Knit Two Together

This is me racing!

READY...



















SET ...



















GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!






















































THAT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!




















How did I do?

In the first heat the track was pretty sloppy as it had been watered both to control the dust and to help it to pack properly. I started at the back of the pack and finished there too but really didn't mind. Coming over the lip and onto the track was scary and my heart was just pounding!

For the second heat they flip the finish order; last place gets pole position. I ran the first 3 laps flat out and in the lead until the better drivers caught up and a couple passed me. On about the 7th lap I blew a front tire but, never having blown a tire before in my life, had no idea why I was suddenly fighting for steering control. Undaunted I finished the race, and then some, never knowing that the yellow flag was for me! My amazing pit crew shook their collective male heads at me, muttered about not being able to save the tire and chewing up the track, put on a spare and got me ready to go in the main event.

I had some trouble with my 5 point safety harness and was late getting to the line up for the main event but the officials waved me onto the track anyway with a huge grin and shouted "GO GIRL!" for the newbie chick. The starter held off on the green and I caught up to my place, at the back of the pack. Determined not to finish last I really did my best to follow a smooth line and keep my foot to the floor. I had passed at least a couple of cars when the yellow flag went up - my friend Africa was in the wall and the tow truck was pulling him back to continue. Once the green came back he was racing again and had blown past me in the straightaway. Without warning his front end collapsed and a wheel went bounding 30 feet into the air! As he said, if you can't win then at least lose with style! Africa ended with a DNF in the main event, but maintains his substantial lead in the season points. Meanwhile, I was still racing and managed to pass another car when the green came back. The checkered flag came all to soon and I'm quite positive that another lap (or two) would have given me another position.

According to friends in the stands, I finished as the 8th car. However, there were several disqualifications (including the arse that put Africa into the wall) which had a big impact on the final standings. The official record will say that I finished in THIRD PLACE in the main event on my very first race day!

It won't be the last!

This is me.

This is me. (Pardon the cleavage... ahem...might as well flaunt them since I have them)

I am 44 years old; my birthday was earlier this month.

I am a veteran teacher with 20 years of classroom experience.

I am the mother of 3. You may know them as the Boy, Goofy, and Dragonsdottir.

I have been happily married to the same wonderful man for 18 years.

I am blessed with friends who know me and love me for the person I am.

I am a compulsive knitter.

I am a beginning spinner.

I am spray painting a car orange.

It's kind of a special car.

Those are fire holes in the hood.

Africa and a couple of his gear head buddies took a few days off work to build it for me as a birthday gift. He considers it fair trade for birthday socks.

 

This is me.

 

Rocky Mountain Raceway Park
Tonight
Gates open at 6:30.
Racing starts at 7.

Family friendly. Everyone is welcome.

(It can get pretty dirty - bag your knitting.)

Midsummer

The days are still long, the sun is bright, work is still distant enough to be ignored (although not for much longer)and I am genuinely happy.

So far, with pictures...

(you know to click the pics to see them bigger right?)

I cast on for the Aleita Shell (Bonne Marie/Chicknits in the Spring 08 IK) using the recommended yarn, Plymouth Yarns Linen Isle which I got on sale from Elann. I used the wrong size needle for the ribbed bottom but figured what the heck until I discovered (several inches later) that I had also missed the "join to knit in the round being careful not to twist" part of the directions...

  I went on a bit of a yarn crawl with my friend Melissa and Dragonsdottir (who was wonderfully well behaved). This pile of gorgeousness was discovered. It begged to come home with me.

I think it's merino (lost the tag) and it's a beautiful multi-coloured roving with strands of greens, reds, yellows, and blues blended into a copper base.

Melissa gets the credit for discovering Legacy Studio in Cochrane, AB.

 Also from Legacy....

Yak Down

dehaired, combed, ready to spin

Very very soft....mostly I pet it

I do love the exotic fluff!

Baby Camel Top

Luscious.

Again, for the petting right now until I have practised the spinning enough to do it right.

I cast on again for Aleita. Used the correct size needles on the ribbing AND remembered to change sizes when I got to the stocking stitch part. Linen Isle is quite nice to work with. It doesn't seem as hard as a 100% cotton yarn and is easier on the hands but it does tend to shed little strands of coarse fiber which I assume come from the linen part. Easy enough to pick the pokey bits out as I knit.

On the left is a truly enormous pile of llama fluff and on the right is asssorted bits of wool, llama, and alpaca to spin with. Lots of fiber to experiment and practice with. The other night I picked up my drop spindle for the first time in quite a long time. I was converting teaching my friend how to spin. Dragonsdottir joined us with her cd spindle. My spindled singles are so much more evenly and tightly spun than anything I produce on the wheel. I think I may just go back to spinning BFL on the drop spindle for a bit until I get the feel for it in my fingers again.

I took Aleita with me everywhere. Around and around in stocking stitch. No brain knitting other than remembering to do the waist shaping.

The Boy went to summer camp with Air Cadets. I took Dragonsdottir and Goofy to see the "Graduation Parade" in Penhold. It was like being in a time warp. 30 years ago I was a young cadet going to Basic Training summer camp at Penhold.  As far as I could see the only thing that had changed was the paint on the barracks.

The Boy, Dragonsdottir and I had a little road trip and went to Medicine Hat to visit with some friends and watch the drags. They're fun, but get a bit repetitive if you know what I mean. The Boy managed to catch this shot despite the delay on my digital cam.

I finished Aleita!

Still 3 weeks of summer left to enjoy. I've started knitting birthday socks for my friend Africa and there's at least 2 baby sweaters to make. My knit bud and I have our own little surprise exchange going too, but she reads this (Hi Bryony!) so no clues here. I hope that you are enjoying these lazy summer days, saving up lots of solar energy so you don't freeze up solid in February, smiling, laughing, and taking joy in the light.

Me? I'm dancing in sunshine....

She Spins Too...

Oh yes... The Baynes has been getting another workout and is such a happy wheel because of the attention.

This is the merino batt hand-dyed by Denny at Lettuce Knit which I bought on my trip to Toronto (Hi Toronto Knitters!)
Actually, it's two bats. One was a fairly evenly dyed deep turquoise blue, the other a fairly unevenly dyed batt of shades of turquoise and white. Denny explained that she'd used it to exhaust the dye bath. Fair enough. I decided to separate each batt into strips about a thumb wide and to alternate them in my spinning. The hope was that it would produce a variegated yarn that would have shaded areas rather than blatant stripes.

I'm still working on this spinning thing. I took one lesson on hand spindling the summer before last. That's it. I think this is somewhat underspun as a single, although I don't really know what I'm doing wrong there. The plying seems ok but that's probably because I don't know what I'm looking at. I would like to take a class that would show me how to adjust the wheel properly (I'm just guessing as I go) and would love to have a spinner give me pointers on technique. I'm sure that with some experienced eyes I could be making a nice consistent sock yarn in no time.

Meanwhile, this is a perfectly knittable yarn in a perfectly beautiful shaded turquoise that makes me think of sunlight on a perfect pool. The skein is about 235 yards of about dk weight and I think it would make a perfectly lovely lacey scarf.

What do you think?

Next time: Llama, Llama, Llama!

Flutter Sleeve Cardigan - Modelled

I replaced the camera batteries and recruited the husband as photographer.

Really happy with this project!

And now for something completely different...

Summer is for lace knitting. It's the only time of year that I have enough open hours that I can concentrate hard enough to actually knit lace. It's not the knitting that I find difficult; it's the charts. I don't track well and following grid lines and symbols is tiring and taxing for me. I stick to simple patterns that I have either a hope of memorizing or at least being able to predict. When I went to Toronto I picked up a ball of Noro Kureyon Sock in a colourway that made me think of parrots in the jungle. While I struggled with the Flutter Sleeve Cardi I continued to eye the Noro. It was just to pretty to be socks. A Ravelry search revealed some gorgeous Swallowtail Shawls done in Noro Sock. Really really pretty!

I opened the ball and made it into a skein on my niddy noddy. Mr. Noro, you make pretty colours. Then I soaked it, gave it some pretty solid thwacks to teach it some manners, and let it dry. It helped to kill the curl, removed some VM, and went a long way toward softening this somewhat coarse yarn.

Once it was wound onto the cake I could see that there are about 3 colour repeats in this skein. That's good to know because it will help me to gauge how much yarn I have left as I knit the shawl. See what I mean about the jungle parrot?

I'm following some very good advice and knitting this from the outside of the cake. Pulling from the centre tends to result in tangles and glops of yarn.

Here is attempt # 5 (I think) Somehow I get to 3 repeats and end up with one too many stitches on one side or the other. I don't know what I'm doing wrong however, I have mastered the cast-on technique. Attempt #8 is currently waiting it's punishment and is about to be frogged back to the lifeline I started inserting after each successful repeat. Perhaps #9 will be the charm and I'll be able to fork up the next repeat instead?

This yarn is quite slubby in places and very thin in others. Part of what some consider the charm of Noro I guess. I'm using 5mm KnitPicks and I'm happy with the overall look.

Next post: She Spins Too!

June Tried to Kill Me

What can I say? June tried to kill me.
The short version is that June is the most stressful month for teachers anyway. Ask any teacher - they'll tell you June is the worst. Every deadline in June, and there are plenty, is an absolute drop dead line. Miss one and you throw off somebody else's schedule, which upsets another schedule, and so on.... It doesn't take much to push everyone over the edge. I made all of my drop deadlines but it took nearly 5 weeks of 16-18 hour days. Added to the work pressures were some fairly significant personal upheavals (no, I'm not going to elaborate - it sucked, we worked through it, it's ok now). By the end of week 4 I had passed exhaustion and was looking pretty significantly strung out. People were worried; some were even brave enough to tell me I needed a weekend off. When the principal tells you not to work the weekend it's probably a good idea not to. Anyway.... I survived June and have spent the last 2 weeks sleeping, knitting, cleaning, and hanging out with my kids. I am myself again.

  I finally finished my Flutter Sleeve Cardigan.

Size 44
Mod: no shoulder tabs, just decorative buttons there
Three button closure instead of two.

FibreNatura "Mermaid"
42% Cotton, 35% Superwash Merino Wool, 12% Silk, 11% Seacell
Exactly 8 balls. I did not do the shoulder tabs because I didn't want to break into a ball just for that.

KnitPicks circulars (as if I use anything else anymore) 4.5mm for seed stitch bottom and stocking stitch
4.0 mm for seed stitch bands and cuffs
3.5 mm for ribbed waist

I found matching buttons at Fabricland.

Things I love... the colour - beautiful teal green with depth because the different fibers take the dye slightly differently.
... the drape - this yarn at this gauge (20 st/28 rows = 4") has enough body to hold it's shape while still hanging very nicely over the hip
... the cut/style. - a very flattering sweater for a variety of body types. On me it emphasizes my waist and curves nicely while camouflaging the mummy tummy. I knit this sweater with 2.5" of ease. You could go looser but I wouldn't suggest a curvy girl go any tighter. Letting the lower part gap open would emphasize the tummy. On the other hand, if you're a tiny girl this sweater would give you curves and you could go for zero or even -1" of ease.
... the yarn - good hand, wet-blocked beautifully, steam blocked nicely for seaming, NOT itchy

Things I don't love... the yarn - tends to be splitty and 5 of the 8 balls I used had knots in them. I can't stand it when I've cast on for a piece and partway through the first row I come to a knot. Makes me MENTAL!
... the finishing - I swear to you it took longer to finish this sweater than it did to knit the 3 body pieces. the front bands are picked up, knit separately, then seamed on which does provide a neat look and structural support. The plain band went on just fine but the opposite gave me grief. I had to pick out the seam, rip down to the first buttonhole placement, then count rows and seam as I went in order to properly place the buttons where I wanted them. It was worth it though.

I have 4 balls left (from 2 dye lots) I think that's enough for a shrug and although the lots are noticeably different I think that I could alternate rows with them and get away with it. We'll see. For now they're marinating.

Overall I think this sweater is a keeper. I would have posted a modeled shot for you except that my son stole the batteries from my camera for his &*%$@#% game controller.

Did I mention that I'm now home full time with three kids? I'm working on it.

Next: a look at my new projects

One More

One more insane week at Mach 5 with my whole damn head on fire then I can start to slow down to the much more manageable Mach 3 with my hair on fire... (Top Gun fans?)

World Wide Knit in Public Day is next Saturday June 14. I'd love to be able to meet as many of you as possible. I know that Make 1 is hosting a little gathering in the park behind the shop and there are plans on the Ravelry board for knitters to be at Eau Claire. Drop me a comment and let me know your plans. Maybe we can get together?

Remember me?

Holy yarn balls! It's been so long since I blogged that Typepad has gone and redisigned everything. WTF? I'm so confused looking at the screen that I can hardly type. It's also been so long since I blogged that ClusterMaps has archived the old map with hits on it from Mon-fricken-golia and Africa. It's been so long since I blogged that I've almost knit a sweater.

Let's see if I can figure out how to show you...

Ahhhh.... that wasn't so hard and there seem to be some new features for putting images where you want them. That used to drive me crazy so we'll see if this is better. Pardon me?

The sweater?

OH! Sorry.

Flutter Sleeve Cardigan from IK Spring 08
size 44 (I hope)
Fibranatura Mermaid colour 40605 "Storm"
42% cotton, 35% superwash merino 12% silk 11% seacell

This is the back (duh) and I have the left front finished and have just finished the short rows on the right front. Hang on... I'll take pictures....

OK.... I drop my camera once in a while (stop laughing) and the catch was broken so I wrapped a hair elastic around it. Paul (the hubby) decided to "fix" it so he took out the batteries and superglued it together. Took me a few minutes to separate the glue so I could open the battery cover. Now...where are the batteries?

Oh for cryin' in the rain!!! I have TWO battery chargers and EIGHT rechargable AA batteries for ONE camera. Both chargers are here but not a battery in sight. Damned kids and their toys. Fortunately I have a secret battery stash for my own nefarious reasons. Hang on...

Success! I knew it was a good idea to keep regular batteries around for the camera just in case. What's that? You didn't think they were for the camera? What did you think they were for then?

I took some pictures, and a surprise spinning picture for you too. Just have to upload them...

All right. Who is the butt hamster that raided my ziploc baggie full of my important cable connectors and helped themselves to the camera cord? (Paul? Darling? Where the fuck did you leave my camera cord?)

I searched. Found two of the missing rechargables (yay!) but no cord. So scrounged through my work bag and dug out a spare USB from there, reached down to plug it in and wondered what the hell that white cord was doing in the port. Hey - found the camera cord! We're in business again.... just a minute to resize and such.

Get some tea...

Maybe a cookie...

Knit a couple of rows...

OKAY!!!!


Flutter Sleeve Fronts...on my dominant WIP

The very clever front shaping is the thing I most love about this pattern. The whole body is knit at a very pleasant worsted gauge on 4.5mm Knitpicks but the waist is done in 1X1 rib on 3.25mm. I had to dig through the stash of straight needles to find the right size. It results in a nicely nipped in waistline with a lower half that should float nicely over hips. 
The ribbing comes up to a point in the front, a very nice shaping detail that I hope will also be flattering. It's cleverly done with short rows to bring the ribbing to a point then more short rows to back fill the missing stockinette before you continue.


The top half shaping is a little bit of a challenge since you are increasing for the arm while you decrease for the neck. Then you change the rate of neck decreases for a while and at the same time change the rate of sleeve increases. It takes a bit of focus and I had to rip the first one three times before I was happy with it.










The second pic is a little washed out by the flash and the top one is a little dark. This one is a little better...hang on... I need to look at the pattern a second...do you see what I see?

That's right. The left front (on the right) clearly shows that there are increases made while knitting the short rows in stockinette while the right front (on the left) does not. That will have to be ripped back and re-knit. Dammit. I knew it went too smoothly to be right. Here's a tip though, there is one row knit straight between the ribbed short rows and the stockinette short rows. The trick here is to rip back to that particular row because picking up short row wraps is a complete pain in the arse. Fortunately, I've done it before. (how's that for annoying optimism?)

Meanwhile I sat down for a little bit a while ago (time sort of gets meaningless to me in May and June) and did some spinning. I picked up this pretty blue roving hand-dyed by Denny at Lettuce Knit on my trip to Toronto last month. It spins very smoothly and I enjoyed it.  I actually bought two bumps, both the same blue but one much darker and more solid (the one you see) and the other much lighter with quite a bit of barely tinted white in it. Denny told me the lighter batt was the result of her trying to exhaust the dye. I am roughly dividing them into finger widths and spinning them alternately. When I ply them I'm hoping to get some random striping with light and dark and some shading where the lighter blue overlaps the darker and gradually changes. No idea how much there will be when I'm done but I'm thinking it would make a pretty scarf or hat for Dragonsdottir. Might be enough for felted baby booties too. Will see.

And last, I have finally got a picture of the Meillenweit Toronto Socks... you remember, the ones mit extra strapazierfahig. I love them.
I'll let you contemplate the stripey goodness on the left there while I explain that work exploded in my face. I was given an administrative appointment and am now a Curriculum Leader (yay me!) however it came at a point in the year where the regular teaching job is busy trying to complete curriculum and making sure I've covered everything for the final, and the special ed teaching job is busy trying to complete assessments and program plans and the team spirit job is busy helping bring in the audience for the school play. It's really no wonder I made that mistake on Flutter since I was knitting at 11pm after a 13 hour day. If you don't see me until July, don't worry.

Now, with Extra Strapazierfahig

I met this terrific lady online a while ago. Not unusual, I've "met" quite a few wonderful people that way. Beryl Tsang is the driving force behind Titbits. When I saw her pattern published on Knitty, it struck a chord with me. I lost my mom to breast cancer in 1986. Beryl's story of her experience with the silicon prosthetic was my mother's as well. I decided I would knit a tittie in memory of my mother. Then I decided I wanted to knit a lot of titties - crazy titties - for charity. Eventually I sent about 20 or so to Beryl and we started corresponding. She added me to the membership list for the "Society for the Propogation of Fiber Pornography" and I was regularly invited to knit-alongs. The only catch was that they all took place at her house, in Toronto. I live in Calgary. So began a running joke that I was going to list a child on ebay to raise ticket money...this month's market was too soft maybe next month...would you believe not a single offer for him again? Unbeknownst to me someone had the idea of kicking the spare change into an envelope. Eventually a fair chunk was collected and Beryl sent it to me.

I was stunned. Flabbergasted. Speechless. Overwhelmed. This group of people, whom I had never met, had given me this incredible gift. It wasn't just the money either. It was the concrete evidence that they really did want me to travel east and join them. I cried. Honestly. And then I cleared out the airmiles to pay the fare and used the cash to pay the fees. There is no way for me ever to repay the generosity of spirit that prompted those wonderful folks to not only invite me, but to make it possible for me to accept the invitation. Instead, I have paid forward the kindness and done something for someone else which made a difference for that person. Karma is a wonderful thing.

I arrived Friday, April 18 late and tired having left Calgary in the middle of a spring blizzard. I got lost in Pearson - zigged when I should have zagged and went in the out doors I think - but eventually I met up with Guerrilla Knitter (Beryl) and BlogMistress Kat (Katherine). Kat welcomed me into her apartment in the Beaches neighbourhood. Monday was bright, sunny, and Hot! While the snow blew back home, I was wishing I had brought shorts with me. Glorious. The Yarn Harlot has her travelling sock; Franklin Habit is making a book of 1000 Knitters all of whom are stitching on the same scarf; I decided I love both and gave everyone I met my sock in progress, asked them to knit a round or so, and snapped their pictures while they did. It was so much fun!

We started our yarn crawl at The Purple Purl.
The first person I met was Melinda. She was working on something pretty but put it down to work a round on my sock. Then I was treated to the sight of her WIP - a hand crocheted wedding dress which she is making for her wedding this summer. It's stunning.

Next up was Miko. Miko is the co-owner of the Purple Purl.

Finally Jennifer, Purple Purl's other co-owner took a turn. She was so excited because she hadn't knit a stitch yet that day and needed a little fix. I had to hand it to Jennifer - it took her all of 2 seconds to figure out that the part of the sock plan I wasn't saying was that I was getting my sock knit for me in the process! Smart Girl that Jennifer.

What did I get there? Let me see....
Fibranatura "Mermaid"
42% Cotton 35% Superwash Merino Wool 12% Silk 11% Seacell
50g/125 yards/114m; 10 balls
worsted
colour 40605 "Storm" teal blue green
This is intended to make a short sleeve warm weather cardi.

Sorry it's hard to see... yes... Qiviut.... squee!
The Musk Ox is Mine at last.
Magical Qiviut from Cottage Craft Angora
22g - 162 yards; 2 ply fingering
Stupidly expensive.
Also there, a lovely soft, nearly black bump of alpaca roving for spinning. It's from "We Are Spun" in Beaverton, Ontario.

Onward Knitters! Next Stop... Americo

The lovely Annegora works there but she didn't knit on the sock. I took her picture anyway because she's beautiful. That's Anne in the black top and Kat in her stunning cabled cardi. Nicole, Americo's owner and designer did though. I didn't buy any of the gorgeousness that Americo has to offer. Trust me when I tell you their yarns are absolutely stunning. Stunning I tell you, with the possible exception of the yarn with the furry testicle balls on it...but that might just be me.

Nicole gave me samples of three of her lovely yarns to bring back to Amy and Sandra at Make 1 Yarn Studio. I am a yarn mule!
Left 50% Superfine Alpaca/50% Organic Cotton, fingering weight; Centre 100% Organic Cotton, worsted weight; Right 100% Pima Cotton, dk weight. It's all lovely. And I'm going to hand it over. Soon.

From Americo we went on to Romni Wools. WOW! This place is overwhelming. They have everything here. Beryl wouldn't let me go downstairs. Apparently that's where the spinning stuff is. Next time...
Meanwhile, I got a little lost... Happy happy knitter...

I got co-owner and Spinner extra-ordinaire Jonathan to hold the sock, but he wouldn't knit on it for fear of changing the tension...Honestly, the sock wouldn't have minded.

There was a little stash enhancement at Romni too...
I finally found a copy of Nashua Hanknits The North American Designer Collection No.4 which has the pattern shown here, Surplice Lace Top by Gayle Bunn. I saw this picture in an ad ages ago and fell in love with it. Naturally, I had to get something to knit it with.
Romni Wools Bamboo; 100% Bamboo, dk weight, mid tone copper/brown colour 306; 50g/102m; 10 balls

A walk was in order and we set off for Kensington Market and a visit to Lettuce Knit. That's where I met the amazing Denny. Not only is she a terrific person and a skilled dyer, she was happy to knit on my sock too.  I have to say though that I was distinctly hot and sticky in the Toronto heat and humidity by this point and I couldn't help but admire the way that Denny looked so cool and collected while wearing two shirts and a sweater.

We were joined at Lettuce Knit by Cia, who went continental on the sock. Could you imagine a better background??

I also met Alejandra, who is lovely and graceful in person, and who was thrilled to take a turn as well. I didn't take her picture but I met the cutest little girl here. She came in with her mom, obviously well versed in the ways of yarn stores, and proceeded to finger the goods, ask about a million questions, and admire the fridge magnets. "Knit a Little" she read, with obvious scorn. "My mom doesn't knit a little," she announced to the whole store, "She knits a LOT!"

I bought just a little bit here. Only stuff I cannot get anywhere else! Two bumps of merino, hand-dyed by Denny herself. (Which I started spinning tonight and it's gorgeous!) and one skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Socks that Rock" Lightweight, in Waterlilies 100% superwash merino, 128g/360yds/329m. Lettuce Knit is the only place in Canada that you can get STR...couldn't not get some now could I?

From Lettuce Knit back to Beryl's house was an easy streetcar ride. Those streetcars made me a bit nervous. They travel all over downtown Toronto in the centre lane. People wait on the sidewalk. When the streetcar arrives it stops right there in the middle of the road and opens the doors. People then step off the curb, usually without looking, and cross a traffic lane to enter the streetcar. Cars are not allowed to pass on the inside of a stopped steetcar, for obvious reasons, but I was still impressed by the lack of carnage.

More lovely knitters awaited me, this time bearing wine and cheese and disturbingly green sausages I was told were made of Leprechauns.

Meet Kim. She sews. She appreciates a good yarn though. Was nice to meet you Kim!

This precious wee thing is Elaine. That's her knitting she's holding. It is "A something that's going to be made out of two balls of this yarn here that nobody wanted." Elaine is also a pirate. A diminutive pirate to be sure, but Pirate nonetheless. She has a Pirate Song, "Yo ho ho and a ball of yarn!" and decided that the something might just be a pirate flag, with a skull and crossed needles. We had a rousing duel, where her straights beat my dpn's handily. Arrrr Cap'n Elaine!

Here she is again with her lovely mom Mary. Turns out I met Mary online as well. She was living in the UK at the time and read about my little TitBit project. Mary sent me a very nice pair, which eventually made their way to Beryl. Mary herself did the same thing moving to Toronto from the UK. It was a great pleasure to meet both of you as well.

By this time my sock was ready for a heel. You know how fond I am of the PGR short row heel. Works every time - no holes and neat! Except there might have been a problem with trying to turn a heel in the gathering dark, whilst talking, dueling, sipping wine, and singing Pirate songs. I ended up knitting the heel turn twice in the evening, then ripping it out again the next morning and finally getting it right. Meanwhile though, StrickChik (Heidi) and official yarn admirer Christine looked on as I tried to explain the reverse yarnover maneuver and StrickChik translated the german label on my sock yarn. It is Lana Grossa Meileinweit (milenvite) colortweed; 80% Schurwolle (sure voll eh)20% Polyamid in a blue green striped colorway # 1004. The label says it is waschmachinenfest (vash machinen fest) which we thing means machine washable, garantiert filzfrei (garan ti ert filts fry) which probably means "guaranteed pill-free" and, best of all, extra strapazierfahig (schtrap a zeer fay heek). We think strapazierfahig might refer to long wearing, and since there's extra of it, well... that's got to be gud right?

Finally, after guiding me all over the Big Smoke all day, Guerrilla Knitter Beryl took a turn on the sock.

And non-knitter Christine held the sock, looking somewhat confused as to what she was supposed to do with it.

The guys plainly didn't understand. But there was lots of wine, so they were good.

Sharing and fondling of the new stash followed. Note for Rod...Beryl bought nothing and she did not enable spinning stash acquisition, not even when I was drooling over the spindles at the Purple Purl. Kat indulged only in a single skein of Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn, which she started knitting with right away. I however....

Ahem... moving right along....

Sunday was bright and gorgeous. There was a pretty stiff breeze blowing in off Lake Ontario but the beach there is sandy and the water was a very pretty blue green. Kat, the sock, and I took our morning beverages and muffins down to the boardwalk. I don't think it gets much more lovely than sitting in the sun on a park bench, by the beach, knitting with pretty yarn and sipping a latte. Knowing that the husband and children were enduring -12 C and continuing snow gave me wicked delight. I actually had Kat snap a picture of me sitting on the pier, knitting, so I could text it to my snowbound man. Bad wife!

When we got back to Kat's place I ripped the heel and started it over. Third time the charm!

Our last yarn shop was In the Loop. Interesting shop... yarn, coffee, food, and free WiFi. There were a couple of people sitting at tables sipping their java and computing away on their laptops. They seemed oblivious to the yarn. Odd that. When I first saw the Noro sock yarn, I was less than impressed. Oh sure, it has those gorgeous colours, it is Kureyon after all, but it has that nasty hard hand. Single ply and somewhat coarse in the skein it really didn't appeal. Crocheted into a shawl it felt absolutely crunchy. Undeterred, Kat bought a ball and started knitting right away. Wonder of wonders the stuff transformed into an entirely acceptable fabric on her 2.5mm needles. I had to have some. Last purchase of the trip. Noro Kureyon Sock yarn; 70% wool, 30% nylon; 100g/420m; col no. S92 which showed blue, green, teal and black on the outside and promised purple, red, yellow and orange on the inside.

Beryl's lovely daughter An Li spent the day with us. She knits too but instead was crocheting flowers for felting while we chatted and knit. It was lovely to meet you An Li.

Kat finally put down her Noro sock and took a turn with mine. Thank you Kat, for all of your kindness, and generosity in opening your home to me. I enjoyed meeting you very very much.

The socks? I finished them on the plane home.

Thank you again to everyone in Toronto who dropped anything into that envelope of kindness, who greeted me with such warmth, who showed me their lovely yarns, and all who knit a round for me. I had an absolutely wonderful time.

PS: If you have a blog, please let me know in the comments what it is. I'd love to be able to read and stay in touch that way. Or, if you like, you can friend me on Ravelry. I am KnitTwoTogether there.