an update, at long last

Sorry for the MIA-ness! A lot has been going on this month - I finished at the mothership at the end of June, then T-man and I took a little vacation road trip (including LYS stop!), my mom had surgery so I have been going back and forth to her house to help her out, I've been going to as many bellydance classes as possible because I bought an unlimited pass at the studio and want to get my money's worth, the troupe had a big performance last Sunday, I joined an afghan square swap on Ravelry (my first swap) and have been cranking out 12x12 inch squares, but not much other knitting.

I have not even had time to think about a new job or new career or even miss working! The house is a mess and we've been eating a lot of quick and easy foods (not crap, but not so great either). The cats miss me but my parents' dogs now love me since I take them for walks.

There are a few posts lined up.... stay tuned!

winding yarn at the office

I used an office chair as a swift and wound up my Fleece Artist Merino sock (colourway: Pinata) into balls. Excuse the sour expression - I was at work, after all.

oh baby!

A round of baby items has been gifted!


Hats and booties for my co-worker Gabi, who is due at the end of the month. All the best, Mama Bisia!

Details:

Patterns: Sprout hat by Leigh Spencer, published in Magknits (now offline) and Perfect Baby Booties by Ruth B. (pdf)
Yarns: Bernat Satin in yellow and pastel mix, and L & M Trading Co. blue, from the stash
Needles: For the hat, 4.0 mm. For the booties, 3.0 mm for the smaller size and 3.5 mm for the larger.
Started: mid-May
Finished: mid-June (both were quick knits, it just takes me a while to sew things up!)

finally, a finished object - socks!

Here are the 2 socks on 2 circs in their completed state! (sorry for the lousy photos - the flash on my camera is terrible, and I didn't adjust them at all before uploading to Flickr.)

After I took the photos, I decided that they were a bit too short, so I undid a few rows and re-knit the toe to give me some extra length. Technically these are not a "finished object" since I still have to fix the other sock! Once they are truly finished and ready to wear, I will take some nicer pictures.

Details....

Pattern: Ladies Simple Sock on 2 Circular Needles by Caryn Lantz (on Ravelry)
Yarn: Lang Yarns Super Soxx in 6365
Started: February 2008
Finished: June 2008
My project page on Rav

crazy busy.

This week is turning out to be really busy and is stressing me out. Everything is happening this weekend!

Funkabelly is on Saturday and I'm performing with my class (a different class than last time) - there are only 3 of us dancing so there's more pressure to do a good job! I keep messing up the choreography while practicing, I don't know why since I know the choreo. Grr. I actually trust myself to get it right while in front of an audience - there's more pressure to perform! But still, I will be rehearsing a lot this week!

Also, E and I have volunteered to bring snacks for FaB. (E's idea.) Hummus and pita and raw veggies. Maybe cookies. Nothing too complicated, but I don't know when we will have time to go shopping and make hummus. (I think we should just buy the hummus. It's more expensive than making it, I assume, but time-saving. That's what I need right now.)

Now, these two things would not so bad on their own, but Todd, Wendy and Zoe are in Toronto this weekend, and that's a HUGE deal!!! Yay! They are staying with T & P and hopefully the mamas will have a night out at Funkabelly. That means that Saturday afternoon/early evening will be spent with my friends, but sometime in there I have to prep food and get dressed and made up for the show. PLUS S&M are flying through TO on their way home from the U.K., and there is a plan to hang out with them at the airport until Todd's flight gets in.

So. many. things. to. do.

Tonight I have bellydance class and troupe rehearsal, tomorrow night I am meeting up with some fellow Ravellers for a pot luck knit night, and on Thursday I'm having dinner with my co-worker that is going on maternity leave next week. Phew!

Sorry for my ranting. It's good to be busy but I don't handle it well. I will have knitting content for you very soon! Socks and baby knitting coming up.

Suheir Zaki and her glorious down hips

A vintage video for your viewing pleasure...

black tulips

Oops, sorry for the lack of posts lately. How did that happen?? Time is passing by too quickly, but also too slowly... one more month at the Mothership and each day is draaaaaaaaaagging on.

For your amusement, here are some photos from my commute. I was going to post only one photo of the tulips, but I love them so much that I'm putting them all up.

Another duck in a fountain - this time at the Rogers Centre (Skydome)

Black tulips beside Steam Whistle Brewing

mothproofing

My name is Lanicraft and I have a moth problem.

The house has a moth problem. I think they were in the carpet when we moved in and we have never gotten rid of them. Sometimes they are invisible, except for the holes in our clothes, and sometimes they are flying all over, or crawling on our sweaters, or otherwise grossing us out. (finding a moth larva on a sweater you ARE CURRENTLY WEARING will give you the creepy crawlies for a long time.) They are only supposed to like wool, but I have found holes in cotton clothing and acrylic yarn. My moths aren't picky - they eat anything. Ugh.

Unfortunately, T-man and I are not disciplined enough to vacuum daily, under all the furniture, dry clean all our sweaters (or bake them in the oven), and don't have enough room to freeze/thaw them to stop the moth life cycle. I don't think that we will ever be totally rid of them, but we do try to discourage them with cedar and lavender (and we do vacuum! just not daily).

In an attempt to protect my recent stash additions, I decided to pack up the yarn with some moth deterrents. Step one: zip top bags and cheap soap.


Step two: make sachets with soap and lavender.


Old tights or pantyhose come in handy for this project.


Step three: pack yarn in bags with sachets.


I didn't have enough old pantyhose to make sachets for my entire stash, so I tucked the extra bars of soap in the other bags of yarn.

For the record, the soap and lavender (and cedar) will not kill or get rid of moths, but the scent deters them from laying eggs and feeding their family with your woolen items. When the weather gets warm enough, I'm going to pack all my sweaters into black garbage bags and let them cook in the sun for a while. That should actually kill the eggs and larva.

Thanks to the Ravelry forums for all the tips.

ducks in fountain

There is a condo that I pass on my way to work (I walk by several condos on my commute - more than I care to count) that recently turned on its fountain or water feature or whatever-it's-called. And promptly attracted some feathered loiterers:


This duo has been swimming about and accepting snacks for a few days now. (You can just see the female in the background.)


They are right across the street from the lake, but I don't blame them for preferring the clean water in the fountain to the toxic soup that is Lake Ontario.

Forest nymph crochet bikini top pattern

Here's my Forest nymph crochet bikini top pattern...


Materials: worsted weight yarn (wool or acrylic), 10 mm crochet hook, 5.5 mm crochet hook
Size: Small (Medium)

With 10 mm hook, chain 30(34), turn.
Dc in 4th ch from hook, *ch 1, skip 1 ch, dc in next ch* repeat across. Ch 4, turn.
Dc in first ch-1 space, *ch 1, dc in next ch-1 space* repeat across. Ch 4, turn.
You should have 12(14) ch-1 spaces.

To make the "cups":
Dc in first ch-1 space, [ch 1, dc in next ch-1 space] 5(6) times. Ch 4, turn.
You have worked halfway across the row.
Dc2tog, [ch 1, dc in next ch-1 space] 2(3) times, dc2tog. Ch4, turn.
Dc2tog, [ch 1, dc in next ch-1 space] 0(1) time, dc2tog. Ch4, turn.
Small size: Dc2tog once.
Medium size: Dc2tog, [ch 1, dc in next ch-1 space] once . Ch4, turn. Dc2tog once.
Switch to 5.5 mm hook. Chain 25(35) for neck tie. Cut yarn.

Attach yarn at edge of work for the second "cup". Ch 4, then work second cup as above.

Side ties and edging:
With 5.5 mm hook, ch 30(40). Switch to 10 mm hook and sl st in bottom right hand corner of the top. Ch2, *sl st in next ch-4 space, *ch 4*, repeat around, end ch 2, sl st in bottom left hand corner of the top. Switch to 5.5 mm hook and chain 30(40) for side tie. Cut yarn. Weave in ends.

Wear over a bikini top, halter, tank top or choli. Add leaves, vines, and flowers as desired.

If y'all make the pattern, please let me know how it goes! (i.e. did I omit something important?) I'd love to see your pics!

more bellydance crochet

I made more crochet accoutrements! My level III class performed asaya (cane) to Ya Shok by Hakim at the May hafla. The theme for the hafla was "forest nymphs and nature spirits". I was thinking green and brown and leafy and mossy and woody. Not especially feminine and bellydancey. Hrm.

There was some green acrylic yarn in the stash, so I whipped up a freeform crochet bikini top type thing, to be worn over a tank top or halter. The freeform ruffle looked leafy. I brought it to class and people liked it, so I made crochet tops for the class and a few headbands. (It helped that our teacher gave me some more yarn.) There was no way I could do them all freeform - it sounds silly, but it's harder to make it up as you go along than to work from a pattern.

(leaves and vines are optional)

The pattern will be in its own post. For something so easy to make, it sure was hard to write up the pattern! Actually, they weren't THAT easy to make - I gave myself RSI from practicing the cane choreography, zylls and crocheting! Too much wrist! :( But I was all healed up for the performance, thanks to ice and arnica and rest.

i'm alive!

Still alive and kicking.... I've just been really busy lately. Had two bellydance performances on Saturday: one in Burlington with the troupe and a class recital in Toronto at Funkabelly. Both went really well! Leleleleleleleleeeee! I had a lot of fun performing with the class at Funkabelly. More details to come...

centre pull ball.

how to make a center pull ball from knits with balls.

I've been tempted to buy a ball winder, even though I don't really need one since I don't often buy skeins of yarn and I'm OK with hand wound balls that roll around on the floor. (it's fun for the cats!) However, this method produces a nice yarn cake and it's DIY!

Found via Ravelry.

bellydance conference love.

The International Bellydance Conference of Canada was sooooo amazing! I had soooo much fun! It has renewed my love for the dance and I feel very inspired. Yesterday, at the closing party at Myth, I felt effervescent!

Here we are practicing before our performance on Thursday:

Amy Sigil of Unmata showing off her beautiful tattoo (she is super nice!):

The dance floor at Myth at the closing party:

Tito dancing on a dumbek:

And here is Tito, Yasmina Ramzy (artistic director of the conference), and Aida Nour:
The highlight of the weekend was watching Tito and Aida dance together!

I am only just starting to calm down from all the excitement. Everyone at the conference was friendly and the big name dancers were so gracious and gladly posed for photos. (most of my pics are on Facebook)

Now it's back to real life - laundry, cleaning and grocery shopping! Oh yes, and work tomorrow.

bellydance costumes.

I have been busy getting ready for my troupe's performance at the International Bellydance Conference of Canada. We have been rehearsing like mad (4 times in 5 days! do I have any sort of life outside of dance?!) and it's coming together nicely, but I'm still super nervous. This is only our second performance as a troupe, and it's a tough audience! These people know their bellydance! Eeeeek!!! We will be great. We will have fun. And we'll be wearing my handiwork....



I made some fringe tops and belts by crocheting a base of black worsted weight yarn and tying on various novelty yarns. My favourite colour combo is above. Here's the whole set:

The belts are the same colour combos, but the fringe pieces are all different lengths. I still have to make the orange & blue belts - that's my project for tonight. And it was requested that I make some sort of arm bands too.

It's so amazing that the troupe is going to be wearing my work!!! Although it is a little stressful to have to make the stuff on short notice, that is far outweighed by the awesomeness that we will be wearing costumes that I made, on stage, at the bellydance conference! Holy crap.

I'm not freaking out. No sirree.

OK maybe a little bit.

5 things that make me happy.

1. sunshine
2. a good yoga class
3. fringe
4. little blue flowers
5. watching sailboats on the lake
   

Inspired by My knitting has gone to the dogs.

condos through glass.


I took this photo through the window at Steam Whistle Brewing while I was waiting for T-man.

bat your eyelashes.

I have big news, important news, but not especially interesting news: I have been laid off by the Mothership. Not surprising, since I had applied for the voluntary layoff program, but the Mothership is cutting my whole department. The internet department. When they keep talking about how important the website is to the business. Anyway, I'm happy to be getting out of there with my severance package and moving on to bigger and better and more creative endeavours.

Enough of the work stuff.

Here's a new project I started and finished last weekend...

Sorry about the blurry photo and messy background. It is a crochet shrug out of eyelash yarn from the stash. I don't love it, but I think it will do for Funkabelly this Saturday - it has a bird theme and this seems sort of feathery. I've received some compliments on it from fellow Ravelers, which is very flattering. Thanks!

Pattern: I made it up as I went along
Yarn: Patons Cha Cha in black
Needle: 10 mm crochet hook

knit pics!

I promised to post on the weekend, and now it's Monday, but that's OK right? Better late than never.

I am on the gusset decreases. On Friday, after I added the post below, I picked up the gusset stitches fairly successfully, but on one sock the heel and gusset stitches were all together and on the other sock, half the gusset stitches were on the heel needle and the other half on the instep needle. Not a crisis - there were no lost stitches, the socks were not ruined, I didn't have to frog - but I decided to skip yoga class on Sunday morning and transfer the stitches so all gusset stitches were on the heel needle. Knitting trumps yoga. (and it was a pain in the arse to transfer the stitches! slip stitches to other needle, then move to spare needle, then back to first needle, oops I need to knit some of those stitches so move them back. yeesh)

Anyway, the socks are all sorted, they look good, I'm happy. Only the foot to go!

p.s. I have another gifty project on the go that I would love to post about, but I can't in case the recipient sees the blog. So go to Ravelry to check it out.

the gusset can be a real heel.

I have knit the heel flap and turned the heels on the Two Socks on Two Circulars. Turning the heels required some patience - first, I didn't realize that I had to do one sock at a time; second, I forgot that I had cast on fewer stitches and didn't adjust the pattern accordingly. There was a bit of tinking back and trying again before I got it.

Now I'm stuck at picking up the gusset stitches... last night I had no idea which needle to use to do this. Well, actually, the pattern does say to pick up the gusset stitches with needle 1 then transfer half the heel stitches to needle 2, but does that include the gusset? What about the other side of this sock? and the other sock? Wha? The pattern doesn't have a lot of instructions on two circ technique, so I turned to the Internet to find my answers: again, I should have been doing one sock at a time and now I might have to juggle the stitches on the two needles (or rather, 4 needles and 2 cables); I can keep the gusset stitches on the same needle as the heels; plus I saw some examples which makes it easier to visualize what it is I'm supposed to do.

Now to get knitting! Pics will be posted this weekend.