Happy New Year

I lied

After finishing the beer mitt for my uncle (and announcing it was my one and only xmas knit) I decided my dad needed a beer mitt too.

I call it the Work Sock Beer Mitt.

Side view

Bottom view

PS. He loved it and my uncle loved his Habs beer mitt too. :) :)

Habs a Merry Christmas

My uncle is a huge Montreal Canadiens fan and I'll be seeing him this Christmas, so I decided to knit him up a little gift. He is the only knit-gift of the holiday season.

What is more Canadian than beer and hockey? Not much. So I give you the Habs Beer Mitten ...

I knit the bottom of the cup in black to resemble a hockey puck. 

I think he'll like it. :)

Yoink!

I haven't posted in awhile and saw this over on Valerie's blog so I stole it. :)

Sweater Weather Challenge

1.  Favorite Candle Scent:  Cinnamon anything ... or anything that smells like baking. I once had a really pleasant banana bread scented candle. 

2.  Coffee, Tea, or Hot Chocolate:  Coffee. While I do drink all of the above coffee is my go-to.

3.  What Is the Best Fall Memory You Have?  Boston 2013. It was a gorgeous time of year to walk around that beautiful city and see the sites. :)

4.  Best Fragrance for Fall:  Cinnamon, pumpkin spice (but please keep pumpkin spice away from my coffee).

5.  Favorite Thanksgiving Food:  Pumpkin pie for the win!

6.  Most Worn Sweater:  It's not a knit sweater - I have been wearing my husband's Running Room bunnyhug a lot lately.

7.  Football Games or Jumping in Leaves?  Leaves. As long as there's no dog poop. LOL

8.  Favorite Fall Accessory:  Scarves!

9.  Favorite Type of Pie:  Pumpkin pie. I eat it all year around though, not just at thanksgiving and xmas. Also, Valerie, mincemeat pie is gross. LOL

10. What Is Fall Weather Like Where You Live?  Cool, but usually sunny. The rainy days are the kind where the cold gets right into your bones though. (Just keeping Valerie's answer here, we live in the same area).

11. Favorite Fall Makeup Trend:  Um, same as usual.

12. What Song Really Gets You in the Fall Spirit?  Fall music? Never heard of it. Please, though, keep the xmas music away until December.

13. Pumpkin Spice - Worth the Hype?  Depends. Like I said, keep it away from my coffee, I do like it in a muffin or cookie and obviously in pumpkin pie, but anywhere else, I'll pass.

14. Favorite Fall TV Show:  Grey's Anatomy. I've been hooked since the beginning of time.

15. Favorite Fall New TV Show:  I've been PVR'ing American Horror Story Hotel and since I like the previous seasons (which are all like different shows) I'm going to say this one.

16. Skinny Jeans or Leggings?  Why can't I choose both? In my ever so humble opinion they serve different purposes. I love both!

17. Combat Boots or Uggs?  Combat boots.

18. Halloween: Yay or Nay?  Definitely yay! 

19. Fall Mornings or Fall Evenings?  Mornings because it's crisp and quiet and beautiful, otherwise I'm not a morning person.

20. Feelings About Black Friday:  I'm not looking forward to it. Over the last few years it has crept it's way up from the US to Canada. My work (retail) is doing Black Friday Sales. It's going to be hell.

21. Favorite Fall Traditions:  Hiking and fall camping (we have a heated RV, so it's all good) with camp fires!

22. Any New Traditions to Start?  This is something to consider.

23. Favorite Alcoholic Beverage for Fall:  I'd say wine (it goes with everything) however I have been having migraines pretty badly since I banged my head in September (clumsy me) and got a concussion so I've not had a drop of alcohol in about 7 weeks. It doesn't look like I'll be having any any time soon either.

24. When Should the Holiday Season Start?  As in Christmas? December. I know the rest of the world cannot wait but traditionally in our house we wait until December 15th to decorate as our son's birthday is December 14th.

25. Who Do You Love to Spend the Fall With?  Awesome people and my pets. Mostly my pets.

Undine 3.0 and 4.0

So it seems I have been turned into a bit of a sock knitter. Valerie warned me it could happen, and while I have knit socks in the past I have never knit four pairs in a row and never knit the same pattern consecutively. This must be the right pattern to push me over the edge. I'm even planning to knit my huge footed husband a pair (not Undine, but something manly). Me and socks? Who knew?! (Other than Valerie, I mean). I do have to put the socks aside in order to finish a couple other projects I have on the go, but soon after there will be more sock knitting.

Undine3

Undine4

My feet are going to be so warm and fancy! :)

Undine #2 FO

Today I finished the second pair of Undine socks ... and I cast on for a 3rd pair. I rarely knit a whole pair of socks, never mind three pairs in a row, but the pattern is simple and I have it memorized and I can knit at work on break or while I watch TV at home without having to worry too much about messing up.

Voila!

And pair #3 ...

Friday Felines!

Yep, I'm a copy cat.

Little Miss Ezra is a happy and snuggly little character. I weighed her last night using my food scale and she is 5 pounds 14 oz. She has grown almost double her size since we've had her and we've only had her a month and a half! Holy growing baby batman!

My laundry helper isn't actually all that helpful.

Here she is watching a flock of sparrows in the back yard.

She has us all wrapped around her little paw, but how could we resist? She so darned adorable.

Finished Undine

Undine is finished. A perfect fit!

Undine

Okay, I'm trying something new here. Wish me luck. I'm using the blogger app from my phone to post rather than my laptop. I'm not sure how well it will work.

I've been working on a pair of socks for a knit-along. It's the UndineKAL over at Wandering Cat Studios. Today I finished sock numero uno. It fits perfectly. Let's hope sock number two goes as well.

Little Miss Ezra has been living with us for just over a month now and she has fit in perfectly. She owns the dogs and everything else in the house too. She is everything a spoiled kitten should be. :) 

Ten!

Ezra is been a part of our family, officially, for ten days now. She's such a sweet little addition to our group. Unfortunately she had a little bit of a set back with her post-surgery (spay) healing so she's been on bed rest for five days and will continue until she's had the all clear from the vet (hopefully on Friday). Her bed rest includes being crated when we cannot monitor her playing and absolutely zero jumping and running. On Wednesday I discovered a little lump under her incision sight so we took her to the vet to have it checked out and it turns out she popped an internal stitch and the lump is basically fat coming through the stitch opening. She'll be fine and heal normally, but if she pops a second stitch she'll have to have surgery to repair it. Bed rest it is!

Yesterday we had a lovely visit from Valerie and Dave. Valerie, as many of you know, is an extreme cat lover and she brought a present for Ezra ... a curl! Ezra LOVES it. Valerie told me it's the best scratcher around and I believe it given how quickly Ezra took to it. I also like it because we have an RV and Ezra will be joining us on our travels and it's nice and little so we'll be able to take it along with us.

I see you Mom

Under the tunnel

Be vewy vewy quiet Ezra is going to get'cha.

Playing with her mouse.

 Oh! And it's not much, but I have been knitting. I whipped up a few little toys for Ezra. Her favourite is the one on the top right. It's Wandering Cat Yarns Alley Cat.

Ezra's stash

Dozer and Moose are doing well too. They're trying their best to get along with their new little sister. Moose wants to just look at her and be close to her. Dozer is smart and knows how sharp the front end of a cat can be and refuses to make eye contact.

Photo by Valerie @ Wandering Cat Studio

Hoping to get some more knitting done ... perhaps cast on a pair of socks or something ... something. I haven't knit much in awhile and my fingers are getting itchy.

Ezra

I'm a proper knitter again! I've got a new little kitty!

Her name is Ezra.

We adopted her from the Brant County SPCA on August 6th. Well, technically, it was the 4th, as that was the day we filled out the papers and said she could come and live with us. Well, actually, the 4th was the day she said she liked us and thought it'd be cool to come with us. The 6th is just the day we brought her home.

I have already knit her three toys ... she's very fond of the Wandering Cat Yarns ones. She has good taste. :)

R.I.P. Bessie

Bessie Step-In-Paint
December 14, 2003 - May 31, 2015

My parent's dog, Bessie, passed away last night. :'( She was my buddy. I'm going to miss her.

Cloud City Update

I can't remember which knits I have shared, so if I am repeating myself please forgive me.

First: Cloud City. It's an old picture as I'm into Chart 2 now, but it's looking food. :) I didn't take the picture sideways, so I'm not sure why it turned up sideways. Oh well.

Cloud City @ the divide for sleeves

Second: I've done a few more baby knits. This cute white and teal one as well as a mossy green one in which I have no picture of. It's the same top down design as this one, but mainly moss stitch, which is one of my favourite knit textures. I will need to go button shopping soon.

White & Teal baby cardigan

I have been keeping up with my H.I.I.T training schedule for the month. Today's workout is fierce. I'm not looking forward to doing it, but I am looking forward to having it finished.

Terrifying. LOL

Tomorrow is the day Michael flies home. These last two weeks have gone so slowly. Sometimes his time at work flies by and is easy, but this time it has dragged on and on and on and on. I can't wait to have him back in Ontario.

Around the Bay 2015

I didn't get any team photos at the Around the Bay Road Race. Time was tight before, Vickey and I had to get on our relay buses, and time was tight afterwards, Michael had to go to the airport. We did, however, get a shot of Michael and I at the end.

He was so tired and in pain at the end. He almost did not finish the race ... but he did and I'm so proud of him. He ran the entire 30km, I ran the 3rd leg of the 3 person relay. 

Crazy is My Middle Name

As you're well aware I run, I bike, I do karate. I've dabbled in strength training at home with kettle bells and Jillian Michael's videos. Now Michael and I have a gym membership and I'm starting into doing weights with him. It's fun working out with him, he's knowledgeable, encouraging and fun to look at. I'm not confident enough on the weight machines to have a go at it alone, so I'll be waiting until he's home again to do more, however while he's away I have other strength training to keep me occupied ...

It's the DAMO Challenge (Daily Motivation) from The Berry. It was originally posted back in February when I was doing my run streak, so I just saved each of the daily workouts and decided I'd begin April 1st. Let me tell you. Yesterday's workout was HARD. I only got through three sets before I was completely exhausted. It worked though because I woke up this morning feeling ALL the muscles in my butt and legs.

I won't likely post all the workouts here, but to give you a taste of them; here are the first three days. I plan to complete the entire 30 days. Today (day 2 of DAMO) I did a 5km run as well. I will sleep well tonight.

If you're interested in the challenge and/or you just want to torture yourself (and build some muscle) here's the link to the entire set. 30 Day DAMO Challenge

Don't worry I've been exercising my fingers with plenty of knitting as well. :)

Once A Fool

Today is Dozer's sixth birthday!

He used to be so cute!

5 weeks old

8 weeks old

Now he's just so handsome (and slightly unicornish).

6 years old

Dozer, I know you can't read, but ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I LOVE YOU! :)

Pause Ended

I got the clarification for the sleeve count on Cloud City, so I can officially un-pause it. However, Michael flies home tonight and knitting lace with him around is almost as impossible as knitting lace with the kids around, and today (after school) marks the beginning of the kids' March break, so I've officially re-paused it. They have a week off school, so I won't be touching it at all for at least that long. Once they're back in school I will work on it while Michael is off gallivanting or whatever. I just don't expect a lot of progress over the next two weeks.

In about an hour and a half I have to head to the airport to pick him up. Well, I don't really have to leave that early, but I keep trying to get the truck to the car wash but every time I drive by there's a HUGE line up. I'm thinking there won't be much of a line up at 11:30 at night. HA. Winning.

His 3rd flight of the day ... and the longest three hours ever

I finished the baby hat and cast on for a baby cardigan. I figure I might as well have something on the go I can concentrate on while I've got busy people around me.

I hate waiting. 

On Pause

Cloud City is temporarily on pause while I await confirmation regarding a stitch count for the sleeves. I can see it peeking at me from atop my piano, just waiting to be picked up and knit on. I am really looking forward to getting it done. I know it will still take some time, but the yarn (Wandering Cat Yarns House Cat) is so soft I can't wait to wear it.

I decided to cast on for another baby hat to add to my collection. I headed to my yarn totes and when I opened them I realised two things: #1 - I really need to organize them and #2 - There is a lot of old yarn in there I will never use (so, part and parcel to #1 I'm going to donate it). Anyway ... I found a lovely sport weight teal to knit the hat. I think I will make a baby sweater with it as well. Maybe white and teal striped.

I have been looking at sweater patterns to knit for myself once Cloud City is done. I have found a couple I really like. Nice and long and cosy looking. Perfect for a summer night, once the sun has dropped, when I'm sitting on the deck or camping.

My favourite two (so far) are Big Sister and BlueSand Cardigan. They're both knit in DK weight, which will be nice. Another one I adore is Holden Jacket but it is an aran weight knit, so it would be better suited to wear in the autumn and winter. At least that's the theory I'm going with.

Today was a run day. Sensei and I headed to the local indoor track and ran 5.4km. It's nice having an extra person to run with. It keeps me motivated. The other day he sent me a text saying he had done a run and I had almost convinced myself I didn't need to run that day. Who would know, right? Then his text came and I thought "well if he ran I have to." You know, since I'm the one who kicked his ass into getting running again. Don't worry he repays me by kicking my ass (figuratively) at karate class. Tuesday's workout in the dojo was a tough one. It felt good though. Can't wait for tomorrow's class.

Seventeen

Good morning and happy Monday! The weekend was good, an hour short thanks to daylight savings time, but good nonetheless. Waking up at the new 7:15am was difficult this morning, thank Maude for coffee.

I didn't get as as far with Cloud City as I had wanted to (must be that missing hour), but I did manage to get to row 17 of Chart 1. Knock wood, except for a minor error which was easily sorted, it's going well.

Today is dedicated to laundry and housework. I'll be making time for yoga and knitting as well, but I've got to get the boring stuff out of the way first ... so I better go and get it done. Cheers!

Did I say Lamb?

Maybe I jumped the gun on the lamb thing, because the very next day we had some rather lion-like weather. Snow, freezing rain, just a generally yucky winter storm, and after a day of higher temperatures (-4C ish) the temperatures plummeted again. Minus double digits again. When I woke up this morning it was -19C. So yeah, maybe I should have said lion. Or lamion. Or liamb. Either way it seems like the lion and the lamb are getting along and conspiring against us.

I was getting pretty far in the first birthday sock. I had the heel turned and had picked up stitches for the gusset and then the worst thing happened. I realised I dropped a stitch somewhere in the heel and I tried to pick it up and fix it but my efforts were fruitless. I had to frog it. I'm not saying I won't cast on again, but I know at this point I won't get them done for his birthday so I will be focusing my attention on Cloud City.

Birthday Sock FROGGED

I finally got Cloud City cast on again yesterday. I'm ready to start into the charting, but I've got a little boy staying home from school today and tonight Lily is having a friend sleep over, so I'm not sure how much I will get done; aka how much uninterrupted knitting time will I have? Hopefully I can get at least the first chart done by the end of the (very busy) weekend.

Ready for the charting!

TGIF ... Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

In Like a Lamb

Welcome to March. The month where everyone begins to get excited about Spring ... and then we get slammed with another snow storm. I'm not worried per say but March has started out very calm. Very lamb like and as they saying goes "in like a lamb, out like a lion" (or vice versa). Though it is windy today, so maybe that's a lion's roar and this truly is the end of our wintery weather.

Today feels weird. I don't have to run today. I might run anyway, but I don't have to. There's no pressure. I am definitely going to do yoga at some point, but the running thing, I'm not sure yet. My Sensei just sent me a text asking if I felt like working out (karate) but I've dedicated my day to laundry, grocery shopping and ensuring my children don't die from neglect*, so I won't be hitting the dojo this morning. Oh yes, it totally benefits them to have a wicked cool and fit mom, but I'm thinking clean clothes and food are pretty important too. LOL 

Knitting. Yup. I have been. I knit yet another super cute baby hat. Lily has made me promise if she ever has babies I will make her babies rainbow coloured items like this one.

Not sure why it is sideways ... weird.

Last night I cast on the first sock of Michael's birthday socks. I'm hoping to have them done by his birthday (which is in 23 days) but I'm not holding my breath. The socks are my "while the kids are home" knit. I'm re-casting on for Cloud City (test knit for Valerie) today too (aka "while the kids are at school" knit). These two projects are going to be my main focus for the next little while. Hopefully they both go smoothly. I don't foresee any issues, but it is me and sometimes my brain likes to eat cotton.

WCY Alley Cat Sock - Maine Coon (I think)

The sock looked like that *insert arrow pointing up* last night, but I made a mistake and started a 2x2 rib over 72 sts rather than the 1x1 rib I had planned to do. Simple mistake really seeing as the baby hats I've been knitting are 72 sts and 2x2 rib. I've cast back on and got it right now.

Have a great day!

*In case some idiot decides to read my blog and jumps to a conclusion ... I'm making a joke ... my children are not neglected. They are happy and healthy and loved. Fed and clothed. I'm just a little behind on the laundry.