SP Weekly Question Catchup

I'm very behind so here's a quick post for the Secret Pal readers with the answers to the last few week's questions.

QotW #5:

1) Where is your favorite place to go for vacation/holiday?

I don't go on many vacations or holidays but I did go to Florida this past March to visit my father and step mother. That was a wonderful trip/vacation. This summer I'm going to a very private and piece cottage/cabin. Even though it's just local, the water and tranquility are very alluring. Just to get out of the fast pace of life is a wonderful holiday.

2) Where is one place you’d like to go?

I would love to go to Italy, Spain and Greece ... someday maybe :)

QotW #6:
What is your favorite type of project to take along on holiday/vacation?

Socks, of course! I usually like to take a scarf as well. Something that I know I won't finish so there is no chance of running out of knitting. There never is though cause I always bring way more projects than I could ever hope to complete.

QotW #7:
What is(are) your favorite place(s) to knit? and

There are so many places that I love to knit so it's hard to pick. Around the house I enjoy curling up in the big leather chair or lounging in the backyard in the sunshine. I also love knitting at a coffee shop with my ipod and a nice latte, yummm! I also like knitting at my LYS London-Wul with the other knitters, spinners and friends.

What supplies (besides yarn & needles) make the setting perfect for knitting?

For some reason having a cup of tea or coffee makes it feel more peaceful. Must be that if you have that cup than it means you are there at least until the cup has emptied and that makes it more peaceful. I love having a good movie to watch or a few podcasts to listen to while knitting.


Another item I'd like to share with you is a website called Plurk. Plurk is used for micro blogging and I highly recommend to check it out. If you do look me up. My username is byTanya of course. There are tons of knitters on there and it's highly addictive, but very fun :)

Lotus Blossom has bloomed

I have finished my summer project and it's still summer!

Here are some pictures of my completed Lotus Blossom Tank top from Interweave Summer 2006.







I like it quite a bit but the arm holes are a little strange in the way they fit. After a few wears I may add sleeve caps because I think those may work better. The cast off edge is a little tight and rolls in. Other than that I just love my new top!

Adjustments that I made were to knit the stocking stitch section for 7.5" before the arm holes. Also, I used 100% cotton instead of bamboo. I made the top with about 4-5" of negative ease at it is quite stretch and I wanted it to be fitted.

Now on to fall projects....

Road trip

Two weekends ago (I know, not exactly breaking news) Clancy and took a road trip to CJ, Ollie and Emily's new house in Eastern Passage, NS.

Clancy was a big help as you can see here he is overseeing us unpack boxes while keeping a watchful eye on the neighbors and their dogs.


This was tiring work so he had to rest on his cousin Emily's bed.


Since he was such a great boy all weekend, I took him to the beach a block away from CJ's for a swim. I would love to live this close to the ocean. The breeze is so amazing, but I hear the fog can be a bit spooky at times, right CJ?!





On our way home Clancy was zonked but didn't want to completely lay down in the back as he feared he may miss something exciting, like a squirrel running across the highway.


In knitting news, I've finished one sock for my mom.


These are a toe up version of the Roza's socks from Interweave Spring 2007, but since my mom's name is Rhoda, this toe up version of mine is called Rhoda's socks. They are being knit with the remainder of the Tofutsie yarn I made her last pair with. Since she likes them so short I'm getting two pairs out of this one ball.
There should be news about my Lotus Blossom tank I'm knitting soon. The finish line is now in sight. Next in line that I'm planning for is this amazing V Neck project.

First BSJ

For those who don't know, BSJ stands for Baby Surprise Jacket (ravelry) and it's a classic pattern from Elizabeth Zimmerman. It is in the books Opinionated Knitter and Knitting Workshop as well.

This is my first of probably many BSJs cause I loved knitting it. I used some various odds and ends of sock yarn that I had thrown in Heidi's dye pot during the Highland games a few weeks back, along with a little bit of green fleece artist merino left over sock yarn.

Hard to believe that this:


Turns into this:


Still needs sewing (very minimal along the shoulder and arm) and buttons.

My pal Rocks!

My secret pal sent me a package and a card!



This is my first Sandra magazine and it is awesome! Terrific lace summery patterns. Tons that I'd love to make.

Thanks SP!

What else did I do on Canada Weekend?

I wove!


... and enjoyed some wine and podcasts!

Sunday was supposed to be moving day for a friend of ours but that was postponed due to UHaul stupidity. So not being one to waste a free afternoon, I set to warping my loom.

I've had some hand dyed mohair that I bought in PEI at the market early last summer (or maybe the summer before) and ladder yarn that matched it perfectly. They have been set aside for some time now to become something together. I decided to weave something with them but wanted a good sturdy yarn to be the warp yarn. Since I had this afternoon and couldn't run out to the store I went to the stash. I picked out some Paton's merino that was left over from a felted purse and some hand spun soy silk/wool blend to add to it.





Off I went without planning at all if I had enough yarn, and guess what, I didn't!
I wanted to make a lap blanket or baby blanket so I started at the edge of my 32" loom with the green Paton's merino and placed a mohair and the purple soy silk/wool in once in a while to contrast the green. I was planning on continuing this way for the entire warp but quickly realized that I was running out of the green and I had only gone a quarter of the warp. So this is why you are supposed to plan weaving projects before you begin warping!



I started adding more purple and less green until the green was gone and it had completely transitioned to the purple. In the end it looks pretty great, almost like I planned it that way!

Happy Birthday Hughie & Canada

Every year my step-dad Hughie must share his birthday with our beloved country of Canada as his birthday falls on Canada Day long weekend. This year Troy and I had no Canada Day plans so we spent the Monday with Hughie and Mom. Well I spent the day with them shopping and Troy spent the evening and night, as poor Troy had to work on Monday (sucker!) Troy came home from work and barbecued up some delicious pork loin and we had my mom's homemade potato salad. Perfect summer time meal, if only we had some summer time weather to go with it. Guess you can't have everything.



I made Hughie the best chocolate cake I've ever baked and it was completely from scratch.

It was so simple that I don't know why any one would bother buying a cake mix really. It was called "Hersey's Perfect Chocolate Cake" and it lived up to it's name. The decorating wasn't exactly perfect but seeing it was helped along by quite a few glasses of wine it did nicely.

Hughie's birthday present was a brand new (off the needles that morning) pair of socks and two bottles of Innes & Gunn Oak-aged Beer. (Side note: if you haven't tried Innes & Gunn go directly to your local beer store and demand they order some in from Edinburgh Scotland. You will not be disappointed).

Size: Men's 10 (11" long)
Needles: 2.25 mm Addis
Method: Magic loop
Yarn: Tofutsie
Details: Toe-up, 80 sts, 3x1 rib

These socks were knit up with Tofutsie yarn which is a terrific summer sock yarn consisting of 1/2 wool, 1/4 cotton and 1/4 soy silk. There is a little bit of chitin in it (something from shells) but I don't think it does much to the consistency of the yarn really. I've made a couple pairs of socks with it and it washes up beautifully and gets softer and softer with wear.

Canada Day turned out to be a beautiful summer day and Troy and I headed to the beach in Shediac. No pictures but let's just say there was a little knitting, a little reading and a little dozing. Perfect beach day!