hibernation

 I know there are people who continue to rush around outdoors even when it is -40 and the windchills are much lower.  Unlike much of the US upper midwest, Winnipeg didn't shut down last week.  This meant that believe it or not, my kids still got on the school bus, my professor went off to work last week.  Things sort of stalled out for me though.  By the time I got the kid with the cold back at school, and got Sally, the old dog eating, and the food made for dinner, there was precious little time left for much else.  Dog walks were difficult, as was waiting for the boys at the school bus stop.  I felt lucky I didn't have to commute...and I put off all but the most basic errands until it warmed up on Thursday, as well.

 However, somebody didn't read the school bus manual, because after a few days of those crazy cold temperatures?  On Thursday, the temperatures warmed up--a bit--but the buses were cancelled because there were so many accidents and buses whose lines froze, etc.  Also on Thursday, we realized my car wouldn't start, even though it had been plugged into the block heater timer.  

So, we plugged it directly into the outlet in an attempt to warm up the battery.  I drove the professor's car, and he took the bus, and we still got the kids to and from school.  Indoor recess is apparently a hotbed of paper doll activity, where my kids join several others in drawing and cutting out every kind of magical creature paper doll, and building a cardboard house for them, as well.

So what did I do from January 24th to about January 31st?  I worked on the computer, knit, cooked, and enjoyed the great indoors. (which still required woolens, by the way, even with the heat going full blast, it is hard to make inside toasty when it is so cold outside.)  Here is one of the things I worked on.  This is a new Stripe Freestyle for my kid who is outgrowing his old one!  It is getting short and I've had to knit patches on the one pictured in that link.  (It has been worn a lot and he loves it.)

I am using all Canadian yarns on this one.  Leftovers from On Track and Woolly and a light gray that somebody chose, but then changed his mind about, I think.  The yarns are from MacAusland's Woolen Mill and Custom Woolen Mills.    The kid in question thinks a natural colored white yarn, leftover from Woolly, will go best as the next stripe.

However, something happened.  The sweater is a nice, dense plush 34" around, on a size 8(5mm) needle.  And I did all this in a week, and I inflamed my upper back/shoulder a bit.  So, now I am back to only a few rows a day, until things calm down.  I've changed knitting styles and positions, but it still hurts! That's what comes of being too enthusiastic a knitter, I suppose...?!

Meanwhile, the conversation around hate doesn't take time off in the winter.  The restaurant where my knitting group meets was targeted recently.  So, today, it's -30 windchill, 6" (15 cm) of new snow blowing around, and we're still talking about hate crimes.  Dang.

Freestyle Super--a new design!

 Hey, can you believe it?  We actually had a snowfall yesterday in Winnipeg.  One that stuck to grass and cars and decks and made a big icy mess!  Our leaves aren't even off the trees yet...but, this mom worked ahead.

Today, I launched a new knitting pattern called Freestyle Super! It comes in a bunch of kid sizes:
2-4, 4-6, 6-8, and 10-12, and it's an oversized pattern.

It even comes with a sample, all knit up, that fits both twins.

Hurray!

I used all North American yarns to knit this, and it was unbelievably quick knit on size #10.75(7mm) needles.  You could buy all Canadian yarns, like Custom Woolen Mills or Briggs & Little. 
Or, you could buy all U.S. yarns and consider the lovely Quince & Co. Puffin... or, you can combine them, as I did!

The pattern is now for sale online at both Ravelry.com and Loveknitting.com.  If you go to buy the pattern on Loveknitting, you will find I've paired up other yarns that they sell--but the colors mostly match this sample.  There are lots of yarn choices at this quick-knitting gauge.

Hope you enjoy these fun shots of our twins while they modelled and horsed around in the backyard.  (before it snowed.)  We're looking forward to wearing this sweater for a long while to come!

If you're even a little interested in knitting one of these for yourself, hustle over and download a pattern soon.  You can have many hours of knitting pleasure for the price of a fancy coffee.

Happy October!

crush

The Professor is lucky.  I'd have to say that I encounter few people that actually turn my head these days.  (Yup, nearly 16 years of marriage and counting...)

I cannot say the same about yarn.  I occasionally get a crush.  Sometimes, the crush is totally fulfilled and runs its course.  Icelandic yarn, while I will always love you, while I will return back to you, I'll have to say that my crush is over for now.  I spent this entire winter knitting SOMETHING out of Lopi.  I made a bathmat, two women's sweaters and two little boy sweaters.  Most, if not all of that knitting happened while the boys watched their 20-40 minutes of Sesame Street, Caillou, Thomas, Busytown, or Curious George in the evenings while drinking their bedtime milk.  (We have recently started watching Clifford, it is a thrilling alternative.)  I sit nearby and knit as fast as I can.  Any more complicated knitting happens around nap or night time, and I am usually denying myself sleep to do it.

Recently, I bumped into this pattern on Ravelry.  Then I looked over the whole ebook: Kestrel and I swooned.  A whole lot of Pam Allen designs, and I am a great fan of her work.  Then....only then, I allowed myself to wander over to her yarn company's website--Quince & Co. and looked around.  Another SWOON.  That yarn, Kestrel, is made out of Belgian organic linen.  (Quick, stop yourself before you cruise around to the other yarns.  You could go bankrupt.)

I am on a strict yarn diet.  First off, my stash just about insulates our house.  Second, I knit much less than I used to, before twins....I just don't have time.  Third...shipping anything to Canada is a drag, the postage is expensive, it takes forever, and we are erratically charged duty on weird stuff.  (The latest weirdness?  Secondhand cloth diapers from the UK.  Yes, they were spotlessly clean...but USED NAPPIES?  Really?  We owe money on that baby/kid necessity?!)

Anyway, all that has kept me from buying out Brooklyn Tweed or Harrisville's new yarn, Watershed.  I've even looked at the Irish, UK and Icelandic sites, as we seem to have less problem shipping from there than from the US...

You'll note that there is not a single photo in this post.  This way, if you do not feel the urge to fall in love, to look at yarn p*rn, to covet, you don't have to.  Now you know what I do when I am faced with hours of mindless child-related clean up, or when I am up AGAIN in the middle of the night.  I dream of yarn, of course.

(I'm knitting with this Canadian yarn right now, and it's just about taking the edge off.  The strong woolly odor of spinning oil and fleece does it.  Ahhh.  For now.)

PS:  Trust me, no one is paying me a dime to promote or link to their yarns.  Not even a skein.  I'm just, well, crushing too much to hold it in.