Liar. It’s all about about whether I win or lose! And I have to win!

I’m very competitive. Very. I just saw on JayJay’s blog about her little *competition* with her brother (I think he wins…) and think that is something very likely Mike and I would do. My other brother Aaron and my sister Laura don’t seem to have the same streak Mike and I do. We have been engaged in battle for many years via puzzle books to see who really is smarter. We compete over board games. We compete over songs on the radio (knowing the artist and song title are each worth 1 point).

So it was great fun when I won those games Saturday night. I think the name of the word game was “Slang Teasers”. I haven’t heard of other games like that, other than Balderdash (I think). The way you play is that one of the 4 (or more) people has the book of slang words and definitions, and they pick a page and word at random. They read and spell the word out loud. Each player writes it down and tries to come up with a realistic-sounding definition. Meanwhile, the “Slang Master” writes down the word and the real definition. All players give their papers to the SM who mixes them up and reads them all out loud, including the real definition. Then each player guesses which is correct. You get 1 point for guessing the right one, 1 point for each player who guesses *your* definition as being correct, and 2 points if you are the SM and no one guesses the correct answer.

Is it cheating if I say I figured out how to win? The book’s definitions were so cheesy that all I had to do was write my answers in a similar style. Anyways…

If anyone out there wants to test their smarts against me, bring on the challenge LOL!

I had such high hopes for last night. I was going to get home, make supper, get into bed and knit. I hadn’t knit more than 20 rows all weekend and was looking forwards to settling in for a nice long stretch. INSTEAD I stopped for groceries, got home an hour late, did a 1 mile workout video, took a shower, made some bean salad for lunches for the week, made some greek salad for lunches for the week, made some granola for snacks for the week, realized it was 10 o’clock and I hadn’t eaten supper yet, made a slice of toast, ate it with some apple-ginger juice and a banana, and got into bed. It was early, only 10:30pm, but I was suddenly drained and needed the rest more than I wanted to knit. Plus on Sunday night I’d started a book my cousin Robyn gave me, called Girl’s Poker Night, and was enjoying it. I thought I’d get into bed and enjoy a good half-hour of reading or so, then crash.

Mother Nature had other plans. The MOTHER of all thunderstorms hit, and I spent 15 minutes walking around the house with a flashlight (in case of a power failure) making sure I knew where the candles and matches were (in case of the same power failure). Then I called Yannick to see when he was coming home (not early enough to make me less scared). Then I verified all the windows on the top floor because the rain sounded on each like burglars trying to break in. Then I got into bed, read 4 pages, and went to reverify the windows again. My night continued like that until midnight or so when I finally fell asleep. The thunderclaps and bright flashes of lightning woke me up throughout the night too. Crazy storm. Wicked cool though. I wish it had taken place during the day so I could have seen it.

Tonight I’m going to the Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival with Robyn, her mom, my mom, my grandmother and my aunt Fran. We’re going to the Women on Top show. Should be fun!

Liar. It’s all about about whether I win or lose! And I have to win!

I’m very competitive. Very. I just saw on JayJay’s blog about her little *competition* with her brother (I think he wins…) and think that is something very likely Mike and I would do. My other brother Aaron and my sister Laura don’t seem to have the same streak Mike and I do. We have been engaged in battle for many years via puzzle books to see who really is smarter. We compete over board games. We compete over songs on the radio (knowing the artist and song title are each worth 1 point).

So it was great fun when I won those games Saturday night. I think the name of the word game was “Slang Teasers”. I haven’t heard of other games like that, other than Balderdash (I think). The way you play is that one of the 4 (or more) people has the book of slang words and definitions, and they pick a page and word at random. They read and spell the word out loud. Each player writes it down and tries to come up with a realistic-sounding definition. Meanwhile, the “Slang Master” writes down the word and the real definition. All players give their papers to the SM who mixes them up and reads them all out loud, including the real definition. Then each player guesses which is correct. You get 1 point for guessing the right one, 1 point for each player who guesses *your* definition as being correct, and 2 points if you are the SM and no one guesses the correct answer.

Is it cheating if I say I figured out how to win? The book’s definitions were so cheesy that all I had to do was write my answers in a similar style. Anyways…

If anyone out there wants to test their smarts against me, bring on the challenge LOL!

I had such high hopes for last night. I was going to get home, make supper, get into bed and knit. I hadn’t knit more than 20 rows all weekend and was looking forwards to settling in for a nice long stretch. INSTEAD I stopped for groceries, got home an hour late, did a 1 mile workout video, took a shower, made some bean salad for lunches for the week, made some greek salad for lunches for the week, made some granola for snacks for the week, realized it was 10 o’clock and I hadn’t eaten supper yet, made a slice of toast, ate it with some apple-ginger juice and a banana, and got into bed. It was early, only 10:30pm, but I was suddenly drained and needed the rest more than I wanted to knit. Plus on Sunday night I’d started a book my cousin Robyn gave me, called Girl’s Poker Night, and was enjoying it. I thought I’d get into bed and enjoy a good half-hour of reading or so, then crash.

Mother Nature had other plans. The MOTHER of all thunderstorms hit, and I spent 15 minutes walking around the house with a flashlight (in case of a power failure) making sure I knew where the candles and matches were (in case of the same power failure). Then I called Yannick to see when he was coming home (not early enough to make me less scared). Then I verified all the windows on the top floor because the rain sounded on each like burglars trying to break in. Then I got into bed, read 4 pages, and went to reverify the windows again. My night continued like that until midnight or so when I finally fell asleep. The thunderclaps and bright flashes of lightning woke me up throughout the night too. Crazy storm. Wicked cool though. I wish it had taken place during the day so I could have seen it.

Tonight I’m going to the Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival with Robyn, her mom, my mom, my grandmother and my aunt Fran. We’re going to the Women on Top show. Should be fun!

This is my swatch for the Bowling Socks. I got gauge spot-on, but then realized I’d have a problem. Usually, when I make Yannick socks using Regia 4ply, I use a 2.5mm needle and CO 68 sts. With a gauge of 30 sts to 4″, that gives me a 9″ diameter for his socks. The Bowling Sock pattern, however, is only offered in one size- 80 sts around, at a gauge of 10 sts to the inch on a 2mm, which means an 8″ diameter. I can’t simply add more sts to keep using the 2mm, or subtract sts so I can use a 2.5mm, because the chart has the bowling pins and balls set up in such a way that there are no columns of background-color sts…so there are no places in the chart where I can adjust it.

Smart me decided to do a gauge swatch on 2.25mm needles…and got success. If I use the 2.25mm and work the 80 sts as per the pattern, I will get a diameter of 8.88888888888″…pretty damn close to 9″, plus the socks have some stretch. With a loose enough cast on I’m sure they will fit.

I went ahead and started the ribbing, then realized I had a needle problem. See it?
My dpns were a *little* too short. Ok, waaaay too short. I could only fit 40 sts onto each one, and even at that I had sts wanting to drop off of the ends. I knit a few rows using 3 dpns (2 for the work and 1 to knit with) but didn’t like how loose the join was, plus it just wasn’t fun. I switched to the pink 2.25mm straight in the center of the pic. This is my first time using straight needles in over 2 years. The last project I did on straights was the To Dye For Sweater from the first Stitch ‘n Bitch book, within a few months of the book’s release. I’m not enjoying working on them, but I know I will enjoy watching the motif emerge on the straights more than I would doing this small gauge on circulars. Plus, it’s not for long, as I get to switch back to dpns for the foot, which is done in the round.

And other than knitting? We spent the night at Debbie and Gregg’s house, had a great dinner (damn I forgot to get the rib sauce recipe!) and played some games afterwards. Debbie and I won 3 of 4 games of a card/board game hybrid whose name I just forgot, then we switched to a game similar to Balderdash, a game from the 1980’s called…Slang something. I’m really tired if I’m forgetting everything like that. In any case, I won the 2 games we played (hehe) then we played one quick card game- Kings- for money, and Yannick was the big winner of $5 from each of us. Fun times, but I’m clearly tired and losing my mind, so I’m off to bed

…as of last count I have 12 wips total. This covers stuff that has been cast on with 1 row knit for the last 2 years, and stuff that is finished knitting but needs a lining sewn in before I can call it “done”. 12 wips. 2 of which need to be completed by Labor Day weekend. So what do I do? Add 2 more for the same deadline!

(The blonde might not be natural, but feels that way sometimes!)*

Yannick has been hinting not-so-subtly that he’d like more pairs of knit socks. His attempts at not-so-subtleness involve coming out and telling me that it’s his turn for a pair. I decided to surprise him for his birthday this year and knit him a pair. He didn’t think they counted as a birthday gift. I reminded him that
a) they were good enough for a Valentine’s Day gift last year, and a Christmas gift the year before
b) any gift that costs money plus 100s of hours to knit is a damned good gift
c) we are getting married on his birthday, and technically *I* am his gift. The socks are a bonus.

To be somewhat sneaky, I decided to add a 2nd pair, so he will be getting 2. I don’t know why I think this benefits me, as while yes, I do get the benefit of surprising him, I also now have the task of knitting him 2 pairs by Sept 3rd, along with the Lacy Shrug for the Amazing Lace and the charity baby blanket, also due by Sept.

To make matters much worse, I am really tempted to knit him a pair of intarsia socks instead from a Monarch Hand Knit Sock Book my grandmother gave me. It cost $0.35 and has a copyright to the Monarch Knitting Company in Dunnville, Ontario 1951. They have a bowling pin and ball, which would be really cool because he starts bowling again in September and they could be his “lucky pair”.

You can’t see the other side, but it says “STRIKE” at an angle with a ball. I can’t get in 3 pairs by that deadline, but I’m stuck because I’m already 25 rows into the pair I just started. I’d be upset to finish these and do the bowling ones, because I bought him a nice ball of Regia with cotton for the summertime, which I’d planned as his second pair. Of course, while typing this I’m realizing that I’m only giving him the socks in Sept, by which time the summer is over. Hmm…this means I can pull off the bowling pair and the striped pair by Sept and save the cotton ones for part of his Christmas gift.

Thanks blog! See, for the few of you who write me with comments, I keep writing this blog. And by writing this blog, I brainstorm. And by brainstorming, I realize my problems aren’t really problems. Thanks guys!

THIS JUST IN: I went through the pattern books again, and found another one from my Bubbie: Beehive Hand Knits FOR MEN, also $0.35. It doesn’t say the year, but its from Patons & Baldwins Limited, Toronto 10. I love the fact that in many of the images, the men are smoking or holding unlit cigarettes.
I like this pair better, and will attempt at making it for Yannick. The big question is if I have any red sock yarn lying around…

*No offense to any who take offense at blonde jokes

…as of last count I have 12 wips total. This covers stuff that has been cast on with 1 row knit for the last 2 years, and stuff that is finished knitting but needs a lining sewn in before I can call it “done”. 12 wips. 2 of which need to be completed by Labor Day weekend. So what do I do? Add 2 more for the same deadline!

(The blonde might not be natural, but feels that way sometimes!)*

Yannick has been hinting not-so-subtly that he’d like more pairs of knit socks. His attempts at not-so-subtleness involve coming out and telling me that it’s his turn for a pair. I decided to surprise him for his birthday this year and knit him a pair. He didn’t think they counted as a birthday gift. I reminded him that
a) they were good enough for a Valentine’s Day gift last year, and a Christmas gift the year before
b) any gift that costs money plus 100s of hours to knit is a damned good gift
c) we are getting married on his birthday, and technically *I* am his gift. The socks are a bonus.

To be somewhat sneaky, I decided to add a 2nd pair, so he will be getting 2. I don’t know why I think this benefits me, as while yes, I do get the benefit of surprising him, I also now have the task of knitting him 2 pairs by Sept 3rd, along with the Lacy Shrug for the Amazing Lace and the charity baby blanket, also due by Sept.

To make matters much worse, I am really tempted to knit him a pair of intarsia socks instead from a Monarch Hand Knit Sock Book my grandmother gave me. It cost $0.35 and has a copyright to the Monarch Knitting Company in Dunnville, Ontario 1951. They have a bowling pin and ball, which would be really cool because he starts bowling again in September and they could be his “lucky pair”.

You can’t see the other side, but it says “STRIKE” at an angle with a ball. I can’t get in 3 pairs by that deadline, but I’m stuck because I’m already 25 rows into the pair I just started. I’d be upset to finish these and do the bowling ones, because I bought him a nice ball of Regia with cotton for the summertime, which I’d planned as his second pair. Of course, while typing this I’m realizing that I’m only giving him the socks in Sept, by which time the summer is over. Hmm…this means I can pull off the bowling pair and the striped pair by Sept and save the cotton ones for part of his Christmas gift.

Thanks blog! See, for the few of you who write me with comments, I keep writing this blog. And by writing this blog, I brainstorm. And by brainstorming, I realize my problems aren’t really problems. Thanks guys!

THIS JUST IN: I went through the pattern books again, and found another one from my Bubbie: Beehive Hand Knits FOR MEN, also $0.35. It doesn’t say the year, but its from Patons & Baldwins Limited, Toronto 10. I love the fact that in many of the images, the men are smoking or holding unlit cigarettes.
I like this pair better, and will attempt at making it for Yannick. The big question is if I have any red sock yarn lying around…

*No offense to any who take offense at blonde jokes

…as of last count I have 12 wips total. This covers stuff that has been cast on with 1 row knit for the last 2 years, and stuff that is finished knitting but needs a lining sewn in before I can call it “done”. 12 wips. 2 of which need to be completed by Labor Day weekend. So what do I do? Add 2 more for the same deadline!

(The blonde might not be natural, but feels that way sometimes!)*

Yannick has been hinting not-so-subtly that he’d like more pairs of knit socks. His attempts at not-so-subtleness involve coming out and telling me that it’s his turn for a pair. I decided to surprise him for his birthday this year and knit him a pair. He didn’t think they counted as a birthday gift. I reminded him that
a) they were good enough for a Valentine’s Day gift last year, and a Christmas gift the year before
b) any gift that costs money plus 100s of hours to knit is a damned good gift
c) we are getting married on his birthday, and technically *I* am his gift. The socks are a bonus.

To be somewhat sneaky, I decided to add a 2nd pair, so he will be getting 2. I don’t know why I think this benefits me, as while yes, I do get the benefit of surprising him, I also now have the task of knitting him 2 pairs by Sept 3rd, along with the Lacy Shrug for the Amazing Lace and the charity baby blanket, also due by Sept.

To make matters much worse, I am really tempted to knit him a pair of intarsia socks instead from a Monarch Hand Knit Sock Book my grandmother gave me. It cost $0.35 and has a copyright to the Monarch Knitting Company in Dunnville, Ontario 1951. They have a bowling pin and ball, which would be really cool because he starts bowling again in September and they could be his “lucky pair”.

You can’t see the other side, but it says “STRIKE” at an angle with a ball. I can’t get in 3 pairs by that deadline, but I’m stuck because I’m already 25 rows into the pair I just started. I’d be upset to finish these and do the bowling ones, because I bought him a nice ball of Regia with cotton for the summertime, which I’d planned as his second pair. Of course, while typing this I’m realizing that I’m only giving him the socks in Sept, by which time the summer is over. Hmm…this means I can pull off the bowling pair and the striped pair by Sept and save the cotton ones for part of his Christmas gift.

Thanks blog! See, for the few of you who write me with comments, I keep writing this blog. And by writing this blog, I brainstorm. And by brainstorming, I realize my problems aren’t really problems. Thanks guys!

THIS JUST IN: I went through the pattern books again, and found another one from my Bubbie: Beehive Hand Knits FOR MEN, also $0.35. It doesn’t say the year, but its from Patons & Baldwins Limited, Toronto 10. I love the fact that in many of the images, the men are smoking or holding unlit cigarettes.
I like this pair better, and will attempt at making it for Yannick. The big question is if I have any red sock yarn lying around…

*No offense to any who take offense at blonde jokes

It’s hard when I can’t reply directly to someone. Anyways…

To the anonymous person who asked about the knitting classes, I did take mine in the West Island because that’s where I live! In the Pointe-Claire Plaza (at the bottom of St-Jeans blvd, right at the 20) there is a LYS called “The Wool Shop” or “Les Lainages du Petit Mouton” depending what language you speak. 😉 I did my courses with Nicole on Mondays from 9-11am. It was a 6 or 8 wk course, I forget which, that included the needles and yarn for our practice pieces, and a knitting book.

The number is 514-694-6268 and I just called them for you to see about any open classes. The owner told me that they aren’t doing summer classes this year (it just didn’t work out) but they will be starting again in the Fall and will offer day and night classes. She said the best thing to do is to go by sometime during store hours and put your name/number down on their waiting list to reserve a spot, because spaces fill up fast. Once they are ready to put their schedule together they will call you to see which day would be good, and all the other info.

I enjoyed my classes. We were a small group (5-6 people) and although I knew how to knit at that point, it really taught me everything I know now. Our practice piece was a mini cardigan (5″ tall) so you learn all the shaping you would need on a bigger piece, including seaming and buttonholes. We did some Fair Isle and grafting, making headbands for Winter, and did a pair of lace socks for both of those techniques. By the end we had chosen to stay on longer and did some felted projects too.

Good luck!

Last night I left work early and Yannick and I met with our wedding photographer to do some casual photos. They’re not really for anything, but he wanted to meet with us and get used to each other’s styles before the big day. We went to the park on Lake Road, the big mountain, and found some great spots to shoot in. Tiny little bridges, gazebos, he even got me to sit in the tall reeds (where there could have been spiders!). He showed us a few of the photos on the spot and they looked so good! (Well, the ones of Yannick, anyways). The sun was on its way down and there was such a glow to the photos…I can’t wait to see them!

After some spicy Indian food for dinner Yannick had to go back to work at my parents’ house, so I got into bed to watch TV and knit. Here’s the progress I’ve made on the charity blanket so far:
The next row will have me cast on another 30 sts on each side, move the red blocks out, the yellow blocks over the red, and add a purple block in the center. I’m not looking forwards to the extra sts as already it’s a pain wrapping the yarn at each join (not to do, but to avoid tangles). At least once that row is done I’ll be decreasing the blocks away and the end will be in sight. I still don’t care for the colors together but I really, really love the yarn and I’m so glad I got introduced to it through this project. Can’t wait to buy more in Florida!

We didn’t do much of the last weekend. Friday night was mostly a bust because Yannick only got home from work really late. He did the same thing Saturday, so while I did get some knitting done, it was pretty much a blah day too. We went to see Cars at night (very cute!) then for a late dinner. Sunday he worked again, so I did some laundry, tidied up, and worked on the charity Harlequin Blanket. My mom invited us over for dinner, but I had some time to kill first so I fooled around in the kitchen and came up with 2 yummy recipes.

In bowl, mix together 3oz of softened cream cheese with 3oz of shredded cheddar cheese. Add 1 egg, 2 tbsp of whole wheat flour, and a pinch of salt. Mix into a dough. Roll out into logs or make little balls then flatten. Bake at 370 deg F for 20 min or until golden and crispy. (I didn’t wait long enough, so mine are more chewy than crispy. Still yummy).

In bowl, mix together granola ingredients to your liking. I used 1/3 cup leftover salted mixed nuts, 1.5 cups large flake oat meal, 1/4 cup pine nuts, 1/2 cup sliced almonds. (I wish I’d thought to include the coconut flakes I have.) In saucepan, melt 2 tbsp butter. Once melted, stir in 3 tbsp sugar (I used fructose). Keep stirring, and add flavoring of your choice. I added Ancho powder for some heat. I meant to only add 1/8 tsp, but was able to add about 2 tsp without it getting too spicy. Once everything is melted and mixed, add in the granola ingredients and stir until fully mixed and coated. Spread onto cookie sheet and bake at 325 deg F, shaking or moving often, for 20 min or until golden. I was worried at first because once golden they were still warm and chewy (and hard to stop eating). Once I let it cool off, however, it got hard and crunchy like normal granola.

Enjoy!

In knitting news, I have been working on the Harlequin blanket and am about 3/4 through the first row of 3 blocks. I didn’t knit at all yesterday, instead I went to bed at 10:30, after the gym, tanning and supper. Tonight I don’t know if I’ll have time to knit as I have a casual shoot with our wedding photographer so we can get to know one another. This will be cancelled (again!) if it rains (again!) so if so then maybe I’ll veg and knit later.

54 days until I’m a Mrs.

Not being much of a soccer fan, I don’t know what the actual WC results were. I can tell you mine, however.

I didn’t finish, but I couldn’t finish, and I’m happy with that. In the last 3-ish weeks I’ve managed to knit 12+ balls of Patons Classic Wool Merino in BLACK ALL FREAKING BLACK, through the heat waves and rainy days, into a bag of my own design. I included an innovative feature to the bag, something I wanted for myself in existing bags that just wasn’t offered out there, and that feature came out perfectly. I felted the giant bag, and as of this morning it is still blocking on huge pile of towels and plastic bags, stuffed with the large knife/wood block set we got for my bridal shower. So it’s not done. It still needs to be pulled and tugged and coaxed into the picture I have in my head. There are still handles or straps to knit, still a patch to knit for a cool touch on something. Still linings and zippers to buy, and sew, and insert. Still straps or handles to attach, nylon to sew, thimbles to use.

But I’m really ok with that.

I am designing this bag from scratch. No other pattern is my springboard. As such, I am finding things out that I didn’t think of at first…like how a pocket would need gussets if I wanted it to achieve a certain goal. And that I had to rip out the existing pocket to redo it with said gussets. Or how I didn’t want to knit the straps to whatever length I guessed would be correct, but would rather felt the bag, then see what length worked with the finished size.

So only once the bag is dry and shaped can I work on the straps. Only once its dry can I work on the interior.

So I wasn’t able to complete the entire bag, ready to wear and use, by the World Cup deadline.

But on my kitchen counter is a bag that only exists because I thought of it.

I think I did win, after all.