The Difficult Month

I can't believe that November has gone by with TeamKnit postless! Please forgive us, this has been a really hectic month for all sorts of non-knitting related business. First, I signed up for Nanowrimo. Tragically, it did not go very well- my crooked landlord, who has always been the kind of person you would typically cross the street to avoid, has been doing his best to get me to move out of my apartment (which I've only lived in for two years!) so he can raise the rent by hundreds of dollars when getting a new tenant in. In Ontario, Canada, this is completely illegal- there are fixed annual rent increases allowed, but when a tenant vacates, you are free to charge whatever you like when negotiating a new rental contract. It's been a really difficult situation, and the result was that I spent most of November looking for new digs. As I'm sure you either know first hand or can imagine, looking at the adverts, calling places up, staggering appointments with enough time apart so that I can get from one part of the city to the other, and then the amount of really awful places for rent in the city.... well, it's depressing. And time-sucking. And subsequently, not much writing or knitting has been taking place. I keep trying to remind myself that sometimes a big change feels like a crises but is actually for the better, and then when G and I signed the lease for our new place last week.... well, let's just say it makes all the nuttiness of November worth it. For one thing, I'll be moving out of a basement apartment and into a lovely second floor with big bay windows! Finally, some decent light for knitting photos. And yes, this was definitely something I was considering when checking out new places. Priorities, people! December is going to be filled with harried packing, because I actually move into the new place in the middle of the month! And of course, I have Christmas knitting to do....So, some pics of what I'm working on: first up, is the River Forest Gansey from Handknit Holidays, which I'm knitting for my dear friend Paul. And since it's absolutely huge, I've been doing a lot of reading while knitting it. Skrilla Knits suggested these handy little things, and I was happy to try my hand at them: Bookweights! Check out the great little pig fabric: I love it! it works really well, and is filled with popping corn kernels. It was a snap to make, and is now indispensable. And this, although currently nothing more than skeins of yarn, will be a bulky mini cardi for my friend Monica. She saw me wearing my black bulky cardi one night, and asked if I'd make her one. It's a pretty quick knit, so I'm hoping it'll knit itself in no time. And for reasons I can't explain, this hat is taking me forever:The pattern is a modified Marigold. I'm aiming to have a slouchy version a la Eliza's gorgeous version. And since it's been ages, since I posted, here's a shot of my darling kittens doing what they do best. Sleeping, and getting into trouble:

FO- Bulky Mini Cardi

Friday night Jen and I were at The Purple Purl to help Glenna celebrate the completion of her Ph.D. And we knitted.... and knitted.... and I finally got some FO shots of the mini bulky cardigan, thanks to Jen. Pattern: Mini Bulky Cardigan Size: small, but an altered small- the small is a 38 bust, and I'm a 32. I came in under gauge, and followed pattern as normal. Yarn: Marisol Sulka, 4 skeins, colourway is black pepper Needle Sizes:9mm, 6.5 mm, 5 mm Mods: None, except that I didn't do the contrasting colour trim. Which I think is pretty obvious. Notes: I LOVE THIS YARN. I swear I'm a martini away from running off to Las Vegas and marrying it in an Elvis chapel. Here's a shot of the back, I love the decreases. Stephanie Japel is brilliant. And then the neckline. I really like the garter trim. I'm a bit late on Self Portrait Sunday, but I was a bit under the weather: As honest as it gets, really. I'm in bed, in a bathrobe. I forgot about the chicken pox scar on my forehead. I've had it since I was three years old, but it's been ages since I noticed it. And why yes, I do display my handbags as wall art. They are too pretty to be chucked in a drawer.

Sulka Love and Self Portrait Sunday

I swear, I only meant to do a swatch of the Marisol Sulka for the Bulky Mini Cardigan and then, before I knew it:Yup. I'm smitten. And this yarn is heaven. HEAVEN. I should have planned to start Self Portrait Sunday when I got back from the UK, but no matter- let's resume. So I took another stab at it this evening: And I actually feel like I learned something from this. First, I have a tough time being comfortable looking straight into a camera lens. So doing something like this (I'm posing- I don't lay on my floor like a rag doll for sport) at least gives me something else to think about. Also, that t-shirt and shorts were not what I first put on for today's self portrait. I had on a purple dress, which I think made for a better photo. The solid colour and the fact that it was one item meant fewer visual distractions. The background (my extremely messy bedroom) is a bit visually noisy. But I didn't post the photo of me in the purple dress because at that angle, you could see right down the front and it was an eyeful of cleavage. Although not ideal, I have to admit I have a new found respect for the bra I was wearing!