Be Cool

It's highly possible that I'm completely out of the knitwear-loop here (perhaps even probable), but it seemed to me that the Big Thing this Winter was the cowl.  Specifically, the over-sized, neutral cowl.  Is it just me, or were they everywhere?!? Seemed as though you couldn't open your car door without hitting some hip gray chunky-cowl wearing Fashionista. Or something.

Anyway, while I'm normally fairly immune to your run-of-the-mill fashion trend (for instance, I can pretty much guarantee you won't see me wearing any neon coloured skinny jeans this summer), I do tend to fall down a wee bit when it comes to knitting trends.  I mean... I've knit a Clapotis, a Noro Striped scarf, not to mention a few Stephen West patterns.  It was only a matter of time before I started to get the cowl bug.

When I cast on, I had visions of a long, chunky, over-sized neutral cowl that would - in my mind, anyway - instantly transform any outfit I was wearing into something a hip, young, twenty-pounds-lighter 20-something model would wear to grab a latté before running off to the museum of modern art with a group of sassy friends.  You know... like something out of a Brooklyn Tweed photo shoot.

Not quite sure I achieved that goal (ahem!), but I did wind up with a pretty gosh darn nice cowl, if I do say so myself.

Pattern:Lispenard, by Kirsten Kapur

Yarn: Mission Falls 136 Merino Superwash, colourway 003

Needles: 4.5 mm

Modifications: None

I've been wearing it pretty much non-stop since I finished it about a month ago.  It may not magically transform me into a gorgeous-if-somewhat-twiggy worthy of Jared Flood model, but it keeps me nice and warm without making me look like a Crazy Knitwear Lady (you know what I mean). And that's good enough for me.

Happy Knitting, Everyone!

Wordless Weekend Wrap-Up

How was your weekend, friends?  Mine looked like this:

Happy Knitting, Everyone!

The Sitch

Here's what's going on chez Dear this week:

Watching... Cabin in the Woods.  Twice.  Saw it with some girlfriends last Friday, then saw it again on Saturday with Phil.  Written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, people!  The fact that Chris Hemsworth is in doesn't jurt either.  Just sayin'

Reading... Wow.  Totally forgot about this one when I sat down to write this post.  *Squirms uncomfortably*  Ahem, so, um... I'm reading... um... Fifty Shades of Grey.  Right!  What?  *Blush*

Knitting... Émilie's cardigan.  Still.  Forever.  Does it make me a bad mum if I say I'm bored out of my f***ing mind and just want it to END ALREADY???  Probably, huh?

Listening to... the ice pellets raining down outside.  Yes, it was 27 degrees here a few weeks ago, and now it's practically hailing.  Let us not dwell, shall we?

Thinking about... what I'm going to cast on in a wild fit of glee once the never-ending mind-dulling time-suck of doom cardigan is done.

Dreading... getting on the treadmill at 5:30 tomorrow morning.

Planning... on finishing the blocks for our bedroom quilt (aka the quilt top I've been working on for over a year) this week.

Wondering... what the heck I'm going to do then???

Excited about... Émilie and my wee seedlings turning into actual plants.  It never ceases to amaze me that something from which we will get so much bounty comes from a tiny little seed.

Humming... Édith Piaf's Polichinelle.  Yeah, I don't know where I get this stuff either.

Drinking... the elixir of life, otherwise known as Matcha Green Tea.

Itching to... buy yarn.  Not because I need any, just because I want to.  *Sigh*  I miss buying yarn.

Needing to... buy Maxime's birthday presents instead.  Little dude is going to be FIVE in 3 weeks!  Unreal.

Organizing... my coupons by type (food, personal hygiene, laundry, paper products, etc.).  Because, why yes, I would be a dork.

Delighted by... the friendship bracelet I started a few weekends ago.  Circa 1990, baby!

Happy Knitting, Everyone!

Wordless Weekend Wrap-Up

How was your weekend?  Mine looked like this:

Happy Knitting, Everyone!

Enjoying the Moment

On a rainy day a few weeks ago, while the kids were happily set up with colouring books, scissors and glitter glue, I took out my potting soil, vermiculite and part of the makings of this year's vegetable garden, and set up on the dining room work table. I'd had these seeds germinating for going on 2 weeks, and I knew it was high time to get them settled into their own pots.


It didn't take too long for both kids to express interest in what I was doing, of course. I mean... there was Maman, playing with what looked like MUD on the dining room work table, on purpose! Before I knew it, I had 2 little helpers eager to get their hands dirty.

Maxime's interest is as long as any 4-year old's, which is to say not very (unless we're talking about playing Angry Birds of course), so it didn't take too long for him to return to his colouring at the other end of the table. But Émilie, well... she's my little scientist. She's the one who always wants to do "experiments". This whole "let's get started turning these seedlings into plants" thing was right up her alley.


At first, I was happy and proud of her interest. But I soon felt... annoyed. At her slowness. At her inefficiency. She was taking so LOOOOOOONG to get one stinking pot filled. She was making more of a mess than was strictly necessary. Even though she was being very careful, her unsure fingers were sometimes too much for the delicate seedlings. I found myself thinking "Oh, just let ME do it, it'll be easier!".

And then I realized that THAT, my friends, was a big-ass slice of Crazy Pie.

Honestly... who CARED if she was slow? What did it MATTER if she spilled a little dirt? Why did this task - the first in a process that takes months - need to be conducted so frickin' efficiently, anyway?

So I let go. And enjoyed the moment, thinking of the tomatoes, broccoli and cucumbers that I'll enjoy all the more because they've will have been nurtured from seedlings to fruit-bearing plants with my growing-up-way-too-fast daughter's hands.


Happy Knitting, Everyone.

The Sitch

Idea stolen from Vicki, who pilfered it from Kym. Well, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that... I like it.

The Sitch this week:

Watching… Star Trek: The Next Generation in its entirety with Phil. Can I just say? I love this show. Love it. But, seriously? Looking back at those first few episodes, it’s hard to believe it became such a successful show. I mean… Justice? Angel One? *Cringe*

Reading… La reine dans le palais des courants d’air, aka The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, third volume of Stieg Larsson’s Millenium series. Swedish crime novels are best read in French, short of reading them in their original language. I feel very strongly about this.

Knitting… a new cardigan for Émilie, Lavanda. Pics to come soon. Ish.

Listening to… Phil’s new crush, Melody Gardot. Like, all the time. Constantly. During dinner. While giving the kids’ their bath. First thing in the morning (he’s set up the alarm clock to wake us up with her music). No word on how Stacey Kent, who had been enjoying pretty constant air time chez Dear since Christmas, feels about him abandoning her for this 27 year-old floozy. (OK fine, she’s not a floozy. Tell that to Diana Krall).

Thinking about… what we’re going to do for summer vacation. It’s looking as though Phil and I might not be able to get concurrent time off this year. Which totally sucketh the big one.

Dreading… finishing up our income tax returns. They’re all done, all I need to do is copy them out and mail them, but it’ll take all evening and that’s rare and valuable knitting time right there and I don’t wanna do it. Blah.

Planning… on putting the tomato, broccoli and cucumber seeds that I’ve had germinating (I’m trying the baggie method this year) in their individual pots this weekend.

Excited about… this year’s vegetable garden. If all goes according to plan, there will be LOTS going on back there this summer!

Humming… Sweet Memory (by, you guessed it, Melody Gardot). Probably something to do with Phil playing that song, oh… about TWELVE TIMES IN A ROW last night.

Drinking… water. Lots and lots of water. Trying to get back up to at least 3 litres a day. If you hear a sloshy sound, it’s probably me. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to run to the bathroom for the ninth time today.

Itching to… buy a needlepoint kit. Preferably something large and colourful and über-tacky that my grandmother would have LOVED.

Needing to… nip that urge in the bud. What the heck am I going to do with needlepoint, anyway?

Organizing… my receipts from now on! Because, with wool as my witness, Next Year Will Be Different! ^TM

Inspired by… my daughter Émilie. She had (minor) surgery last week, basically decided it was no big deal and is wondering why everyone’s making such a fuss over a dinky little operation anyway. Kid’s a trooper.

Delighted by… my sprouting garlic. Dudes! There’s GARLIC growing in my garden!

Recording… every penny spent.

Happy Knitting, Everyone!

In which we discuss baby knits

Here's the thing: I mostly knit stuff for myself. And by that I don't mean that I knit to satisfy my intellect or creative process or entertainment (although knitting certainly fills those shoes too), but mostly I mean that the end result, the FO, that which I am working on... is usually for me. It all boils down to this (apologies if I offend you charity knitters out there):

My Money (yarn) + My Time = My Knitwear

That's not to say that I haven't dished out my fair share of woolly love over the years. I totally have. I have many a friend/loved one who has been found worthy and been blessed with the gift of my time my yarn my skill my yarn my dedication to my craft MY YARN!!! knitwear. But I'm not one of those knitters, you know? You know the ones who whip up a pair of mittens for a casual work acquaintance because they mentioned they had cold hands once? Heck no. Screw that, they can get their own damn mittens!

Take baby knits. Some knitters are All. About. the baby knits. Brother-in-law's cousin's daughter's hairdresser is expecting her ninth? That woman needs a baby knit! And, you know... that's totally cool, more power to them.

I, however, am not that knitter. Are baby knits cute? Satisfying to knit? Satisfying to give? Fun? You're darn tootin'. But they're only worn for about, oh, 9 minutes before the bundle of joy outgrows them, and that's a clear affront to my "selfish" knitter tendencies.

So friends, if you've received a baby knit from me, know that it's because you're loved here at Casa de Dear, and tap yourselves on the back for being one of the lucky few.

The most recent baby knit to come off the needles was completed sometime in... um... November of last year? I think? I know, I'm a terrible blogger and you should shun me. Moving on.

I knit this one for a knitter friend's Miracle Baby. Really. This baby girl, this little gem, came unexpectedly into their lives, and her ecstatic reaction compelled me to knit something for her. I think it was her joy at being pregnant that drew me in. She was just SO happy, you couldn't help but gravitate towards her.


I chose the Korrigan pattern, because it was simple and elegant and had those gorgeous cables that just screamed Knit Me!!! Knit it up in a gorgeous golden yellow silk/merino blend from No Two Snowflakes I had left over from another project.

(What IS it about yellow anyway? Have you ever noticed how it can "upgrade" any old project from ho-hum to fabulous because, hey, wow, IT'S YELLOW!!!)


All in all, a successful project, I think. I hope it will keep my friend's Miracle Baby warm for many minutes to come :)

And yes... it had buttons when I gave it to her. Bad blogger, remember?

Happy Knitting, Everyone!

Edited to add: speaking of baby knits, Tanis is having a giveaway for one of her awesome Shane Baby Blanket kits! Check it out here!