In 1988 I was 5 years old. I watched figure skating on TV with my parents while my mom explained the Battle of the Brians and Kurt Browning trying a quad. So began my love of this sport (as a spectator anyway). In 1993 I watched on TV as Canadians finished 1 and 2 in men's and 1st in pairs. At the time I told myself that one day I would be there when a Canadian stood a top the podium at Worlds. I did that in 2001.

When Vancouver was awarded the games in 2003 I was ecstatic. I believed that I would actually get the chance to see figure skating live at the Olympics. I looked forward to it. 2010 seemed so far away. Well it turns out that 2010 really was far away because in the intervening years I have had 4 different jobs, graduated from university, started a career and gotten engaged. Life is not the same as it was in 2003 (in such a good way). So when the lottery for tickets started I hemmed and hawed and in the end, didn't try for tickets. I told myself it didn't matter. I kept telling myself it didn't matter and got increasingly irritated and cynical about the Olympics.

Not all that long ago, I began to really realize how much I really did want to see the skating. I mean, I imagined such a thing as a little 5 year old. With a bit of patience and persistence (who knew Wollmeise stalking skills were transferable) I was able to get tickets, and tonight, attended the men's short program.

I wasn't sure it could possibly live up to the dreams of a five year old me but you know what, it really did. The skating was, for the most part, top notch and the atmosphere incredible. I was just about giddy the whole time and could scarcely believe I was there.

I brought my Ravelympics project of course. Progress continues.

Ravelympics: Day 3 of Competition

Megknitficent is definitely the underdog in the Sweaterboard Cross competition. She competed in 2008 but got only a third of the way through before giving up completely. With that in mind, some expected that she would attempt an easier project this year. In a risky move, she instead decided to attempt a fair isle vest. If she is successful, it will be a first for her but it's a long shot. We spoke to her recently about her chances.

"I definitely didn't perform as well as I had hoped in 2008 but to be honest, I was coming off of a challenging few months and my heart just wasn't in it. This year I have focus and committment and I'm here to win gold for Canada."

In this third day of competition she seems to be on track. She has started the bust shaping and it seems to be going well. We must remember though that she has set herself a demanding schedule so we'll have to wait and see how the competition shapes up as we get further into the Games.

I Have a Podcast!

This is something I've wanted to do for a while so I made it one of my 2010 goals. And what better time to start than at the very start of the New Year.

So I am pleased to announce that the premiere episode of It's Spelled P.U.R.L is now available on libsyn and ITunes.

Download it here. You can also search for it on ITunes.

2009 in review

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Went to a big knitting convention, got engaged, knit a wedding veil, not in that order
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t think I made any
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
my friend Shannon had a boy in May
4. Did anyone close to you die? No, thankfully
5. What countries did you visit?
Just the USA, I went to Seattle a couple times, Portland, Vermont and Massachussetts, with a brief and unexpected visit to Washington DC
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? a husband
7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
March 20th
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
well getting engaged wasn’t an accomplishment exactly so I’ll say knitting my wedding veil
9. What was your biggest failure?
I prefer to think of them as learning experiences ;)
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I had the flu for the first time in years, that wasn’t so fun but otherwise no
11. What was the best thing you bought?
my wedding dress!
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
Augie, my family
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Over the past few years I have made a concerted effort not to let the behavior of others affect me in a negative way
14. Where did most of your money go?
the wedding
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
the wedding, Sock Summit
16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
none
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? – happier, so much happier
b) thinner or fatter? - I wouldn’t say fatter but I put on a few pounds
c) richer or poorer? – the same I think
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
knit, spun, spent time with friends
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
being stressed
20. How did you spend Christmas?
With my family and Augie.
21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
yes, again and again every day
22. What was your favorite TV program?
Mayday
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
No. Hate is a wasted emotion
24. What was the best book you read?
none stand out. I reread the Anne of Green Gables series though
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
nothing comes to mind
26. What did you want and get?
a fiance!
27. What did you want and not get?
nothing stands out
28. What was your favorite film of this year?
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 26 and I had dinner with Augie
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
can’t imagine a more satisfying year
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
I need to do laundry chic
32. What kept you sane?
knitting, Augie, Ravelry (not necessarily in that order)
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
no one
34. What political issue stirred you the most?
the healthcare debate
35. Who did you miss?
I miss my cat Desi now that she doesn’t live with me
36. Who was the best new person you met?
all the knitting people at Sock Summit
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
the importance of prioritizing both time and money
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
none

Finished!

I can hardly believe it. After several months of work I have finished my wedding veil. Not just the knitting of it either. At the start of Sunday I had 20 repeats to go. My plan was to knit 10 on Sunday and 10 on Monday but when I finished the 10 on Sunday I just couldn't stop. I was so close. I even grafted the edges together very late Sunday night because I didn't want to put it down.

I blocked it yesterday. I actually had to go out and buy some more of those interlocking mats because I didn't have quite enough. I used 9 of them altogether and it took up the whole thing. It took up a huge part of our living room. You couldn't walk from the kitched to the dining room or living room without tiptoeing around it. So for dinner we passed things to each other through the kitchen and ate in the yarn room. Luckily cobweb weight dries really fast and I was able to unpin it by bedtime.

I don't have the greatest pics yet because of the light but this will do for now.


Specs:
Pattern: Spanish Peacock Shawl from Gathering of Lace by Meg Swansen.
Edging Pattern: Classic Beaded Edging from Barbara Walker's 2nd Treasury
Yarn: Baruffa Cashwool approximately 1.25 skeins. Had I chosen a less involved edging it would have taken a single skein.

Thoughts:
This project was by far the biggest undertaking in my knitting so far. I've had projects that have taken even longer to finish but they spent a lot of time hibernating. Other than a few weeks off here and there I worked on this pretty steadily. It was absolutely worth every minute and I love it.

The Spanish Peacock pattern is really not difficult. The key is figuring out where to move the start of the round so that the rows line up. I have more details on this on my projects page on Ravelry.

Finish Line

As of this writing, there are a mere 10 repeats of edging left on the veil. That is a mere 120 rows. That may not sound like almost done but that is a 120 rows down from 1920. So very close.

This week I talked some of my knitting group friends into knitting rows on it. It seemed only fitting to have these people, who have seen this project from the start, get a few stitches in. No plain stockinette for them either. There are no plain rows on the edging pattern so they all knit lace. Many thanks guys.

I will probably finish it tomorrow and then need to face the challenge of blocking it. I can't say I'm really looking forward to that task but I bought blocking wires a while back in anticipation of the task.

Veil Update: December 13

I've found my veil knitting mojo and have actually gotten a lot of work done on it in the last few days. I am down to 57 repeats of the edging pattern, down from over 160. I spread it out today to see the progress. I apologize for the crappiness of the picture but it's the best I could do with its size and the lack of good light. I'm really happy with it though and I'm looking forward to seeing it all blocked.

Hopefully this burst of motivation lasts until I finish and block it. Blocking it will no doubt be another endeavor.

Some Stash Enhancement

Clearly I fail at Nanoblopomo since I missed nearly a full week of posting but since I typically blog once a month or less I'm calling it a win.

Today has been a week of stash enhancement. First, something that has taken it's sweet time getting to me:


That's a sweater's worth of Sundara Aran Silky Merino in Black over Violet that I have been coveting to make Snow White for several months now. It is also some veil motivation as I am not allowed to do anything with it until the monster project is finished. (Please don't ask how that's coming along, it makes me all twitchy). I don't know why but it took a full 3 weeks for this to reach me even though it was sent air mail and shows no sign of being inspected by customs.

Then today I headed to the yarn store to pick up yarn for the swap put on by one of my knitting groups. (No, I'm not posting it). Somehow I also came home with this:


A skein of Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock in the Snap Dragon colourway. I bought one of the first skeins of this base back when her studio opened and couldn't resist getting more.

And I also picked up yarn to make some things for Andrew, who had kindly kept me company on the outing. He picked up yarn for felted clogs and mittens.

Alright, back to knitting my swap knits.

One of these days I will write a real post and not a oh crap I better post today post.

Today is not the day.

We went back to the Circle Craft Christmas Market today to do some more Christmas shopping and spent a few more hours there than intended. At least we got a big chunk of our gift buying done. Hurrah for being almost done Christmas shopping before December.

I almost had a falling down over a beautiful decorative doll. I managed to resist but just barely.

I definitely enjoyed the market but boy is it more of an adventure than the smaller markets I usually go to.

Now I must get to bed for there is a busy day ahead of me. I have a house to clean, a 7 year old's birthday to attend and my parents' coming for dinner.

I'm coming in under the wire on this one because I just got back from the Circle Craft Christmas Market. It was my first time going and I have to admit, it was a bit overwhelming. I think I'll be going back tomorrow.

I did manage to buy two Christmas gifts though. I'll post more about it later. Right now, me too sleepy. (And slightly buzzed from the post-craft-show nosh)

Spinning in Progress

As I wrote earlier in the week, I received my fiber for the All Spun Up Spin A Long on Monday. For the spin along, you sign up for however many bumps of fiber you want. The colourway is a surprise but the fiber is not. This was my first time participating and I'm so glad I did. I started spinning in up yesterday as soon as my wheel was free and I finished the singles today.


So far I've really enjoyed spinning this. It is beautifully prepared, a stark contrast to the fiber I've been spinning recently that was full of lumpy bits. The colours are less dark than the pictures and spin up beautifully.

Lest We Forget

A lot of my peers remember hearing stories from their grandfathers who fought in WWII. Neither of mine did. My dad's dad was too ill and my grandfather wasn't old enough. Had it lasted another year he would have gone. He paid for that as an adult. He went out east to find work and no one would hire him. Finally, a manager told him he'd never get a job in Ontario with his German last name as long as there were veterans looking for work.

It would be nice to believe that that kind of prejudice no longer exists but one need only look at the comments on news sites about the last name of the man suspected of the Fort Hood shootings or the violence experienced by Muslims after 9/11. On Remembrance Day I think it is important to remember that these men and women fought and died to make the world more just and less prejudiced. We should be thanking them by not judging others by their last names or what countries they come from whether it's Germany, Japan, Iraq or anywhere else.

Happy Half-Weekend

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day, and a day off here in B.C. I personally like these mid week holidays. It makes it feel like two really short weeks which is kind of nice.

I started a new job at work this week. I'm figuring things out but it's a lot to learn and I'm glad to have the extra day to unwind a bit before jumping back in on Thursday.

Tomorrow I will hopefully use some of the daylight to take some photos of my new acquisitions so you will have a fibery post to read.

Big Box of Fluffy

I've been known to occasionally talk in my sleep, usually random exclamations. A few months ago, shortly after I got my Lendrum actually, I apparently exclaimed "big box of fluffies!" in my sleep, complete with arm gestures. In our household spinning fiber is referred to as fluff. Apparently I was having a good dream.

Anyway, the reason I was thinking of this is because when I got home today, our mail box was stuffed full of packages containing fluff, the All Spun Up Spin a Long fiber and roving from Frecklefaced Fiber. No pictures yet unfortunately because of the lack of light, perhaps this weekend. I'm expecting a couple more packages.

FO: Tilted Duster

Pattern: Tilted Duster by Norah Gaughn
Source: Interweave Knits Fall 2007
Yarn: Berroco Peruvia 6 skeins
Modifications: None

I'm really happy with how this turned out and how it fits. I think I'll get a lot of wear out of it. It is a pretty easy knit and a lot quicker than you'd expect from a long sweater. It only took me as long as it did because it spent a lot of time in hibernation. I think I actually spent about a month's worth of knitting on it.

I had planned on doing a FO post for the Tilted Duster today but the rain prevented me from taking any good photos. Maybe tomorrow. So instead I am copping out with a 5 interesting facts about Megan post.

1. As a child I had an imaginary country instead of imaginary friends. I was queen. It was accessed via Patterson Skytrain station and was called Skatchina
2. I am afraid of stairs
3. I once auditioned for a reality tv show as part of a school project. I got an A
4. I've never watched an episode of the Simpsons and am strangely proud of that
5. I learned to knit so I'd have something to do on my long commute

On Stash

A thread was recently revived on Ravelry about stashing and materialism. Someone pointed me in the direction of a post I made early in the thread over a year ago in which I stated that I didn’t really ‘stash.’ Obviously it’s safe to say that’s no longer true.

Let me say right off that I don’t feel one bit bad about my stash. It brings me inspiration and comfort. There is a reason why I have nicknamed the craft room the “Room of Happiness.”

I studied consumer culture as part of my degree so I am quite well versed in the academic theories surrounding materialism and conspicuous consumption. I won’t claim to be immune. In fact, I don’t think anyone in North America, knitter or not is immune. To a point we are all vulnerable to comparing what we have to what others have and many who make a deliberate effort not to consume conspicuously are actually practicing conspicuous non-consumption. That is, in my opinion, just another way of using your consumption, or lack thereof to define you. While conspicuous consumption may be far more prevalent in modern times than it ever was, humans have been defining themselves by their possessions for hundreds of years. We’re simply more aware of it now.

It is not wrong to have stuff. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with hanging on to stuff either so long as it isn’t causing you or others undue harm. My great-grandmother was extremely poor as a child. She married at 16 so that she wouldn’t be hungry anymore and throughout her life she filled her house with possessions. Those possessions brought her great happiness because she remembered when she had nothing. Yes, she was absolutely hoarding but her house was kept clean, her children and husband were always fed and clothed and no harm was done.

I’ve found that my stashing has highs and lows. There are times when I’m buying a lot (like Sock Summit or the great yarn acquisitions of January) and there are times when I don’t really feel a pull to buy yarn. I’ll likely continue to buy yarn and fiber. Some will be used immediately and some won’t. I’m okay with that.

Bet Progress

Back at New Year's I made a bet with Andrew. If I finished 3 sweaters and 10 pairs of socks, I got an Addi Clicks set. If I failed, he got two pairs of socks. We later changed the terms and agreed that any sock yarn project counted and the veil also counted as a sweater. Here's the progress so far:

Socks and Sock Yarn Projects:

1. Japanese Vines Scarf
2. Baby Yours Sweater
3. Monkey Socks
4. Lacy Rib Socks
5. Leyburn Socks
6. Entangled Stitches Gloves (95% complete)
7. Argyle Socks (40% complete)

Sweaters and Veil

1. Owls
2. Tilted Duster
3. Veil (90%)

I'm cutting it close but it just might be doable. And perhaps the desire to win the bet will be the motivation I need to power through the end of the veil

Dear Buttons that I bought Yesterday

Where the heck are you? I dutifully bit the bullet and seamed the sleeves of my Tilted Duster and planned on finishing it tonight. I went to Dressew yesterday to buy you and put you in the yarn room. Why is it then that when I went to get you today to sew you on to the sweater you are nowhere to be found? I know you are here somewhere so please stop hiding. I do not want to buy more buttons, especially since if I do you will no doubt reappear the moment the last button is sewn on.

Please reappear. This is really not amusing. It is rare that I actually get something finished and do not like you standing in my way.

Love Megan