tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-314951192011-10-07T19:00:00.476-04:00*******I've moved - please come visit me at http://toknitisdivine.ca and update your links*******Leannenoreply@blogger.comBlogger461100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1168430172805334972007-01-10T06:52:00.000-05:002007-01-30T07:39:20.584-05:00

I know I haven't been around very long, but I've decided to move already. I've left Blogger and have started using WordPress. As well, I have moved to my own domain. You can now find me at http://toknitisdivine.ca. Please come visit me there update your links/subscriptions accordingly.Everything here (posts, comments, patterns, etc) is also available at the new site.

Leannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1167658163229684352007-01-01T08:13:00.000-05:002007-01-01T10:48:10.066-05:00

Happy New Year! I've never been one for making New Years Resolutions, but there are a few knitting-related things I would like to accomplish over the coming year. I won't bore you with all of them, but I would like to state one for the record. I would like to make a sweater for myself that fits and is flattering. Although I knit obsessively, I don't actually own a hand-knit sweater. That has got

Leannenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1167504214789310652006-12-30T13:17:00.000-05:002006-12-30T14:58:57.326-05:00

It finally feels like winter here in the nation's capital. It snowed through the night, the sun is shining, it's not too cold (-7C), all in all the perfect winter day. I mean really now, if we're going to live in a country with winter, then we should at least have something that resembles winter, right? Not the mild, grey, rainy stuff we've had so far this year. I like my winters between 0C and

Leannenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1167396988563115442006-12-29T07:35:00.000-05:002006-12-29T07:56:56.550-05:00

In order to avoid writing a humongous post on December 31 to get through my whole list of bloggy items, I'm going to do a really quick one this morning, before I leave for work. It's so quiet in the office, nobody will really notice if I'm just a wee bit later than usual. Except my manager, who is currently on vacation, who occasionally reads my blog. So Jon, if you're reading this, pretend you

Leannenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1167356583807226242006-12-28T20:24:00.000-05:002006-12-29T06:28:25.240-05:00

I haven't been much in the mood for blogging lately - even though I had 4 beautiful days off from work. I thought I'd be writing lots, but instead I've been really lazy and haven't done much of anything. I did do a list of things I want to blog about - there are 17 things on the list. Let's see how many I can get through before the end of the year!I did want to share a great email exchange I had

Leannenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1166892541260454852006-12-23T10:19:00.000-05:002006-12-23T11:49:01.273-05:00

On Wednesday evening I went to Knit Night at the Bridgehead in the Glebe. Despite it being only a few days before Christmas, there was a good crowd there (10ish, I believe). As always, it was a lovely evening, with lots of laughs. Every time I go to a Knit Night, I bring my camera, but never take pictures. Until this week. I almost left without my camera, but threw it in my bag last minutes. I

Leannenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1166616864355178092006-12-20T06:23:00.000-05:002006-12-20T07:27:05.303-05:00

A couple of months ago I was in Value Village and picked up a few sweaters with a plan to unravel them and use them for Dulaan knitting (and there's one or two that I may use to make gloves and/or hats for myself. So far, I have one and a half unraveled, and have started using the yarn from the first one. I took pictures of these two before I unraveled them, but the pictures seem to have

Leannenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1166377881681328152006-12-17T12:03:00.000-05:002006-12-17T12:51:21.696-05:00

On Friday morning I finished up the package of washcloths and soaps for the gift exchange with my team at work. A couple of posts back I mentioned that I had planned to make one more - a white ripple one with a burgundy tie to complete the package. But I ran out of white just a couple of rows before the end. On Wednesday I had a dentist's appointment, and my dentist is right near Cross-stitch

Leannenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1166271914616801942006-12-16T07:05:00.000-05:002007-03-05T14:46:27.219-05:00

THIS PAGE HAS MOVED!!!Please note that I have moved my blog to http://toknitisdivine.ca. Please come visit me there.The pattern you are looking for can now be found at http://toknitisdivine.ca/2006/12/diagonal-ripple-dishcloth/Sorry for any inconvenience! Please update your links accordingly.

Leannenoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1166014923426253152006-12-13T07:01:00.000-05:002006-12-13T16:03:38.166-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I don't "do" Christmas. I really hate the commercialization and hype of it all. I hate how it has become the "holiday season" to not offend non-Christians. Or, more likely, it has become the "holiday season" to attract non-Christians into the gift-buying frenzy. I completely agree with Christians who want to put the "Christ" back in "Christmas". I would love it to

Leannenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1165512916877978872006-12-07T11:36:00.000-05:002007-03-05T15:05:25.964-05:00

THIS PAGE HAS MOVED!!!Please note that I have moved my blog to http://toknitisdivine.ca. Please come visit me there.The pattern you are looking for can now be found at http://toknitisdivine.ca/2006/12/put-on-a-happy-face/Sorry for any inconvenience! Please update your links accordingly.

Leannenoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1165160506336097552006-12-03T10:30:00.000-05:002006-12-03T10:50:08.543-05:00

This is my first update in a couple of weeks, as life got in the way of blogging. On Tuesday, November 21, my sister Debbie lost her 3 1/2 year battle with Ovarian Cancer. She was 51. I flew down to Halifax for her funeral and to spend a few days with my parents. Go hug someone, okay? While I was in Halifax, I was able to deliver the dishcloths I had made for my mother. You see, a few weeks ago

Leannenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1163964693775717592006-11-19T14:25:00.000-05:002006-11-19T19:17:50.393-05:00

I know this is a few days late, but last Wednesday I went to the Ottawa SnB Knit Night for the first time. Who knew there were so many fun knitters in Ottawa? I had a fabulous time and will definitely be going back. Although I took my camera, I didn’t take any pictures – but there’s a picture of the group over on Sarah’s blog, so go see that. Speaking of Sarah, although she’s not in the

Leannenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1163595458476358282006-11-15T07:57:00.000-05:002006-11-16T07:16:45.700-05:00

I have three finished objects to show today – two have been done for a while, and the other is more recently completed. I was waiting for a sunny day to take nicer pictures, but seeing as though we haven’t seen the sun in weeks here in Ottawa (it’s yellow, right? kinda orangish sometimes? I forget) and it feels like grey is going to be the ambient colour for some time to come, indoor photos it is

Leannenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1163265120901046372006-11-11T12:12:00.000-05:002006-11-12T10:42:51.473-05:00

Three years ago today, on November 11, 2003, I quit smoking. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, and I am still incredibly proud of myself for this.If you smoke and want to quit, or have recently quit and are struggling, do yourself a favour and go visit QuitSmokingSupport.com, and even more importantly, that site’s message board, affectionately known as Blairsville (named after

Leannenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1163163551545946992006-11-10T06:50:00.000-05:002006-11-10T16:53:53.416-05:00

Yesterday evening the Yarn Harlot herself spoke at Yarn Forward in Kanata. Now, I don't get out to the 'burbs very often (in the 6 years I've lived in Ottawa, this was my first time in Kanata), but she was worth the trip. I headed out after work, spent almost an hour on the bus (within which time I got lots of knitting done - maybe I need to move farther away from the office so I have more

Leannenoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1162944201433982192006-11-07T18:39:00.000-05:002006-11-07T19:03:21.453-05:00

MuhahahahaSo today during my lunchtime knitting club at work, I took out the messy grafting job from yesterday and started again. Having finally figured out which way the yarn needed to go to graft garter stitch, it was like I was channelling Elizabeth Zimmermann herself. Without hesitation the needle went in and out of each stitch and before you knew it, I had this:(Don't you love the circle and

Leannenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1162904323404021422006-11-07T07:32:00.000-05:002006-11-07T07:58:43.423-05:00

I haven't had a lot of knitting-related stuff to blog about lately. I have a couple of new FOs (a hat for me and a hat for Rabbitch's Hat Challenge, but one still needs blocking and both need to be photographed, and I haven't gotten to that yet.I still haven't been inspired about any major projects (though I have a couple of things in mind now - it's just a matter of buying the yarn), so I

Leannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1162046517704311532006-10-28T10:26:00.000-04:002006-11-07T14:34:33.300-05:00

As promised, I have written up the pattern for the scarf I made for the International Scarf Exchange, henceforth dubbed the Travelling Roses Lace Scarf. The pattern is available in PDF format here. There is also a link on the sidebar. Here are the details:Finished Measurements7" x 43" pre-blocked8" x 66" blockedMaterialsYarn: Misti Alpaca Lace Weight yarn, Red - 1 skein(yes, it really did only

Leannenoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1161775164081971932006-10-25T07:07:00.000-04:002006-10-25T07:25:04.963-04:00

Well, the International Scarf Exchange has now come to an end for me. I have received my scarf and the scarf I sent has been received.I received a lovely thick, warm, soft Alpaca scarf in the perfect colour for me, some yarn and some chocolate from Becky. I haven't had a chance to take a picture yet - I will do that over the weekend (well, of the scarf and yarn at least. The chocolate is, ummm,

Leannenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1161452066830267672006-10-21T13:20:00.000-04:002006-10-21T13:49:38.096-04:00

I've done a bit of re-decorating around the blog lately. Today, I added all of my FOs to my Flickr site and added the link over on the sidebar. These are only the things I have finished since I began blogging in July. I don't have pictures of the stuff I did before that (mostly socks and dishcloths).As well, last weekend I added ClustrMaps. Very cool feature. I see from that that I have more

Leannenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1161345660884987972006-10-20T07:38:00.000-04:002006-10-21T14:01:02.240-04:00

Sorry for the bad title pun, but I received my first package yesterday from my SP9 Secret Pal and it's full of orangy goodness.All I know about my pal is that she lives in Toronto and that she read my questionnaire very carefully! (I'm assuming she's a she, based on percentages alone!) I said in my blog that my favourite colour is orange, and she sure delivered. I also said I like purple, but I

Leannenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1160921438563165182006-10-15T10:10:00.000-04:002006-10-17T12:13:02.413-04:00

I know, I know, I've raved about how much I like laceweight yarn and small needles. But I'll admit, sometimes it is fun to do things that are quick and easy. Such as the following hat I made for Dulaan: Pattern: Brioche Stitch Watchcap from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears Yarn: 2 strands of Patons Classic Wool Merino, Colour 00207 (Rich Red) Needles: US 11 (8mm) In a couple of

Leannenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1160325153776094252006-10-08T12:05:00.000-04:002006-10-09T12:15:51.350-04:00

Long entry today. While I was travelling I had pretty slow internet access (when I had it at all) so I kept most of the pictures until now to show.The trip is over - I am now back at home and pretty much in the right time zone.One of the things I love about travelling is how much knitting time I get. Just the trip there and back yields hours and hours of uninterrupted knitting time. The trip home

Leannenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1159950491476217692006-10-04T04:27:00.000-04:002006-10-04T04:34:00.190-04:00

I'm on my way home - I'm writing this from the Zurich airport, between flights. I've been getting lots of knitting done - I'll update on those from home once I've semi-recovered from the travel and jet lag.Meanwhile, I've had such fun with the International Scarf Exchange, I've decided to join the Secret Pal 9 exchange. Here is my questionnaire:1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

Leannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1159724345678576272006-10-01T13:25:00.000-04:002006-10-01T15:49:46.486-04:00

I decided when I started this blog that it would be primarily about knitting, and that I would not talk about my work. Although I have a great job that I love, blogging is personal time, not work time! I thought that keeping my work world and my knitting world separate was the best thing for me to do.So then what to do when those two world firmly collide, which is what happened last week? In

Leannenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1158435214053785372006-09-16T15:19:00.000-04:002006-09-17T05:08:06.813-04:00

Sometimes, you just have to listen to the yarn. A couple of days before I left on my trip I stopped by my LYS to purchase yarn for the ISE. Since I wanted to start working on the scarf during the trip, I didn't have time to order anything on line, so I had to go with something that the store carried. I wasn't planning on doing a scarf in laceweight yarn (wanted to go with the quick knit, don't

Leannenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1158423694805767732006-09-16T11:58:00.001-04:002006-09-17T04:43:21.303-04:00

Is it long enough to:- sew the shoulder seams on the baby sweater- Knit the neckband- knit the button band- rip out the button band after deciding you don't like the colour you chose- re-knit the button band in a different colour- knit the buttonhole band- sew both arms to the body- sew the side and underarm seams- rip out the buttonhole band after realizing that you only bought 3 buttons, and

Leannenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1157897963091713602006-09-10T10:04:00.000-04:002006-09-10T12:21:51.163-04:00

I headed back to work this week after my vacation. I must say, it's a lot easier to keep the blog updated when I'm not spending my day at the office. This work stuff really cuts into the knitting and blogging time.The sweater is finished. I finished it last weekend and then wet-blocked it. I guess I didn't squeeze enough water out of it before I set it out to dry, because it took days to dry.

Leannenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1157199826547709772006-09-02T07:58:00.000-04:002006-09-02T08:23:47.346-04:00

My new Knitpicks Options needle set arrived yesterday, and they're just sitting there, still in the packaging. Why? Because although I have a gazillion ideas of things I want to swatch for and cast on for, I've decided to do some monogamous knitting until my sweetie's sweater is finished. When the sweater got cast aside for other, more lacy endeavours, the back and front were already finished,

Leannenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1156790683001578912006-08-28T14:39:00.000-04:002006-08-29T12:00:31.573-04:00

As I've mentioned before, reading knitting blogs has opened up so many new knitting horizons for me. Most of my past knitting was done with worsted weight or thicker yarns, and generally acrylic. I especially loved doing cables - in the mid-nineties I made a boxy, drop-sleeved, heavily cabled tunic-length sweater out of chunky weight cotton. I loved making it - all those textury cables - but it

Leannenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1156764579593025032006-08-28T06:50:00.000-04:002006-08-28T19:26:04.853-04:00

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is what happens to lace when you block it.Weird manta ray-shaped object:Triangle with scalloped edges:Again... Manta ray:Triangle:Weird blobby textures:Beautiful lacy goodness:Again... blobby:Lacy:One thing is for sure - I either need to start making smaller shawls, or I'm going to need to buy a bigger bed.This was the first lace-weight project I ever

Leannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1156699729519911772006-08-27T12:42:00.000-04:002006-08-27T13:28:49.580-04:00

When I first started reading blogs, I was intrigued by swaps. Here were strangers, connected only by a love of knitting, creating treasures and sending each other wonderful packages full of delightful goodies, hand-picked with that person in mind. There seemed to be such a warm community spirit around these swaps.Now that I have my own blog, I've decided to join my very first swap. I've signed up

Leannenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1156525838716280932006-08-25T13:01:00.000-04:002006-08-25T13:10:38.726-04:00

Remember the crease that resulted from folding the stole in half before blocking it? Well, a few pinsAnd a little steamEquals no more crease

Leannenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1156442008596710862006-08-24T13:53:00.000-04:002006-08-24T14:56:42.306-04:00

As promised, here are some more photosThe doubled-over blocking worked fine, except for leaving a crease in the centre, as you can see in this next picture. I will pin out the centre part and steam the crease out. That should work fine.Of course, what would "fashion shots" be without a couple of the stole being worn. Canada's next top model I ain't :-)Don't all fashion shoots come complete with a

Leannenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1156441516261070252006-08-24T12:42:00.000-04:002006-08-24T13:56:02.013-04:00

Well, here it is. I pretty much suck at the fashion shots, but I hope these show how beautiful this stole is.I have more pictures, but after loading up these two, Blogger decided to conk out and not let me upload any pictures. So I'll continue this post later, when Blogger decides to cooperate.

Leannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1156336286420088882006-08-23T08:25:00.000-04:002006-08-23T09:51:10.806-04:00

I finished knitting Scheherazade (aka Mystery Stole 2) sometime last week, but I've been suffering from blocking anxiety ever since. I've never blocked anything this big before. My first issue was where to block it. I played around with a few ideas, and then decided the only viable option was to use the bed. So I needed to do it early morning to give it time to dry before bedtime. I'm on vacation

Leannenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1155728277734062622006-08-16T07:07:00.000-04:002006-08-16T07:37:57.780-04:00

Lots of little odds and ends today. I'm writing this before I leave for work, so I'll see how much I have time for. Anything I don't get to will have to wait for another day. Wednesday is the only day I have time in the mornings - a couple of months ago I started exercising in the mornings before work, except for Wednesdays which is my weekly rest day. I'm loving exercising, but I must say I'm

Leannenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1155471325330625922006-08-13T07:22:00.000-04:002006-08-13T09:19:26.376-04:00

This week my new swift finally arrived. And it's fabulous. I set it up immediately and wound a ball of laceweight in minutes. But I forgot to take pictures. Bad blogger. So I dug out another skein that I'm not yet ready to use, but wound for demonstration purposes. So....1 skein of Socks that Rock (Falcon's Eye colourway) + 1 Swift and Ball Winder= 1 perfectly wound centre-pull cake of yarn,

Leannenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1154909536492368882006-08-06T19:40:00.000-04:002006-08-06T20:12:16.550-04:00

I took a break today from the stole to whip up a new dishcloth, using the Garterlac pattern. I know, it's not the same one I showed the start of yesterday - that one is still at the same state it was when I took a picture. I decided that it needed to be more colourful. I was at Walmart today and I picked up a few balls of Bernat Handicrafter cotton. It made a nice dishcloth, but is sure is hard

Leannenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1154796244022176482006-08-05T12:03:00.000-04:002006-08-06T11:45:55.093-04:00

Earlier this week Norma had a contest to help her daughter Abigail come up with a mnemonic to help her studying for the LSAT. There were over a hundred entries, and she picked mine as one of the winners. I'm way more excited than I should be over this! There were prizes offered, but I couldn't decide so I told Norma to surprise me! Just in case you think ALL I do is knit - I do sometimes go play

Leannenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1154282358015600512006-07-30T13:15:00.000-04:002006-07-30T13:59:18.540-04:00

Have I mentioned that I'm obsessed? Well, I am. Big time. When I get started on a new project, I go crazy on it until it's finished or until I find something else to intrigue me, whichever comes first (unfortunately, it's usually the latter!). I've been obsessively knitting on the mystery stole for the past week - I sure am glad I kept going, because I really like it now. Each week a new clue

Leannenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1153697290947899332006-07-23T19:24:00.000-04:002006-07-23T19:28:34.300-04:00

Well, I've decided that the stole is lovely as it is, and it deserves to be completed. So, I've continued on it and am now half-way through Clue 2. I'm glad I didn't frog it last night. I've learned my lesson over the years - never frog after dark, and never try to fix a mistake after dark (unless it's really simple). It's always better to look things over with fresh eyes in the morning.

Leannenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1153667531653931052006-07-23T11:07:00.000-04:002006-07-23T11:12:11.663-04:00

I'm not sure what to do about my Mystery Stole. I'm not happy with it. I've looked at pictures of others' stoles, and they look so much crisper and nicer than mine. I'm not sure what the problem is... the yarn maybe (a lot of people are using Zephyr. I'm using Alpaca Cloud, which is quite hairy) or maybe my knitting is just too loose and uneven. I got frustrated with it yesterday evening, but

Leannenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1153587727219629842006-07-22T12:45:00.000-04:002006-07-22T13:35:01.816-04:00

My first ever participation in a knitalong is Melanie's Mystery Stole 2. I'm not even sure I'll wear a stole, but it looked like such fun, and I love doing lace, so I figured I'd check it out. I joined the KAL the day the first clue was posted, but I didn't have any suitable yarn so I couldn't start right away. I ordered some KnitPicks Alpaca Cloud in Moss (I love earthy colours) and 3.25mm

Leannenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31495119.post-1153575750081823422006-07-22T09:24:00.000-04:002006-07-22T12:41:09.960-04:00

I've finally decided to take the plunge and join the vast world of knit blogs. I've been an avid reader of knitting blogs for the past few months. I've learned so much from them, and I hope I can contribute to the vast pool of knowledge out there. This is still a work in progress, and it may take me a little while to get into the swing of things, but you have to start somewhere, right?A bit

Leannenoreply@blogger.com2