First Quarter Results

The Dude is has a job working with finances. I won't get into the details since I'm not really aware of them. Suffice it to say that every 3 months, the Dude is busy crunching numbers and every time I ask him if we're any closer to financial independence, he laughs.

At any rate, I set myself some goals for this year and I thought I would do a quick check to see how I am doing.

Goal #1: Burn Stash.

I am currently 1048 yds down in terms of my stash. Not bad for three months. I have had a couple of obstacles in that sock clubs don't care if you're trying to get rid of yarn, they send it anyway. That's probably good since that's the service I'm paying them for but still.

Here is my most recent sock in progress. It is the March STR kit designed by the Yarn Harlot.

I'm enjoying the pattern and find that it goes quickly in mediumweight yarn.

I've also finished the front AND the back of the Apres Surf sweater.

I think I'll knit the sleeves at the same time and then a little seaming, edging and blocking. Once I have this project off the needles, I think my numbers will look much better.

In my defense, I haven't bought yarn nor seen the inside of a yarn store in 2009. Impressive, no? When I feel like I need new yarn, I go and snoop in the stash. That usually makes me feel better. I really do have some lovely yarn that deserves to be knit.

Goal #2 : Burn Rubber

This goal has not been going as well as I'd hoped. I had planned on getting back into running but having 2 kids and not much sleep has put a damper on exercise. The last few weeks have been better and I've managed to run at least 2 or 3 times a week. Once the snow melts, I think I'll be able to get out in the evening once the Princesses are in bed.

I've decided to give myself some slack. I do have 2 kids and am busy. I try to make exercise a priority but my sanity comes first (right, Dude?). If taking a night off from the treadmill and drinking some port instead will make Mama happy, then let's make Mama happy.

Goal #3: Burn Through Some Socks

My last goal was to knit 24 pairs of socks this year. So far, I'm on track but I would like to amend this goal slightly. Some lovely people I know are knitting mittens. Beautiful mittens. I think this is admirable and would like to do the same. We here are Baad Medicine Industries are nothing if not inclusive so if you would like to knit 24 pairs of mittens or a combination of socks and mittens, I say go right ahead. They all count in the grand scheme of things. Let me know if your totals need revising.

All in all, I think I'm doing pretty well. It's good to take stock every once in a while. I'm feeling good about my progress and Spring is in the air. The possibilities are endless.

Knit on, Good Knitters, knit on.

The Never-ending Button Dilemma

A baby is due to arrive in our family (extended family, that is). The baby sweater is done and quite adorable, I think.


(I do think it's a little too "girly" for a boy though. The jury is still out)

So my current dilemma, as usual, is the buttons.

I give you 3 choices (well 4 actually):

1. The eclectic look

2. The tarnished button look


3. Baby blue button look


4. Back to the drawing board.

Let me know what you think.

For Your Amusement and Knitting Pleasure

Every once in a while I am inspired to attempt designing something. These designs are plotted, graphed, written, revised, knit, tinked, knit again and then soundly rejected by a well known online knitting magazine.

Fortunately for you, I have finally gotten around to posting them here at Baad Medicine Industries, where no pattern written by T or J will be rejected.

I, therefore, present to you Strawberry Jam, a lacy little number great for using up fingering weight yarn.

Here is Faux Paw. This is my attempt at making interesting socks for the Dude. For the record, these are the handknit socks he wears the most.

So let me know what you think.

The beginning and the end

The end....


The beginning...

The end...


The beginning...


And the hardest one, the end of the baby phase at our house...this crib will soon be gone....

The beginning of the next phase. And whatever that will bring.

In Which Progress is Made

I started a sweater for myself recently. I have had this yarn for a while now and I've been meaning to cast on but it's a summery little number with lots of lace so it didn't seem appropriate knitting for the dark winter months. The sun is coming back, though, and I'm hopeful that all this snow will melt soon. (Perhaps I am slightly unrealistic.)

The Apres Surf sweater is quite a cute little sweater. It is lightweight and will be perfect for wearing to the park or for going out in the evening. I'm using Louet Gems fingering in a lovely lilac colour. The lace is easy to remember and I've already finished the back and a portion of the front.

The thing is that it's fingering weight. Every row is over 100 stitches, give or take. That's a lot of knitting. This sweater is an exercise in patience. Slowly, slowly progress is made but it takes time. After knitting for an hour, the piece looks no bigger than when I sat down but I have faith that one day, it will be a sweater.

Sisters are like that. One day you bring a little blob home and your Princess doesn't know what to make of it. The baby doesn't do much. You can't play with it. It doesn't even watch you when you are looking for an audience. But slowly, slowly, that blob starts to sleep less. It rolls over. It starts to watch you dance across the room. The baby smiles. And then it laughs.

I have faith that one day, they will really be sisters. And friends.

UGH

1. I started a February Baby Sweater and about 3 inches in realized that I was using one 3.75mm needle and one 3mm needle. Because I'm smart like that. Ripped. Restarted. UGH.

2. Decided I wanted to work on my Lily of the Valley Scarf. Go to pull it out of my knitting basket and realized I pulled the scarf OFF the needles. Completely. I tried to put it back on the needles, and even perservered for a row or two. The nupps. They don't look so good when you've lost half of their stitches. UGH.

3. I wanted to finish up my travelling scarf, and decided possibly a crochet edge to even it all out. Forgot how much I hate crochet. Also forgot how unforgiving crochet is and how it "stabilizes" edges (read as - has no give). Ripped out. Now at a loss of how to finish. UGH.

There is one small highlight in my knitting. Yesterday, I started some stockings. I am loving the lace pattern and also how fast they're going. When you're only knitting on 40 some stitches around, you fly. I also hope that this is what this yarn is meant to be, because I don't think it can handle being frogged yet again.

This just in..

...and not helping my destashing efforts in the least.

I'm in love...

It's true. I want to shout it from the rooftops.

I think I may have found my new favourite thing.


True love, inside and out.

J.'s 2 Hats

When we were kids, my brother and I would love going to the library. We would check out books and read them with our parents or to each other. One of our favorites was the Dr. Seuss classic, "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins". We would read that book over and over. Our names were the only ones on the library check out card.

I guess it should be no surprise, then, that I find knitting hats delightful. You can use almost any kind of yarn. You can make big hats or small hats and living in a very cold climate, everyone needs at least one good hat.

Today I have 2 hats to show you. The first is Verity by Ysolda. I have been drooling over this designer's hat patterns for a while. She has so many great ones that it was hard to pick but I think this yarn is just right for the leafy pattern.

The yarn was dyed for me by the lovely and talented JillyGirl. I met her at a local SnB and I'm so glad we've gotten to be friends, and not just cause of the yarn. The more I knit, the more I appreciated the subtle shades of the yarn. It's fingering weight and I held it double to get gauge which I think adds to the depth of the colour.

(In my defense, it's really hard to take a picture of the top of your head. Go ahead. Try.)

The second hat is the ever popular Foliage from Knitty. Same yarn, very different hat.

There's a lot to be said about how a hat makes you feel. One can make you feel all jaunty and French. The other is more of a "I'm going outside to be sporty and damn it, I'm going to look cute doing it".

March: In like a Fox?

So, one of my knitting goals for the year is to knit myself a pair of socks each month. It's like my own little sock club of one.

I've completed the January socks and recently the February ones as well.

(I know - they are lovely....)

So this brings us to March. I'm quite happy to keep making my way through New Pathways, so I'm thinking some Fountain Foxgloves. They are toe up and I have 2 skeins of Claudia Hand Painted in Boot Camp, imported last year from San Francisco by Miss Poot and Cubby. Toe ups are a great way to use up all 50 grams.

Any other toe up suggestions for T's March sock club?

It Takes a Village

I hurt my back. By hurt, I mean that I did something that left me unable to stand or sit. I couldn't lie down. I could not pick up my baby or walk around with her. And believe me, I hurt.

Left in this rather inconvenient situation, I did what most people do; I rallied the troops. (My Mom's immediate response was that I had lost too much weight after P2 was born and therefore didn't have enough padding. Love you, Mom.) Princess 1 went off to the dayhome as she usually does on Fridays. At about 8 am, my amazing sister in law, LittleMissBossy, stopped by to work her physio magic. Poor LMB often gets called on when family members are down but I was so very grateful to see her in my immobile state. She poked and prodded, told me that my SI joint was jammed and taped me up. When she left I felt better. Not great but better. At 9:30, my Dad showed up to help with the heavy lifting by which I mean Princess 2. Babies can be unpredictable and P2 slept until almost noon.

She did get some quality time with her Dido (grandpa) after she woke up. Isn't it an amazing thing to see your parents interact with your children. There is just love and laughter. My parents don't have to worry about discipline or diet, behavior or consequences. They just get to play.

At 1pm, the Dude showed up and did baby duty for the rest of the day. I'm feeling a bit better today and I think by Monday, I'll be able to handle my troops alone.

I'm so glad my family lives close and are so willing to help out in an emergency.

Just don't tell them I hurt my back while sitting and knitting.