting for the perfect original central design to gel. (Because if I'm going to reaggravate my carpal tunnel syndrome by endlessly cabling heavy wool, it had better be in the service of something truly show-stopping.)

4) Swatched, designed, not yet begun: the Stormy Sky scarf - a FI design in handpainted laceweight silk and Jaegerspun Zephyr at 11 stitches to the inch on size 0 needles. Yes, it is quite possible that I am stark raving mad, or will be in short order.

5) Reposing in a giant black garbage bag in a corner of the bedroom: eleventeen hundred balls of Lopi for Guinevere's Aran doggy sweater.

6) In the stash, not begun: sweaters for DS and DD, knitted dolls (for Christmas), a knitted Gromit, many many socks, a Shetland Tea Shawl from A Gathering of Lace, and...... other stuff, much of it for Christmas.

And last, but not least, now that I have at least a rudimentary studio set up , I'm back to pushing the limits of silver. I have a botanical collection in the works with lifelike crocheted flowers and knitted leaves that I'm very excited about. Hopefully the gallery in town will be equally enthusiastic.

Yippee, yahoo, and um.... Hallelujah! (The Cable Guy Came)

At LAST! Turns out they had misfiled the application. Now all I need is for Canada Post to deliver the box containing my camera software, and I shall have near-normalcy. (Aside from being apart from my beloved DH for the next three weeks, still doing without most of our belongings, etc.)

It has been cool and cloudy over the last few days - fall damp is in the air, and the leaves are turning with startling rapidity. Cloudy here is nothing like the dreary overcast one gets in flatter locales. The clouds play with the mountains, pooling thick and fluffy in the valleys while the peaks bask in the sun, then swirling up the slopes to turn peach and crimson themselves. Gentle drizzle casts a mystical soft focus over the forest, and the ravens and crows make black mischief across the treetops. Yesterday we had a prolonged thunderstorm and heavy rain, and woke this morning to snow 3/4 of the way down the mountain. On the prairies, early snow would just be depressing, but up here it highlights the ski runs in tantalizing fashion.

The bears are in the valley, filling up on the last juicy berries. This morning, as Liam and I walked back from the bus stop, an enormous black bear lumbered onto the path just behind us, looking supremely unconcerned with our existence, and ambled off in the opposite direction. Despite knowing that the Whistler bears follow a "mind your own business and I'll mind mine" pattern of behaviour, it still takes a little getting used to, especially with kids in tow.

It has felt odd and uncomfortable to do so little blog reading lately - I have tried to skim through my list to make sure not to miss any momentous events, but between the cost and the three year old on my lap.... Blogging already borders on the egocentric (then again, doesn't any form of published writing?), but talking without listening seems to cross that line. Things should get back to normal now, and I am immensely grateful to the kind folks who have continued to read and comment despite the lack of reciprocity.

There has been knitting: I am 3/4 of the way up one of the rather snug stripy sweater sleeves. This has been (exactly as I intended it to be) a very instructive design. It is fascinating to me how complex the issue of measurements and fit can be. It sounds so simple - grab a tape measure and decide how big around you are. It would be just that easy if we were made of wood, but we have squishy bits, bits that flex, relax, expand and contract, not to mention the whole business of body image and wishful thinking.

For this sweater I took several gauge measurements off the swatch, something I have yet to read about anywhere (though it is entirely possible I've missed it). I was looking to get a handle on the issues of ease and sagging, since knitwear does not remain in its perfectly blocked configuration once worn. I was also experimenting with the notion that negative ease could overcome the saggy tendencies of cotton. I tried out various degrees of stretch - maximal (for bending and bloating) and the "sweet spot" in between where the fabric would lie snugly against the body without distorting the pattern.

The body, as I mentioned earlier, turned out exactly as intended, but I am not entirely sure about the sleeves. In static form, they have the same degree of snugness as the body, but a couple of factors could make them overly snug. Firstly, arms move more than the torso, and with that movement, they expand (particularly since, despite the moving-induced layoff, I appear to have retained a decent set of biceps and deltoids). Secondly, X% of ease translates to several inches around the hips, but very little around an arm. So.... we'll see. It certainly wouldn't be the end of the world to reknit a sleeve.

Rob is mailing the camera software from Moose Jaw today, so hopefully I will soon return to real-time photo posting.

STILL no cable

Because apparently, this is the busy season, what with all the winter staff moving in to town. So this will be Hi and Bye today, because apparently the internet cafe does not have the hardware to download the floppy on which I saved a lovely and thoughtful post this morning at my (not yet online) laptop. Perhaps I have to bring the plug-in floppy drive along. Always something to learn.

In any case, since I have a very ancy 3 year old on my lap, I was lucky to get this much written.

Wonder if I can bribe the cable guy...............

Back to School

School is in full swing, and thus far my DD has gotten on the bus each morning with a smile and a wave, sailed off it in the afternoon like she owned the world, and skipped home with me proclaiming that she "loves school." (If this sounds uneventful, well - it's hard to explain without giving you her life story what an enormous deal this is and what an immense burden of stress and anxiety it lifts from my shoulders. ) She's still herself ("we went to the gym today and the other kids played games, but I just did my own thing") and I am waiting with interest to see what the teachers make of her, and how long before I get a call to discuss her behaviour. I am never sure how soon to initiate The Discussion - partly because I want her to have the opportunity to be seen with fresh eyes, and partly because when I have been proactive early on, I have invariably been condescended to as an over-involved mother who thinks her child is different. Then they meet her and it rapidly becomes apparent just how far off the standard Bell curve she really is, but I always wonder if things would go more smoothly if only they had fair warning.

She is, in a word, More. In good ways - precocious, articulate, frightningly bright - and also in ways that are not necessarily bad, but do generate conflict - stubborn, independent, sensitive, impulsive, and fiercely non-conformist. It is particularly the latter that creates friction in a school environment, and more worryingly (to my mind) tends to obscure her intelligence, because despite endless discussion, she just does not comprehend why she must perform menial and repetitive tasks - like colouring Barney inside the lines or copying endless lines of letters - on command, and at the same time as everyone else. So she often refuses, which is perceived as meaning that she can't. I know doing unpleasant tasks on cue and in deference to authority are valid life skills - but in the past it seems to have been the overiding focus of her school experience, and I can't believe it is the only thing she needs to learn. At the same time, the whole "gifted" business has become such an abused and overused notion, that I am reluctant to approach it even tangentially. I want her to become a responsible citizen, and make the most of her innate abilities - I'm just not sure how to get that out of the school system.

--------------------------

There has been knitting:

Actually, the body is now finished, and fits like a very curvy glove (to my immense satisfaction and relief), but since I was not farsighted enough to bring along the software for my camera, I have to wait until the card is full and pay $11 to have it downloaded to CD, so most of my photos are several days out of date by the time I post them. Yet another scenario that will hopefully be remedied in the near future.

Also more silver crochet:

My BIL the carpenter will help me get my bench installed and functional this weekend, and then I can resume work at the jewellery which will, with any luck, become my primary contribution to the family income. A scary and immensely exciting prospect.

Nearly Normal

We're getting there. I was trying (until that little outburst on Saturday) to blog only about the (many) happy bits of arriving here in Whistler, because who wants to hear about maternal anxiety and bureaucratic insanity and all the basic stress and uncertainty that a huge life change (even a very positive one) brings? Then a friend sent a snippy email demanding to know why I hadn't personally advised her of the details of our lives or gotten on with a particular business project when I was, according to my blog, possessed of endless leisure time with which to knit and sip Guinness, and my biggest worry in life was the whereabouts of the cat. It occured to me that perhaps I had edited out a little too much authenticity.

I find blogging a very interesting form of journalling. Despite numerous attempts, I have never regularly kept a private journal on paper, primarily because I tend only to write in it when I am tremendously unhappy about something I can't verbalize - consequently, it is heavily weighted towards the morose and maudlin and not exactly an inspiring (or accurate) record of my existence. Writing with the (even slim) possibility that it will be read calls into play my achiever's drive to write well, and forces me to critically review where I am choosing to expend my thought and energy. I do have an unfortunate tendency to pessimism, and choosing to narrate the positive aspects of daily life is an excellent antidote.

So, speaking of positive, last week we took the gondola up Whistler mountain for a bit of alpine hiking and the annual family photo.

We live in a condo about halfway down the photo on the far right.

Looking towards some of the ski runs on Blackcomb mountain:

Us:

Gratuitous scenery:

Of course I brought my knitting!:

Alpine flower season is almost over, but I still found and photographed loads of inspiration for future explorations into colour and texture.

And, more good news - we should have cable internet hooked up by the end of the week or beginning of next, which will mean the end of 12 cents a minute blogging AND a return to daily blog reading! I feel like I'm missing so much, but I can only afford so much time online at the moment.

Back to School Rush

I haven't disappeared - just doing more settling in chores than knitting at the moment. School starts Tuesday, and my 6 yo. (highly distractable and impulsive) DD will be riding the bus for the first time ever. Registration (mostly) complete, school supplies bought, still not sure exactly which of the multitudinous bus stops in this town is hers, laying awake nights envisioning worst case scenarios....

Also, I am thoroughly sick of moving from province to province - I think BC is the worst one EVER. I can't get a driver's licence until I come up with photo ID proving my citizenship - never mind that I've been Canadian all my life - the passport isn't good enough, the valid Saskatchewan licence isn't good enough, the record of my valid BC licence from 93-2000 isn't good enough. More paper, more money, more forms, more delays. (And don't even get me started on the rest of the basic paperwork for the necessities of life.) I suppose this is a province with an illegal immigration problem, because I've certainly never been treated like a presumptive criminal moving to any other part of Canada, and even when I moved to BC in 1993, it wasn't nearly such a hassle.

Two and a half minutes left on the card - it's like one of those bad movies where the guy runs out of quarters for the phone just before the girl tells him that critical thing. We have a used laptop now, so with any luck we will conquer the paperwork to get internet set up at home in the near future and things will be back to normal.

Reprieve / String Bag Number Two

Basil came back after three days - muddy, hungry, but otherwise none the worse for wear. I can only presume something spooked him and he got a bit lost. He has a congenital eye / depth perception problem that makes him a comically inept hunter, consequently he is normally very careful to be present and vocal at supper time. It will be reasonably easy to keep him indoors in the winter, however in hot weather in a tiny (unairconditioned) apartment with windows open and the patio door constantly opening and closing, it's not likely he's never going to escape. I know there are many vociferous opponents of allowing cats outdoors - like Lee Ann's husband, mine was heavily in favor of freedom, and I wanted the safety-at-all-costs option - however, once they are accustomed to freedom, the point is somewhat moot, as it's hard to break them of the habit. In any case, mourning has now been suspended in favor of routine baseline worry.

String bag number 2 (apologies for the lower quality photos - October can't come fast enough):

It is a firmer fabric than bag number one, suitable for long, heavy objects such as a lovely bottle of fine French red. The bottom is an eight spoked spiral, flowering smoothly into a simple but exquisite vine lace.

Here's the pattern (as with number one, I will eventually - ie October - have this all prettied up and properly published as a downloadable PDF). I would love to hear feedback, good or bad, from anyone who might knit this - I can be reached at: robruth dot cox at gmail dot com.

Materials: This bag takes around 150 yds of DK to light worsted weight cotton or cotton blend twine / string. (I used Aunt Lydia's Denim Quick-Crochet, which I found at Walmart for around $7 for 400 yds - it is 75% cotton, 25% acrylic, looked and felt just like the cotton blend twine at the hardware store, but a bit cheaper).

Needles: I used 3.5 mm (US 4) dpns for the base, with a gauge of 4.5 stitches and 7 rows to the inch in stockinette. I switched to a 4 mm (US 6), 16 inch circular for the sides. I wouldn't worry overly about gauge, as long as you're close.

Pattern:

Base: Using the half-hitch technique (no slip knots), cast on 8 stitches and divide between 3 dpn's, preparing to join in the round. For mathematical ease, the cast-on will be defined as round 1.

Rnds 2-3: knit, tug on the tail to snug up the centre

Rnd 4: *yo, k1; repeat from *

Rnd 5, and all odd numbered rounds through 17 inclusive: knit

Rnd 6: *yo, k2; rep from*

Rnd 8: *yo, k3; rep from*

Rnd 10: *yo, k4; rep from*

Rnd 12: *yo, k5; rep from*

Rnd 14: *yo, k6; rep from*

Rnd 16: *yo, k7; rep from*

Rnd 18: *yo, k8; rep from* - 72 stitches

knit two rounds

Lace:

Rnd 1: *k1, yo, k2, ssk, k2tog, k2, yo; rep from* Note that this round ends with a yo.

Rnd 2: knit

Rnd 3: *yo, k2, ssk, k2tog, k2, yo, k1; rep from *

Rnd 4: knit

Repeat these 4 rows 10 times or until desired length is achieved. Note that the pattern rounds are identical, just staggered by 1 stitch.

End with 3 rounds knit plain.

Eyelets:

Rnd 1: *p3tog, yo; rep from *

Rnd 2: *(k1, p1) into yo, k1; rep from*

knit 2 rounds plain

Picot bind-off:

*Insert the right needle between the first two stitches and draw through a loop, placing it on the left needle as for a cable cast on. BO 4 stitches. Slip the remaining loop on the right needle over to the left and repeat from *

Cord:

Make a 3 stitch i-cord the length of the bag's circumference plus about 12 inches and thread through the eyelets (see instructions for bag no. 1)

The Down Side of Paradise

It's a bit gloomy around the condo at present - our 11 year old cat, Basil, did not return from yesterday's little jaunt in the garden. The down side of living close to nature is, well - all the naturally large and toothful beasts living right alongside. Every morning run contains the ever present likelihood of a bear encounter (Rob and I have had several over the years of vacationing here), and although I have never seen coyotes while running, they are apparently in abundance, and have a taste for domestic cats.

We considered trying to make Basil into a house cat, but after 11 years, he wasn't about to change his ways. He was frustrated in a small apartment, every coming and going became an ordeal of "watch out for the cat," and the kids were subjected to an unending litany of nagging about windows and the patio door. And being resourceful, he would have ultimately have escaped anyway. It seemed that he was going to continue his routine of sticking close to home, sunning himself on the patio and chasing butterflies in the garden, and we hoped that would keep him out of harm's way. It would appear not. (I'm not going to write his eulogy because there's always a chance..... Besides, writing Lightning's was just too heart wrenching and I'm not up for another one so soon.)

No amount of rationalizing and logic entirely blots out my (Rob has that enviably robust male guilt-proof ego) creeping sense of guilt for choosing not to confine him to the house. I suppose it's a dilemma I will face with my children (though please God, not so drastically) - the need to wrestle with and permit degrees of freedom and risk to a creature whose well-being remains my responsibility (not to mention fervent desire). Is there anything more terrifying than parenthood?

On a happier note, here is the sweater I'm presently working on. I had a hankering for a classic navy / white striped cotton sweater for shoulder season - I've always liked the look, and they seem to be very much in fashion at present. I wanted something just a little different, though - predominately navy, with little bit of vertical interest, as opposed to great swaths of horizontal white. As a design challenge, I also wanted to conquer the heaviness and inelasticity of cotton, making something sleek and fitted. (That entails the thorny process of honestly measuring myself and bravely keeping ease to a minimum - my first cotton sweater design might just as well have been a gunny sack). I'm knitting it at a fairly dense gauge, which thus far looks like it will yield the desired effect. It will be a closely fitted crew neck, knit in the round with set in sleeves - another challenge to match up the pattern at the curved seam. I'm experimenting with ways of avoiding the "jog" at the end of the round as the body progresses - I think a little invention may be called for, because the standard method looks messier than a "just live with it" jump in the pattern. Still better than a seam, though.

It is immensely weird and frustrating not having a computer at my fingertips, but on the other hand, the brisk 15 minute walk to the Internet cafe is better for the bulgies than simply slouching out of the kitchen with my morning coffee!

Happy Days

Managed to pack the kids off to the playground with hubby, so I could dash off to the Internet cafe in the village. The harsh reality of paying by the minute for blogging time is starting to register, so I think until my own computer arrives at the beginning of October, this will be an every other day affair.

The idea pot is boiling, however, because Whistler is so rich in natural beauty and cultural stimulation (art galleries! great music! live theatre! amazing food!) that the creative juices overflow. I want to expand the chromatic challenge feature to a series on colour, texture, design and seeing things in new ways. I have a host of designs in the works, starting with a classic navy and white striped cotton crewneck (with a twist, of course.) More on that one this week. I also hope to get a pattern for the second string bag posted this week, and get back to work on the white lacy tank, on which I plan to incorporate an inner shelf bra and eliminate the visible bra strap issue altogether.

Here's the view from my patio and livingroom window (this was our first morning):

Here's this morning's Saturday Sky:

Knitting at our favorite pub (yes, Lee Ann, it is heaven!):

Home at Last

We are still dazed and exhausted from the journey, but got in safely last night. Woke up early this morning, wandered out to the patio to watch the sun kiss the tops of the misty mountains and settled down with a coffee and some knitting to contemplate the fact that We Live Here Now. The coast mountain air is cool and sweet and moist, and the big blue sweater is exactly the right kind of warm.

I haven't quite sorted out the picture business, but that will come - it's just a matter of how much it's going to cost me. Consequently, I can't yet show you string bag number two, which finished up this morning - designed to cradle a bottle of wine, a baguette, and a hunk of cheese, or this noon's excursion to our favorite Irish pub for Guiness and a little progress on a lovely red sock. All in good time.

Halfway Home

Warning: picture heavy post ahead. If you are on dial-up, you may want to go for coffee, finish that masterpiece of Shetland lace you've got languishing in the stash, or simply take my word for it that the prairies are flat.

We made it safely to my parents' place in Creston, albeit a day late. Practicality triumphed over pride and we spent Saturday finishing up the packing and getting the house properly ready for the painters and cleaners. (And yes, I felt more than a little sheepish about delaying our departure after doing the grand public countdown for the last two months. Just a tad anti-climactic.)

Since we have made this two day trans-prairie migration every summer for the last six years, I thought it would be fun on our very last trip to document the highlights for posterity. (For full effect, we would have had to backtrack to Winnipeg - Not.)

The first leg of the trip takes about 12 hours, and covers approximately 1000 km (620 miles) between Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan and Creston, BC. (For Dipsy, that would be like, say, driving from Vienna to Genoa. Only different.)

Early Sunday morning, the wolfhound and the cat, sharing the back of the Forerunner with the (carefully covered) yarn stash and, um... one or two other things:

The kids, also sharing space with... stuff:

First stop - the golden arches for breakfast (road trips being pretty much the only time we patronize this establishment):

Next, that fine Canadian institution, Tim Horton's for coffee and bits:

Clearly, we are skipping town in the nick of time:

One last visit with the World's Biggest Moose:

Did I mention that the prairies are flat?

Tim's in Swift Current (good coffee and clean washrooms - very important with a freshly toilet trained kid who has just learned how exciting it is to use foreign potties):

More flatland:

Slightly less-flat land (Cypress Hills):

Next province (note the change in photo formatting where Blogger stopped letting me upload and I was forced to switch to Flickr. Gritting teeth now, forcing self not to go back and reload all the previous photos to match. Perfectionism sucks.):

Alberta, FYI, is also flat:

Are we having fun yet?

Timbits to the rescue:

The world's largest teepee, on the western edge of Medicine Hat:

At the risk of sounding sacriligeous, I couldn't help noticing the lovely sharp points on the ends of those straights.

More flatland:


Ah, but wait - a terrain feature looms, at last, on the hazy horizon:


Part of the windfarms near Pincher Creek:


The Frank Slide:


I always find this spot eerie - for the reminder of tragic loss of life, and also for the way nothing grows here - it looks like it could have happened yesterday.

Our new home province:


We had intended to get out and kiss the ground, but there was the small matter of the shoulder being approximately 1/2 inch wide, hence the slightly blurry high speed window shot.

And, with the roads becoming curvy, progress on string bag number 2 came to an immediate halt:

As did the camera battery.

Not to worry, this blog will be chock full of spectacular mountain scenes for the foreseeable future.

Tomorrow, we squeeze into the truck once more for the last leg of the journey to Whistler. (And pray the brakes hold over the mountain passes.)