Crafting Morrighana

TKP @ Easter

Two short videos for you today!  I cannot believe I haven't shared this with you yet.  My little neice at Easter/Ostara this year.  I have watched these videos so many times, I've lost count.  She is such an adorable little girl.  Special appearances made by her little sister Gracie (also adorable) and yours truly.

Easter '09 - Egg Colouring from Meredith Sexton on Vimeo.

And then...our intrepid TKP goes in search of the elusive Easter bunny, and finds some eggs along the way!

 

Easter '09 - The Search for the Easter Bunny from Meredith Sexton on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

All good things,

Morrighana

CPH Update

As promised, here's a little photo update of my Central Park Hoodie.  It is so enjoyable to work with Lamb's Pride Worsted again.  I love how soft it is and the stitch definition. Click all photos to embiggen!

I had to rip out the top of one of the sleeves because I missed a decrease somewhere, but thanks to my handy dandy check off chart (I can't knit without making them!) I was able to figure out exactly where the error was.  If you don't use them when you knit, I highly recommend starting.  Otherwise I would have found myself ripping out the whole sleeve and starting over.

I also have a bit of a boo-boo on the other sleeve.  I noticed after I finished it that the set of cables right on the shoulder were done in the wrong direction.  Upon consulting with my Tuesday night knitters, we all agreed that even though it wasn't that visible, I would notice it every time I put it on.  So I will be ripping out the shoulder and reknitting it.  Luckily it isn't too far down the sleeve.

And of course, things are going swimmingly with the back portion.  I'm thinking I will knit the two fronts at the same time on a circular needle, but if it becomes too much (since I haven't done that before, it might just.  We confuse rather easily sometimes over here at casa del Morrighana) I'll just knit one at a time.

More to come!
All good things,
Morrighana

Tanner's Teddy

Back in oooohhhhh...last year sometime, my young nephews sidled up to me casually while I was knitting at the cottage and in the subtlety that only a 7 and 11 year old could display (which wasn't much...lol) kindly requested that I knit them each a teddy bear.

Well, after much time in between projects and life stuff (as any knitter could relate to, I'm sure) I've completed one of the bears.

Here's the FO:

Pattern: (Warning, Ravelry link)  Bertie & Bruce from Sandra Polley's book The Knitted Teddy Bear
Yarn:  Vanna's Choice Worsted
Needles:  4.5 mm circs and DPNs
Additional notions:  Two buttons for the eyes, black embroidery thread for the nose.
Notes:  This bear does not take that long to knit.  I procrastinate, therefore I am.  It really is a sweet pattern.  I made the arms and legs posable by sewing a loop of yarn through both arms and the body, then did the same with the legs.

The result, I think, is absolutely adorable.  The next one for the 11 year old will follow soon, once I find the perfect colour of "turquoise...it has to be turquoise".  Why turquoise?  I don't know.  I can only say that my 11 year old nephew has very specific tastes but is a wonderful kid, so turquoise it is!

All good things,
Morrighana

Friday Flickr Five

It is Friday, right?  Oh please say it is!!  What a week!

Knit night on Tuesday, looking at several houses on Wednesday, work was...well let's just not talk about work.  The house hunting is going well, although we haven't seen anything that really grabs us yet.  It's interesting to look at these houses and get a glimpse into other peoples lives.  At times I feel like I'm invading their private space and it feels awkward to be walking through someone else's house.  At other times, I feel like I've found a house belonging to a family that I could really identify with.

Oh there are so many things to consider and while I find it a somewhat overwhelming process, Kev seems to have a really good handle on all the things that need to be considered.  We are both very excited, a little scared and feeling very hopeful about the future.

At any rate, I managed to get some time to work on my Central Park Hoodie which is coming along beautifully.  I still am not sure that the colour is a good colour for me, but I'm enjoying the process of knitting it regardless and it's giving me a chance to work from the stash instead of buying new yarn.  It's a happy knit for sure!

Unfortunately, I don't have any recent photos for you of my CPH but I'll try to get some taken this weekend.  I have both sleeves done and about a 1/3 of the back.  Oh how I wish I'd jumped on this bandwagon months ago.  I don't know why I waited.  Ha ha!

I do have some photos taken on various excursions with Kev and my Nikon that I thought I would share with you in loo of CPH photos.  I hope you enjoy them!

 

I have been trying to catch a photo of these magnolias for three years now.  They bloom all over our city every spring and are my favourite trees.  This year I managed to photograph some. :D

 

My handsome little man.  Taken this past winter in a rare moment of stillness for Pooka.

 

Some eggs dyed by my sister and my neice Tulia this past Easter/Ostara.  Aren't they gorgeous?

 

An old school in Cambridge Ontario.  This building just BEGS to be photographed.

 

And how could I leave out my new little neice, and Tulia's little sister, Gracie.  I took this photo last weekend at our Mother's day gathering.  Such a sweetie!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and that the sun is shining where you are! Some CPH updates coming next week as well as a glimpse into my latest Castitis obsession.

All good things,

Morrighana

Alpaca Euphoria

Ahhhh, Sarah Slean.  I am completely taken by her music.  As I write this, her tracks are seducing me through iTunes again and I'm finding it difficult to focus on anything but the music. 
Kev and I spent one of our recent date night Fridays at her performance here in town (see one of my photos of the show on the left here, click to see large version).  I love the raw emotion, the passion of her lyrics and  her musical arrangements.  She is so multi-talented both on and off the stage, and I gotta tell you, the woman is genius.  Not that I am the final word on all things musical, but I don't say that about the music I hear very often.  If you haven't given her a listen yet, go and do it as soon as you can.  If all goes well, and I trust it will, you'll listen to one song only to be led down the path of all her "passioneers" and be there for a good long time...so just let me confess to you my latest sin and then I'll let you be off for some audio bliss.

I was about to tell you about one of my recent FO's, an alpaca FO I might add, when the track switched to her Euphoria tune.  How fitting that a song so rich with the imagery of a one night stand should come on about now.  This project really did have that kind of feel to it.

I've wanted to knit with alpaca yarn for a long time.  It's quite honestly the only yarn I've ever had eyes for and I adore it.  I've cuddled it, flirted with buying skein after skein, even took some home from an LYS in a fury of desire...but I've never dared to knit with it.  I've been too afraid of losing it to the wrong project.
Well ladies and gents, it was only a matter of time before it's come-hither glances from my stash were enough to cause my needles to quiver and my hands to do more than just caress the skeins before putting them back in the drawer.
I did it...oh god I didn't even give myself time to think.  And it was quick, and easy, and anything but a cheap thrill.  I kind of lost my head a little during the whole process...and dare I say I took photos, too?  I couldn't help myself.

Pattern: Family Mittens by Be Still and Knit
Yarn:  Superfine Alpaca (1 skein Pink, 1 skein Grey)
Needles:  5mm DPNs
Notes:  Not only was this my first time knitting with Alpaca, but I was a mitten virgin, too. (full mittens with a thumb, that is...Fetching doesn't fall into this category of mittens in my opinion).  I don't know why I haven't knit a pair yet.  I mean, if you can knit socks...you can knit mittens.

It all just kind of...happened.  You know?  I couldn't help myself...and it pained me that it was over so soon.  Me being me, well I just couldn't stay away.  I had a taste and I had to have more... can you blame me?? 
... so I kinda sorta did it again... and knit a hat to match.  Alas, it's all now in the past.  Rest assured though, there is more alpaca to be knit and believe you me, it's gonna get knit...
I just can't stop myself.  It was *le sigh*  absolute... Euphoria...

All good things,
Morrighana

Working While the Sun Shines

Hey there Knit Sibs!

Today is absolutely beautiful out, and I have two things I would rather be doing than sitting inside at work in a windowless room...

1.  Wandering around town capturing the gorgeous day with my Nikon.

2.  KNITTING!

Alas, I can't do either right now...so if I can't actually DO either of those things, I can blog about them, right?

Right now I'm absolutely obsessed with knitting my first cardigan for myself.  I've been working on little things for so long, my needles are positively BEGGING to stretch their cables on something big.  Hence my Central Park Hoodie.  So far, 1.5 sleeves done and I'm loving the pattern.  My only regret is that I didn't start this one while the bandwagon was in town.

As for finished projects, here's a little ditty that I created with my newly developed crochet skills.  It was part of a Facebook meme to make something for the first 5 people to respond to the meme.  The first to respond was a coworker who makes cakes for people on the side when she isn't at her full time job here with me at work.  I figured, since she makes cakes for so many people that she needed one too...albeit a little one.  I absolutely LUUUURRRVED working on this project.  See below for the deets on the project.

 

Pattern:  heavily adapted from Brett Bara's Crocheted Confection (Ravelry link)

Yarn: Bernat Softee Baby

Needles:  3.75mm/F size crochet hook

Accessories: Various ribbons and tiny flowers found in my crafting bin.  Honestly, you could customize this one so easily with whatever your hear desired.

For the filler on the large bottom tier, I used a styrofoam cylinder bought from Michael's in their flower arranging department, for the top tier, I cut a cardboard toilet paper roll down to size.

Not sure what I'll be making for the other four people who responded to the meme, but luckily I have until the end of 2009 to get them done.  And you can bet I will post the end results up for you to see.

All good things,

Morrighana

Bemember me?

*tap tap**FEEBACK SQUEAL* *tap tap*  Ahem...is this thing on? *clears throat*

Erm...Hello there!  Yeah, I'm still alive.  I am sorry for the lack of blog fodder around here for the past few...oh gods...months?  Really?  Yeah, so I'm a dork.

Well, there has been much happening in my neck of the woods this year.  New job has kept me hopping regularly and is a new challenge every day.

As far as personal stuff, Kev and I are very excited to be looking for our first house together.  Nothing big is happening there yet, but I will keep you posted on that front.

Just a short post today as I'm sure some of you have seen my regular updates on Ravelry.  No worries there!  There have been many projects started, some finished and some just about finished.

I blame the crochet...yes, amigurumi kicked my crafty arse and sidetracked me from the knitting.  Rest assured, the knitting prevails and I just cast on last night for my very own Central Park Hoodie!! SO excited.  Let us not question my sanity in starting a heavy wool Fall/Winter cardigan at the end of April, nay!  Nor let us acknowledge my blatant inability to jump on a bandwagon while it's still rolling, rather run after it when it has already pulled away several years ago.  Nay I say, NAY!  Let us instead revel in the beauty of that pattern and joy that is knitting.  *snicker*  Yeah...I'm a serious dork.

More updates to come, my friends.  I seriously miss my blogging and I miss hearing from you guys in the comments.  I've not disappeared yet, don't worry. :D

Tomorrow, I'll catch you up to speed on some recent projects to get things rolling around here again.  I noticed today that there have still been visits to my little area of the intertubes (this blog) quite frequently, so thank you to everyone who has been regularly checking in here.

All good things,

Morrighana

Tuesdays Are For Knitting

Hey Guys!

First, let me apologize for an excessive absence from the knit-blogging world.  Truth is, I really miss blogging and I think about it a lot.  There are so many things I want to share with you guys and I'm sure you can relate when I say that I'll come across something and often think, "this would make a great blog post" or, "I gotta show this to the blog"...
Alas, lately my new (now new-ish) job has me cah-razy busy every day which, as much as I enjoy it, doesn't leave me with much energy to sit down and blog to you guys.  I hope you can forgive this.

At any rate, I borrowed from the Yarn Harlot in the post title today and I realize that for her usually, Tuesdays are for spinning, but for me...it's knitting.  Just Tuesdays, you say?  Nah, not just Tuesdays.  Rather, for the past few months Tuesdays have been special knitting days for me.

About the time I was laid off from my previous job (back in November) I had lots of free time when I wasn't job hunting.  I got back in touch with and began chatting more with a couple of friends I'd known for a number of years here in town.  Both of these ladies were people that I knew of more than I could say that I knew well.  That is, they were ladies that I wanted to get to know better, but as previously mentioned, I'm pretty shy and at times I can be hard pressed to buck up and just go over and start chatting.  (If you listen hard, you can probably hear them laughing at me right now because now they can't get me to shut up when we see each other now).
Through various discussion over the years, I knew that they knit or crocheted as well, but well, shyness always prevented me from ever engaging much further than that.  You would think I'd be over this at my age...
Isn't it funny then, that life just kinda happens.
During my time off, the three of us found each other on Ravelry, then through each other's blogs, and we just fell into step with one another.  We started casually meeting, always on Tuesdays it seemed, to sit and drink coffee or tea, to talk and partake of the fibre arts in whatever form we felt was appropriate.  I started to get to know them better.  It felt right.  I didn't feel shy anymore.  A lot just kind of naturally fell into place with these two smart, funny, talented women.  And dudes, I got so much more done on my projects than I did on my own.
So now, Tuesdays are for knitting.  We've been meeting religiously every week (with a couple of exceptions that either involved someone sick or a necessary obligation that prevented us from meeting).  We even have a South Western Ontario yarn crawl in the works once the weather is better. 
It feels good to laugh with other women.  Something I've felt deprived of for a long time, actually it's something I think I've deprived myself of...I'm a little funny like that. :) 
I've tried a few times in the past to get involved with the local knitters guild, I've gone to events  with fellow knit bloggers in other cities which I have enjoyed a lot, but I've never had my own local group to knit with.  Not one that I didn't feel nervous about what people thought of me, or of my knitting...like I said, I'm funny like that.
This isn't just a thing to have, it's not a material thing for me.  For me it's about being with good friends, each with a common interest in something like knitting.  It's naturally flowing conversation where I feel free to be myself and feel in the loop, so to speak.  See that photo in the top right of this post?  It was taken during one of our Tuesday meets by one of the above mentioned ladies for one of her Ravelry projects.  I like that photo a lot.  I like it because when I look at it, I think about how much I look forward to our Tuesday knit n' gab sessions.
I'm learning to overcome my shyness, I'm learning the art of conversation, and I don't think I've ever heard the word VAGINA more than I do in our conversations. Ha ha! (Come now, two of the three of us have kids, we're all women, we have knitting and we have coffee.  You would expect it to come up at SOME point in the conversation with an equation like that :P )
At any rate, I just wanted to say thanks to those two fantastic women who know who they are, and who I appreciate more than they know for being who they are.
Now,  I just have to find a way to get all my knit blogging friends to join us, and life would be perfect. *wink*

Some FO's to come later this week, and even some *gasp* dare I say it?  Crocheting! *titter titter*

All good things,
Morrighana

She Can Be Taught!

I never, ever, EVER thought I would be able to learn this (see left and click to embiggen!).  Thank the gods that a book like Creepy Cute Crochet by Christen Haden  came along, or I might not have given it a try.  But I mean really...Tell me how can anyone resist such adorable patterns like the ones in this book?

I am working as hard as I can to get better at crochet, because I needs me a Corporate Zombie for my desk at work. *snicker*  After I'm done that?  I'm gettin' me some of these cuties, too!

I know I promised updates for you over the weekend, but I'm really struggling for time these days.  I promise you that TONIGHT I will have updates on the socks that nearly killed me, at the very least (although I owe you much more than that.)  Hope all is well with you in your part of the world! :D 

All good things,

Morrighana

Dilemma

Until I get caught up on some of my more recent FO's (and once I get home from work where the photos of said FO's are) I thought I would share my more recent dilemma with you.  It involves knitting (hooray!) so check this out:

I'm knitting this bag, see, and it calls for fabric to line it with.  It's a fantastic free pattern, and doesn't require a whole lot of thought unless you've never worked with a cable needle before.  I think of this pattern as if you've turned the Fetching mitts into a purse.  Yeah, it's that easy.

So here's where I honestly can't decide.  I could take the advice of my two local knitting buddies and just knit two bags but I have other projects to finish or that I'm dying to cast on for so that may not be an option for the immediate future.

Here are the photos that I took of the current WIP with both of the fabrics that I bought last night.  I love them both.  Please feel free to express your opinion on both of them in the comments of this post, cause I sure as hell can't decide. :P

       

Happy Friday, everyone!  I promise to put up some photos of FO's this weekend!  SQUEEEEE!

All good things,

Morrighana