Knit Fish

May in pictures

2011-06-01T03:55:00.001-05:00

Wow! It's been a long time since I posted! I have been battling with my RS injury, so knitting has been out. I have been so busy that not much crafting has happened... but I've been taking some nice photos with my new Canon DSLR camera! Here is a little photo recap of May.

something artsy....

2010-12-03T00:31:00.004-06:00

Wow! The fall just flew by and now it is winter here in Canada! I am kind of wondering what happened to November, because December is here and I just don't feel ready for it yet! I have no Christmas shopping done, nor do I have decorations up! i did make some pretty tasty mandarin orange marmalade with my mom yesterday, which felt pretty Christmasy.

Anyways, I haven't posted anything artistic on here lately, so here are some little art tidbits to tide you over~

The little raccoon is a watercolour card that I made for a friend, when she was going away to school. We worked together over the summer and sometimes dealt with baby raccoons and other wonderful wildlife.

The next one is a little pen and ink sketch. I like tofu, especially the custard flavoured dessert tofu, but I always get flack for it when people catch me eating it. I get a response like, "Eeeewww... that's disgusting!"
Well Mr. Tofu has something to say to you!

Enjoy December and just try some dessert tofu, would ya!?

dog day

2010-10-11T23:55:00.010-05:00

Olive was pretty impressed by Jasper the dog's blog by a dog and she decided that she wanted to do a guest post on Knit Fish:

"Today mum and I went out into the world! We went to a place called Mount Doug.

I saw that a mountain is a thing what is full of nature and goes up and more up! I don't know who is doug, but he has BIG mountain!

At the top we could see the WHOLE WORLD I think!

I was so happy to see the world. It is bigger than I thought.

That is me beside the world. There is railing so we dont fall off doug's mountain and onto the world.

Sometimes on mountains there are sticks. This is very good stick!

This stick is good to chew. It has nice mountain smells.

I'm bring it, okay?

Leaving already? Lets see more world soon!"

more pretty fall pics

2010-10-08T00:57:00.001-05:00

Fall imagery

2010-10-06T02:27:00.002-05:00

Still no knitting... sorry, but my wrist is still battling with tendonitis or carpal tunnel or whatever you call it when your wrist gets all sore easily. But I have been playing with my new Canon Rebel DSLR camera and capturing some fall imagery.

Here on the West coast, we are enjoying some gorgeous fall weather. Warm sunshine, with just that little bit of crispness in the air.

The little puppy has grown into a big puppy, but we think she's still pretty cute ;-)

Hope you are all enjoying the loveliness that is fall!

one more baby saved!

2010-08-07T03:37:00.003-05:00

The SPCA paws for a cause fundraiser is coming up soon! This event is a major source of funds for the BCSPCA Wild Ark rescue, which helps rehabilitate cuties like this who have lost their moms as well as injured wildlife here on Vancouver Island.
The event is happening in 36 locations across British Columbia and supports the BCSPCA and its affiliates. Think about donating, or get some sponsors and be a part of the walk for a cause!

You asked for it!

2010-06-28T01:21:00.003-05:00

Back by popular demand! The Wild Ark animal pics!

The other night we had a veritable zoo in the isolation room! This tubby little seal was amongst the overnight visitors. We love his fat little chin rolls. He was sleeping with his face up against the corner of the kennel he was in, so you can't see his eyes. The craziest thing was that he smelled exactly like the ocean: all fishy!

I don't want to spoil you with too many pics at once, so more to come another time :-) You can check out the SPCA Wild Ark website at www.wildark.com to learn more!!

homemade is always better.... and not just knitting...

2010-06-23T17:09:00.002-05:00

I love homemade pizza. I love it so much that I prefer it to take-out pizza any day! I've spent almost a decade perfecting my homemade pizza recipe and it is pretty awesome if I do say so myself! (and I do)
So I thought that some of you would perhaps like to try out my recipe for pizza success! NOTE: I use my breadmaker for the dough. If you don't have a breadmaker, you may want to try another recipe. OR you could try this one made by hand... I've never done it, so I can't vouch for it. You will want to check out other recipes for the basic dough making instructions. It takes the breadmaker 2 hours to prepare the dough, and it has a double rise. If making by hand, always *proof* the yeast for 5 minutes in warm water prior to adding to the dough, it should become nice and bubbly. If not, you need new yeast.

Nessa's Delicious Pizza Recipe

INGREDIENTS:
Dough:
1. 1 1/2 cups beer (I prefer a nice amber or brown ale for a fuller flavour, but lager works too)
2. 1 1/2 tsp salt
3. 1 tbsp sugar
4. 2 tbsp olive oil margarine (or regular marg, but NOT oil)
5. 4 1/4 cups white flour (Health foodies won't like this, but after years of experimenting with both white and whole wheat crusts, we prefer white flour. It gives a lighter, fluffier crust than whole wheat)
6. 2 tsp yeast
7. A sprinking (maybe 1/2 tsp? herbes des provence)

Put all ingredients, in order of listing, into breadmaker. Choose dough setting and hit start. Remove dough after 2 hours (when dough is finished) and cut into three peices (We make 3 8.5"X8.5" pizzas with 6 slices each, you can also probably get two med-lrg pizzas out of this). Roll pieces into balls and cover with a light coating of olive oil. To do this, I put a bit of oil into the palm of my hand and rub it over my palms. I then rub the dough ball with my hands to lightly coat it. Place the dough into a large bowl and cover with a tea towel. Take the first dough ball and roll out thin (~1/2 cm) cover pan with 1 1/2 cm over hang of dough. Roll dough back onto itself to create a puffed up edge. You can also fill this with thin strips of cheese for a stuffed crust! YUM! Repeat the rolling process for all three.

Nice amber or brown ales add a full bodied flavour to the dough. Enjoy the rest of the bottle with dinner!

TOPPING:
Pizza sauce, I use spaghetti sauce for this, amount is dictated by preference really. I use about 1/4 large can of Hunt's four cheese tomato sauce. You can use whatever sauce you love. Layer bottom of pie with sauce, then a layer of chopped up fresh basil leaves. Top with whatever you like! For the top pizza, I did brown mushrooms, followed by some mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and yellow peppers, and a sprinkling of white Aged Canadian cheddar for extra flavour. The top was lightly sprinkled in Herbes des Provence before baking. I like to let my pizza sit for 15-20 minutes before baking them to get a nice fluffy crust. If you prefer a thinner crust, bake immediately after topping. Bake for ~25 mins in a 350 degree oven, broil two minutes until your cheese has nice golden flecks. Let cool for about 10 minutes before slicing.

OTHER AWESOME TOPPINGS:
- diced onions on the sauce layer
- portabella mushrooms
- broccoli tops cut small
- veggie ground round (seriously, sooo good!)
- pepperoni (Jeff's fave, always put on top with a tiny sprinkle of cheese to get crispy pepperoni)
- olives
- sundried tomatoes
- feta cheese
- spinach (cut into small pieces and placed apart from each other)
- salami (see pepperoni instructions)
- all kinds of peppers (put them in the top layer, under a sprinkle of cheese to prevent soggy dough)
- artichoke hearts (under layer one of cheese)
- anything else you love!

Veggie ground round is delicious under a sharp white cheddar topping.

wild ark

2010-06-21T00:36:00.006-05:00

another reason why I love my job...

The vet hospital that I work at is a drop off point for Wild Ark, an SPCA affiliated wildlife rescue foundation. So, we often get cute injured or orphaned wild life brought here until the lovely people at Wild Ark can pick them up. Here is a cutie that was brought in today. At first he was a bit sick looking, but perked up by the time Wild Ark got him. This little bird will be cared for until he is healthy enough to be released back into the environment.

Today is the first day I remembered to bring my camera, I will try to do it more often, because many photo opp's have been missed! We've had baby racoons, baby deer, ducklings, a baby heron, baby squirrels and injured seagulls to name a few...

Don't you love Olives?

2010-06-15T20:30:00.003-05:00

So for all of you who are a bit worried that this blog will turn into an "aren't my pets so precious??" type of blog... don't fear. I just haven't had much blog material lately, since the carpal tunnel in my hand keeps me from knitting and I have had my hands pretty full with the puppy, so drawing has fallen by the wayside. I will update with more art later, when I get time to make more art. The end of the art hiatus is in site...Olive is getting bigger, more well behaved and generally calmer. Tomorrow is her 2 week anniversary with us, or perhaps her 10 week birthday (we only have a guess as to which day she was born...) We are thinking she might have been born on, or very near, our anniversary, April 6th! This is kind of weird, because our cat, Roo, was also born on or near our anniversary. Completely unintentionally of course :-)

Anyways, I can't believe how much she has grown! When we got her she was so little that she could walk under the coffee table with ease; now she is about head level to the top of it, so she can check out what's on top with ease (note to self: do not leave knitting on the coffee table). Last week when I took her to the vet, she weighed 10 lbs, when we got her at 8 weeks, she was 6 lbs. I know she weighs more now... I wonder if it is four more pounds again? This week she has gained heel, leave-it, let-go, off, gentle and stay to her repertoire of skills. I think she is doing fabulously well, especially considering she is a puppy!

One of her favourite things is getting scratches all over. I love her fur! Her head fur is so soft and silky and her body fur is scrunchy and wooly. It is like sinking your fingers into a recently shorn lambs wool: so satisfying. You knitters out there will understand what I mean ;-)
She's lovely.

money can't buy me love?

2010-06-04T15:09:00.003-05:00

Sorry John, you forgot about this...

This is Olive. She is our new 8 week old loveable mutt baby.
After almost a month of waiting and wading through the slow adoption process, not to mention about a years worth of pining for doggy love, we have finally welcomed a new puppy into our lives.

We got her through Rest Haven Rescue in Victoria BC. For those of you who are looking for a new bundle of love, she has about 8 brothers and sisters (some of whom are gone now, but I'm sure some are still available). The process is a bit involved, requiring an adoption application with previous pet history, a home visit to assess suitability and a good match, meeting the dog, then filling out the adoption agreement and payment and finally you can take home your bundle of furry love. Although the process can seem tedious, it shows that the wonderful people at Rest Haven really care about the animals they save and want to make sure they are going to the best forever home possible.

Olive is a love bug! She tries really hard to be a good puppy and we've already taught her to come, sit, and lets go (heel). She loves to chew but is learning which toys are acceptable and which are not (to her credit, she's only been with us for 2 days!!). She also has learned to have no separation anxiety. I am using Jan Fennell's book, The dog listener + 30 day guidewhich is amazingly simple, gentle and effective.

And just so Roo doesn't get jealous, yes, we love you too roo!

the owl and the pussycat giveaway contest!

2010-05-18T13:26:00.003-05:00

The WINNER is ......

AMY!!!

Thanks to all who participated in this contest! I will probably do more in the future.
Amy please leave me your email addy in the comments and I will email you regarding your mailing addy.

~Nessa

random reminiscing

2010-05-12T19:54:00.005-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about pets lately....
It could have something to do with the fact that I am working in a Veterinary hospital now... I'm around animals all day long. And not just animals, family pets, little furry family members. Some days are happy, like the day I came in to find a litter of puppies had been born in the night. Some days are sad, like when a sick animal dies.
It has made me appreciate my little furry baby so much more.

Love you Roo.

Win a fine art print!

2010-04-29T21:19:00.003-05:00

Hey all!

In celebration of summer, end of term and finishing my program, I am pleased to announce my first ever contest!
If you leave your name in the comments and tell me why you like the Knit Fish blog, you will be entered to win a signed print of "the owl and the pussycat"!
The contest ends Sunday, May 16th.

The print is approximately 8.5" x 9.5" and is printed on premium quality glossy photo paper. The original was done in watercolours and black ink.

ALSO~ visit my online shop at coy1.etsy.com and recieve a 15% discount on all merchandise until May 16th, just write KNITFISHBLOG in the comments to seller and don't pay right away so I can add on the discount.

happy contesting!
~Nessa

the owl and the pussycat

2010-04-25T02:57:00.006-05:00

The owl and the pussycat went to sea in a beautiful pea green boat.

This is an illustration I did for a good friend's 25th birthday. She loves the owl and the pussycat poem by Edward Lear.

Presenting Percy!

2010-04-16T14:56:00.005-05:00

Percival thinks he's all that and a jar of Grey Poupon.

He can't stand commoners & prefers the company of other sophisticates, like Lady Fluffington VII.

Siamese Tea or Cafe au lait

2010-04-14T15:15:00.006-05:00

Yet another one of my watercolours for the tea cards *NOW AVAILABLE* at Janet's Special Teas in Sidney BC!! I am also selling prints of this in my etsy shop.

Here is the caption:
"Oscar loves all things Parisien. He especially loves sitting in a cafe by Le Champs Elysees and sipping a cup of cafe au lait."

However, I'm sure Oscar could also be enjoying un tasse de thé.

I brought the cards to Janet's shop yesterday and before I had even left the shop, she had already sold one!

Dark Magnolia fine art print

2010-04-12T18:22:00.005-05:00

One of my favourite paintings! Now available as a fine art print at my etsy shop

Check out the listing for more photos and some closeups of details.

Tea Cards & Fine Art Prints

2010-04-12T03:42:00.008-05:00

Today I got a belated birthday present... a new all-in-one hp printer!!! I am so stoked! I immediately put it to good use.

I am now selling fine art prints inmy etsy shop!

These prints are of some watercolour and ink paintings I did. I have made them into cards which are also for sale at Janet's Special Teas shop in Sidney BC (well, they are going to be available there as of next week).

There are 6 tea designs in total (I'll post more later). I've also done some prints in the theme "gentle monster" which I will also post about later.

~enjoy

happy 5!

2010-04-10T18:54:00.003-05:00

On April 6th, J & I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary! It's hard to believe that it has been five years already :-)
Here's the card I made for him. It is ink and watercolour on paper. It is supposed to be us, but he claims I am "too tall" in the picture and wanted to know why he was wearing an "orange thing" on his head. Um... dear... that's your hair and beard. Oh. Right.
However, all confusion aside, he absolutely loved it and it put a big grin on his whiskery mug, which really is what it's all about!

~V

April Showers

2010-04-02T14:53:00.010-05:00

Today has been a bizarre day. It has been rainy, sunny and most of all blustery! The wind is whistling through the cracks in the doors and windows and scaring the kitties.
I've been contemplating studying, or taking the dog for a walk (I'm dog-sitting), or doing some fairy-tale inspired sketches (as it is Hans Christian Anderson's birthday!). As a little visual gift from me to you, I've put together a few of my latest illustrations. I've been laying off the knitting lately, due to a sore wrist, so sketching has taken its place. I find that sketching is much easier on the hands and still lets me relieve my creative urges.

These little fox images were done using a potato stamp for the faces and teapot, and black ink and Prismacolor pencil crayons for everything else.

They were an art experiment from a couple of weeks ago.

Next up, some biological drawings of mushrooms. These were done from memory, as I had studied up on fungi for my Mushrooms of North America series of sewn fungi.

Finally, a little doodle done while watching copious amounts of LOST. These are modeled after a set of Matryoshka dolls that I have had since I was a girl. The image is in ink and Prismacolor pencil crayons.

Happy art-making!
~Nessa

tulips

2010-03-28T17:06:00.005-05:00

Tulips are my very favourite flower. I had them in my wedding bouquet. In my bridesmaids bouquets. Whenever I recieve a bouquet of cut flowers, I want tulips. No red red roses for me, red red tulips is where its at!
So of course I planted red red tulips in my garden and they're finally up!

Happy Birthday Albert! Have some Pi!

2010-03-14T15:16:00.005-05:00

Happy Pi day to all!
And happy birthday Albert! The world is a better place for having had you in it.

And because I am a big nerd, here is my favourite Einstein quote:

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
Enjoy your day; have some pi(e)!

~Nessa

Free from the fish!

2010-02-23T21:40:00.004-06:00

Here's a little freebie fresh for February
(sorry about the alliteration, I couldn't resist)

A while back, a coworker and I decided that the basic sock pattern handout that we give out with sock yarn purchase at the wool shop just wasn't cutting it. So I wrote up this one to be multi-sized and easy for a beginning sock knitter to understand.It has been used in classes at the shop and received some good reviews from the new sock-knitters who have tried it. The best was from a beginning sock knitter who raved to me that she loved that "Best Basic Sock pattern" we gave out and was now knitting up lots of pairs! I was like, "Hey! I wrote that pattern!" :-)
I hope you enjoy it too!

Knit Fish's Best Basic Sock Pattern
Socks on Double Pointed Needles

Materials:
Approx 350 m to 400 m 4-ply fingering weight sock yarn.
A set of 4 or 5 2.25 mm dpns (5 needles is recommended)
Tapestry Needle
Stitch Marker

Gauge: 28 sts = 4” in stockinette

Size: Adult S, (M), (L)

Note: For socks with very long cuffs, or for long foot sizes, additional yarn will likely be required. When in doubt, buy an extra ball of yarn . If using a finer weight sock yarn with a gauge of 30 to 32 sts = 4" in stockinette, use the instructions for the largest sock size.

Terms:

SSK: Slip stitch knit-wise, slip second stitch purl-wise, knit these two stitches together with the left needle.
P2tog: Purl 2 stitches together.
Sl 1: Slip stitch from left needle to right needle purl-wise without knitting it.
Turn: Turn work around without finishing the row, and work back on the stitches that were just knitted.
M1: Using the left needle, pick up the ladder between two stitches, place it on the left needle and knit it through the back loop.
PM: Place marker on needle.
RS: Right side.
WS: Wrong side.

Cuff/leg:

Loosely cast on 56,(64), (72) sts on dpns.
Hint: casting on over 2 needles produces a nice stretchy cast on edge
Arrange sts evenly over three needles if using a set of four, or four needles if using a set of five.
Join in the round, being careful not to twist stitches. Place marker at beginning of round.
Ribbing Stitch: *K2, P2*, repeat ** around.
Work in ribbing stitch until cuff measures 1.5” from cast on edge.
Then knit every round in stockinette until leg is 6” long from cast on edge, or desired length.

Heel Flap:

Knit 28, (32), (36) sts onto one dpn. These will be the heel flap stitches. Distribute the remaining stitches evenly over two dpns. These will be the instep stitches, and will be worked later.
You will work the heel flap stitches flat, as follows:
Row 1: Sl 1, P to end of row
Row 2: *Sl 1, K1*, repeat * to* across row

Repeat rows 1 & 2 until flap measures 2.5”, (2.5”), (2.75”) ending on a WS row.

Turning the Heel:

Size Small:
Round 1: Sl 1, K15, SSK, K1, turn
Round 2: Sl 1, P5, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 3: Sl 1, K6, SSK, K1, turn
Round 4: Sl 1, P7, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 5: Sl 1, K8, SSK, K1, turn
Round 6: Sl 1, P9, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 7: Sl 1, K10, SSK, K1, turn
Round 8: Sl 1, P11, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 9: Sl 1, K12, SSK, K1, turn
Round 10: Sl 1, P13, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 11: Sl 1, K14, SSK, turn
Round 12: Sl 1, P14, P2tog
16 sts remain.

Size Medium:
Round 1: Sl 1, K17, SSK, K1, turn
Round 2: Sl 1, P5, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 3: Sl 1, K6, SSK, K1, turn
Round 4: Sl 1, P7, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 5: Sl 1, K8, SSK, K1, turn
Round 6: Sl 1, P9, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 7: Sl 1, K10, SSK, K1, turn
Round 8: Sl 1, P11, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 9: Sl 1, K12, SSK, K1, turn
Round 10: Sl 1, P13, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 11: Sl 1, K14, SSK, K1, turn
Round 12: Sl 1, P15, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 13: Sl 1, K16, SSK, turn
Round 14: Sl 1, P16, P2tog
18 sts remain.

Size Large:
Round 1: Sl 1, K19, SSK, K1, turn
Round 2: Sl 1, P5, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 3: Sl 1, K6, SSK, K1, turn
Round 4: Sl 1, P7, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 5: Sl 1, K8, SSK, K1, turn
Round 6: Sl 1, P9, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 7: Sl 1, K10, SSK, K1, turn
Round 8: Sl 1, P11, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 9: Sl 1, K12, SSK, K1, turn
Round 10: Sl 1, P13, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 11: Sl 1, K14, SSK, K1, turn
Round 12: Sl 1, P15, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 13: Sl 1, K16, SSK, K1, turn
Round 14: Sl 1, P17, P2tog, P1, turn
Round 15: Sl 1, K18, SSK, turn
Round 16: Sl 1, P18, P2tog
20 sts remain.

Gusset:

K across remaining 16, (18), (20) heel stitches. Divide onto two needles evenly. Using the needle that has the second half of the heel stitches, work down the side of the heel flap, picking up and knitting into each edge slipped stitch.
Hint: I recommend putting your left needle through the entire edge stitch sideways, then knit it like a regular stitch with the right needle. This creates a nice edge without holes.
It is not important to get an exact number of edge stitches, but you want both sides to have the same number; it will be approximately 23, (23), (25) sts.
Using another dpn, M1at the corner between the picked up heel flap stitches and the instep stitches. This prevents a hole from forming at the corner.
Knit across the 28, (32), (36) instep stitches. If using 4 dpns, knit all instep stitches onto one needle, or evenly onto two needles for 5 dpns. At the corner between the instep and the heel flap, M1, then pick up and knit the heel flap edge stitches as explained above. Knit the first 8, (9), (10) heel stitches onto this needle. The remaining 8, (9), (10) heel flap stitches are now considered the beginning of each round. This will be needle 1.
Instep stitches if using 4 dpns, will be on needle 2, {or if using 5 dpns will be on needles 2 and 3}, the opposite side of the heel flap, and last 8, (9), (10) heel sts will be needle 3 for 4 dpns, {or needle 4 for 5 dpns}. PM between needle 3, {4} and needle 1.

*Instructions for 5 dpns in curly brackets.

Round 1: K around
Round 2: K across needle 1 to last 3 sts, K2tog, K1.
On needle 2 {2 & 3} K across. On Needle 3, {4} K1, SSK, K across.

Repeat these two rows until you have 56, (64), (72) sts.

Foot:

Knit until foot is 1.5” shorter than desired length when you try the sock on. If you are unable to try the sock on the recipient, lay the sock flat & measure the sock from the heel; it should be 1” shorter than desired length. This allows for the shortening of the sock when the fabric is stretched over the foot width-wise.

Toe:

Round 1: On needle 1, K to last 3 sts, SSK, K1. On needle 2, if using 4 dpns, K1, K2 tog, K to last 3 sts, SSK, K1. {If using 5 dpns, on needle 2, K1, K2tog, K across, needle 3, K to last 3 sts, SSK, K1.} On needle 3 {4}, K1, K2tog, K across.
Round 2: Knit

Repeat these two rounds until 16 sts remain. Knit 4 sts. Distribute 16 sts evenly over two needles, with the top of toe stitches on one needle, and the bottom of toe stitches on the other.

Finishing:

Cut yarn leaving a 10” tail. Graft the toe using kitchener stitch, or preferred method of grafting. Weave in all ends.

This pattern is copyright Vanessa Carter 2009
www.knit-fish.blogspot.com

Terms & Conditions:
You are welcome to use this pattern to knit items for yourself, for charity, and for gifts. You may not distribute this pattern for free or for sale. If you are a Yarn Shop and would like to distribute this pattern for free with yarn purchase, please contact me via my weblog.

Disclaimer:
I have edited this pattern for mistakes and it has been test-knitted. I have tried my best to make it error-free. With that said, nobody is perfect! If you think you have found a mistake, please contact me at www.knit-fish.blogspot.com.

Happy Knitting!

Great Gifties for Christmas!

2009-11-23T00:46:00.004-06:00

I have updated the shop to include some adorable softies that would make excellent holiday gifts! Check em out!

New Knitting Patterns!!

2009-11-14T17:31:00.010-06:00

Hey Guys!

Sorry for the long delay in getting these patterns out! I've been swamped with the semester of never-ending "mid-terms". I use quotations because they've lasted from the beginning of October until the week before finals. It is about an exam or test every week, or every other week.....

Anyways, I have wanted to publish these patterns for a while now, but was waiting on some fabulous test knitters to give me the go-ahead with the designs.
Here they finally are...

ALIEN INVASION!!

What’s that up there in the sky? A silver saucer!? It’s landing…it’s opening… what’s that coming out of it? … little green men with googly eyes!!??
It’s an ALIEN INVASION!!!

Alien Invasion is a wacky hat for kids ages 0-10 years old.
Pattern comes in PDF format. An adult version is in the works for all you fun-loving grown ups!
Alien invasion is knitted in worsted weight yarn for coziness and quick-knitability!
Perfect for the little-alien in your life!

And FLIP TOPS!!

Flip Tops
A mitten with a top that flips back so you can have the toasty comfort of mittens, with the finger freeness of wrist-warmers!
Flip Tops aka glittens aka convertible mittens
This pattern is in women's average sizing, but the length is customizable! I have tiny hands and they fit me (that's me hand modelling)and I've also tried these mittens on medium and large women's hands and they fit too (with length adjustment of course!)

They are knitted on a chunky weight yarn, so they knit up nice and quick! They are great for gifts! Try them in self-striping yarns too!

If you like these patterns and want to try one out, head over to my etsy page
Coy Shop or my ravelry page Vanessa Carter's Pattern Store to grab a copy!

happy knitting!

What You've All Been Waiting For...

2009-09-30T00:33:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I know this post has been a long time coming. The knit has been finished for ages, I just was waiting for my hubby to take some decent photos of me in this sweater. When he had the time, the light was bad, when the light was good, he wasn't around, or I wasn't thinking of wearing a heavy alpaca blend sweater (sun=very warm lately).I finally succumbed to the self-portrait, which always gives an inferior result, but I was sick of waiting!

The above pic is of my Imogen, made from a lovely Fleece Artist kit in my all-time favorite colourway, Mermaid.

The pic is silly, because it is ridiculously hard to photograph oneself. BUT I love this sweater! It is so cozy! It is made from an alpaca/merino blend & is a wrap style that is wonderful to snuggle up in on chilly days. Bring it, Winter! I'm ready for you!

The other thing I wanted to mention, is that I've got some of my patterns back for sale on Ravelry (for all you ravelers out there, you know who you are ;-) Find em at My Ravelry Shop!

There's Ella Phint!

And Pinot noir,
a sock pattern which I can't find a pic of right now, but it's on the site. So check em out! I am working on some more patterns right now, which are in the test-knitting stage. So stay tuned for more fun knits!

Toasty Fall Neckwarmers

2009-09-16T23:36:00.004-05:00

I am a scarf girl if you haven't guessed by now. I am usually donning a cozy wool scarf from the first crisp day of September, to the last chilly day of April. However, sometimes a scarf is a bit bulky, sometimes it is a bit too warm, sometimes it just doesn't go with that outfit. These are the days when a cute cowl is just the thing...

This cute cabled cowl is done in a heavy worsted weight organic cotton by Blue Sky Alpaca. It was a birthday gift from my lovely mother. It is deliciously soft, and because of the heavier yarn weight, it is quite warm (but not *too* warm).

This soft grey cowl is done in a stitch pattern I made up, and is made out of some yummy Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. The lighter weight of the yarn is lovely with the warmth of the merino and cashmere, and is oh scrumptiously soft!

A good weave

2009-09-15T01:32:00.005-05:00

I've been spending more time with the Ashford Knitter's Loom I am borrowing.

3. Bella Maiden Scarf
Ingredients: 1 skein of Handmaiden Silk Maiden

This little scarf was done with a skein of Silk maiden from handmaiden.
This skein was a gift from a friend at work. She bought it for herself, but ended up not really liking the colour for herself. Since it made her think of me, she gave it to me. I absolutely love the colours, and it is incredibly soft.

4. Colour Riot Scarf
Ingredients: 1 skein Fleece Artist Seawool

The colours of this skein failed to knit up nicely, there was too much pooling. So onto the loom it went. I really like how it turned out woven though. The fabric has a lovely sheen from the seacell, which is a derivative of seaweed.

a little knitting...

2009-09-11T00:34:00.003-05:00

I recently knitted up these adorable little booties for a friend's soon-to-be-born baby. His name will be Jacob, so they are Jacob's booties.

They are from my standby baby bootie pattern, Saartje's Booties and are knit out of Lorna's Laces Sheperd Socks(bottoms), and Sisu (tops).

Don't you just love baby knits, so quick and so high in cute factor!

Not knitterly

2009-09-04T23:31:00.005-05:00

I am working on some new cuties to possibly sell at a local garden center...

GNOMIES!

This little guy is my prototype. The gnomies will come in various colour combos.
This one's name is Gerald.

He is made of felt, thread, and some fiberfill stuffing.
He is 100% hand sewn.

Summer knits

2009-09-03T02:16:00.005-05:00

This summer has been a time of many knits, and very little time spent knitting. I actually knitted myself out in the first two weeks of July, ended up with a sore arm, and had to hold off on knitting for two weeks.... then when I felt better, i over knitted again... two weeks later I am back knitting, but not for prolonged periods in order to avoid a relapse. Don't worry, it's not carpal tunnel, I checked. It is just pain from over use, and I am cutting back so I won't end up with carpal tunnel.
BUT in the mean time... I will walk you through a summer of knitting.

Koigu baby socks, for a shop sample... These are a pattern called Oh Baby by Holli Yeoh

Next up... the euroflax linen tank top, another shop sample, I think it was a louet pattern, but can't remember the name...
This was technically knit over the last year, but finished in June.

Thats all I have time for now, more knits to come...
I have knitted over a dozen FOs this summer, so stay tuned.

weaving a good yarn...

2009-08-28T01:28:00.005-05:00

Recently I got the opportunity to borrow a friend's Ashford Knitter's Loom.
I've just got one word to sum up the experience... Love.
What began as a weaving afternoon, became two weeks of weaving bliss...

The loom has gone home to it's rightful owner, but not without leaving a small legacy of scarves & shawls behind.

1. Mountain in the Moonlight Shawl

ingredients: 1 skein (50g) Indigo Moon Sock Yarn in namesake colourway
1/2 skein (100g) Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 in unknown colourway

2. The Golden Ticket Shawl

ingredients: 2 skeins (approx 600 yds) Twist of Fate 100% Rayon in Gold

There are more, but some are gifts and must wait to be gifted before being revealed to the public. Just think of it as having something to look forward to!

I think I need one of these looms!

Here are some reasons why I love the Knitter's Loom:

1. When your hands are tired from too much knitting, weaving is totally fine

2. For you product knitters, hello 5 hour shawl!

3. Portability. Yes! You can bring it to knit night!

4. What can you give your knitter friends that is not knitting? Something woven!

5. Hand dyed yarns = instant faux plaid = awesome

6. Colour in weaving.... gorgeous

7. It's a stash busting excercise. Use up all that excess sock yarn!

8. It has maximum impact for minimal time & skill

9. Wondering what to make with your gorgeous handspun yarn? How about a woven heirloom shawl?

10. Weaving produces fabric which can be sewn into stuff. Huzzah!

New Logo!

2009-06-16T13:58:00.013-05:00

I have been ever so lucky to have a new logo for my Coy stuffies made for me by local graphic designer, Amaris Fisher!
The image is a little sketch we worked on together, which she cleaned up and made into a cute logo image. I think this might end up as a business card logo, and as an integrated part of my banner on my Etsy site.

Where to Find My Creations in the Real World:

I sell my hand-knitted baby & toddler hats at Mothering Touch

I sell my handmade stitch markers at The Beehive Wool Shop

I sell my handmade stuffies at The Coy Online Shop.
Or in even person if you contact me to arrange a time to meet up.

The hard part I find, is getting exposure, getting my stuff out there to my niche market. I guess all artists have this problem at some point or other. Any tips or advice from you artisans out in blog land??

merci!
Nessa

Long time no blog

2009-06-14T23:59:00.004-05:00

Well I'll bet a few of you might have begun to think I have dropped off the face of the earth, or at least the face of the interwebs, but here I am!
I've been tired, busy, distracted, and many other very good reasons for not blogging for ages (insert them here).
One such reason is that I misplaced my camera, and felt disinclined to make a post without pictures, because face it, we all love pictures!

KNITTING UPDATE:
Knitting projects I have finished include, the euroflax linen tank top for the The Beehive
The top pic, btw, is me at the Beehive.
I finished Imogen, which I know you are all dying to see, but alas I have not yet photographed it.
I am working on a Silk Maiden shawl similar to the Sunday Market Shawl with a slightly different stitch pattern. I'll probably give out the pattern for free when I'm done it because I like to share the knit love.
DISCLAIMER:
If you happen to head over to the silk maiden link, which takes you to the handmaiden site, don't say I didn't warn you.... it can be dangerous to your credit card/paypal account!

I am almost finished the spring semester here at school, so I'll be working at the knitting shop again this summer! So this means/ I hope this means that I'll be spending lots of time playing with yarn. I really need to catch up on my knitting, which studying has this annoying habit of getting in the way of. (oh, bad sentence nessa, looks around for the grammar police)

Well, I'll write again soonish when I finally get some decent photos to share with you all!

happy knitting~

More lovelies in the shop!

2009-03-22T14:14:00.008-05:00

I know, I know, I'm shamelessly plugging my etsy shop.
But look what's in there now!

For those of you who don't know, the mushrooms are mushrooms that grow in North America, and come complete with a little description, and botanical names.

etsy!

2009-03-21T01:25:00.002-05:00

stuff is finally in my etsy shop!!
I'll post more hopefully this weekend!
So far I've got bears, a bunny, a yeti, and some birds, but I hope to post some mushrooms of North America, little Red, and more :-)
Check out the Coy shop!

another day another year

2009-03-04T17:43:00.002-06:00

It was my birthday yesterday. And I was sick. Am sick.
Despite this, the hubby got me a cake, and a box of Captain Crunch cereal (because deep down I am turning 7 again). And his gift came in the mail today! Yay!
What is it? The Oh Bijou CD, Swift Feet for Troubling Times!
Jeff first introduced me to this band after hearing a song by them on CBC radio, and then frantically searching the interwebs for more about them... "how do you spell Obeejoo??" I'm so glad he took the trouble because I totally <3 this awesome Toronto band! Plus, how much do I love the stethoscope background art on their webpage?!
I am also pretty stoked about the release of their new album in April! (hmmm... our anniversary is in April...)
So here I am, with my soup, and my music....

gifty goodness

2009-02-07T14:03:00.002-06:00

I knit this little scarf for a friend's son, whom I love.
He is fast approaching the 8 year mark, and he LOVES HOTWHEELS!

The pattern is my own design, and the yarn is Paton's Canadianna, not a yarn I usually use, but it is 100% acrylic, and 100% 8 year old boy proof :-)

When I showed the hubby, he very much approved of this gift for an 8 year old boy. He was like "that's so cool!!" to which I replied "you can't have it".
It seems that 8 year old boys and 28 year old boys are all the same.

Here are the inside guts of the scarf. They will be covered in polar fleece to make this scarf worthy of Northern Alberta winters, but mostly to hide the guts.

little forest

2009-01-29T18:57:00.002-06:00

Check out my new hobby! Needle felting! This little button is only about 3 or 4 inches in diameter. I made this back during the holiday break, when I took a needle felting class at the Beehive Wool Shop.

I know you're all thinking, as if YOU need ANOTHER hobby, Nessa! And you're totally right, but still, needle felting is fun, and has many cool applique uses when used on knitted-felted objects. Plus, it's a great way to use up little left-over bits of roving when I am done spinning because, in needle felting, a little wool goes a long way.

One of my favourite features of this little felted forest is the bead stars! I heart them.

Anyways, I don't think I'll give up too much time to this new interest, but it is a rather fun way to spend a rainy afternoon.

GIANT YETI SIGHTING!

2009-01-27T19:15:00.002-06:00

This giant yeti was commissioned by a friend (people just love yetis!). He stands about 24-32" tall (I didn't measure before I gave him away), as opposed to my previous yeti creations which were about 8-9" tall. Which makes him extra snuggleable.

Here he is sitting at the kitchen table, even yeti's like their afternoon tea...

Don't let the big claws fool you, he's really just a gentle giant.

~Nessa

I like mermaids

2009-01-25T17:24:00.002-06:00

I have liked mermaids ever since I was a little girl. C'mon, what little girl doesn't dream that she is Ariel, at least once in her life...

So needless to say I immediately fell in love with Fleece Artist's gorgeous colourway called, you guessed it, Mermaid. Actually this was my favourite colourway for a long time, but then I found out the name & if it is possible, I loved it even more.
That pic up there is actually my first plied handspun (from Fleece Artist's merino sliver), snuggling up with my Imogen sweater-kit-in-progress. Am I a tad obsessed with this colour? possibly.

Oddly, I am not usually a "blue" person, but this blue is so rich, and the intermingled shades of green, brown, and purple make this colourway reminiscent of the colours used in some of my favourite Emily Carr paintings of the 1930's, like this one or this one.

I am ridiculously pleased with myself over this handspun. I used a shoe box, and empty tp rolls to ply this yarn, and it is now my life's goal to procure more of this colourway in the merino sliver... in fact, I would even be delighted to get this colourway in the silk/merino blend sliver... Also, there is some nice Mermaid BFL sock yarn that I am planning to purchase one of these days too...
Is it wrong to have one of every type of knitted item in this colourway?
I won't wear them all out at once, I promise!

~Nessa

back to school

2009-01-09T14:40:00.004-06:00

I feel like this guy.
Why do the holidays never last long enough?
This semester is physics, and maths, so I anticipate much homework. In fact it has already begun.
My consolation is the belated Bitchybees Christmas party, which was cancelled due to snow, but is now happening this Sunday! So in fact Christmas is not yet over for me :-)
Hope you are all enjoying (as much as possible) your back-to-school/back-to-work/back-to-regular-life and are not at all feeling a bit of longing to back-up and go back-to-Christmas for a little bit longer.

COMING SOON!
Photos on my Christmas present project! It is "Imogen", a sweaterkit from Fleece Artist, and it's an alpaca-wool handpainted yarn! It's simply dreamy to knit.
Plus photos on my first ever 2-ply handspun! (you are dying of anticipation now, right?)

~Nessa

Walkin in a Winter Wonderland

2008-12-23T00:04:00.004-06:00

Yesterday that song kept buzzing in my head. It was the perfect snow day. Idyllic really. I walked to the bus, then hopped a bus to work (well waited 30 minutes in the snow really, but who's counting). It was a quiet day & with more snow than this city has seen in oh about 12 years.

It snowed again last night, and so this morning there was even more snow!
By our walkway which is shovelled, the snow comes up to just below my knee!!
I absolutely love it! I don't even mind walking in the snow.

Oh & there has been some knitting around here lately too...
Mostly just baby hats for Mothering Touch.

I am loving knitting for toddlers. The designs are all my own ideas. I am sort of free-form knitting the tops of the fruits, the bunny ears, etc.

Happy snow day to all! & I hope all who are graced with this winter wonderland of snow are warm & safe :-)
~Nessa

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas

2008-12-17T11:18:00.003-06:00

Ever since exams finished on Monday, knitting has been happening...

I love the little stem and leaf I improvised on this little lemon cap.

The green on is now a finished lime cap, more photos to come some other time.

The first snow of the winter hit us several days ago. It was close enough to have some of us wishing and daring to hope for a White Christmas, which if you are from Victoria, you would realize is exactly not "like the ones I used to know". I can't remember ever having snow for Christmas, and I have been here for 24 years.
Actually, I think this dump is more snow that we've seen in a long time, which by the rest of Canada's standards, is not very much. But to us fairweather Victorian's it seems like a lot!

It is supposed to snow again today, but so far it's just been the normal old wet precipitation, and not the snowflake variety.

These are some stitch markers I've been working on making up to sell. They are polymer clay, baked, and then painted and glazed.

Well, I think I should go make some breakfast now.
happy knitting,
~Nessa

wherin exam stress pays off

2008-12-10T19:14:00.002-06:00

So one exam down, two more to go... I actually was extrememly worried before the Immunology exam I had this morning. Last night, I was convinced that I was screwed... but I think that is a fairly normal feeling for sleep-deprived-insomniac-overworked students around this time of year. Exams is the one thing I really hate about school. Escpecially exams in the sciences which often hold a heavy weighting at the end of term. It is pretty normal for an end of term exam to be weighted at 40% to 50% of your overall grade. That's HALF your grade, people! HALF your grade relying on a couple of days of major cramming, because classes and normal class work doesn't cease until right before exams. Sometimes, no actually, a lot of the time, midterm exams are still happening the week before exam week starts! Mid-terms? Seriously, the most inappropriately named exams ever. So anyways, for those of you still reading this rant, last night I was feeling like all was lost, that immunology was a bust, a low grade, a failed exam.... when somehow... today... I knew the answers! I was the first person to finish the exam.... so I'm thinking it went well. I feel confident about my answers. So, there is one block of stress of my shoulders.

But why does exam stress pay off? Our prof for immunology made a list up for "overworked folks" on how to keep your immune system happy... apparently stress burns lots of calories... (he claims is a bad thing, as I reach for another cookie). It's true people, I've totally lost weight since last week. Gym? Who needs it? I've got stress to maintain my waistline! ;-P (just kidding of course)

ps. all of this has nothing to do with that photo, I just like it. I'll post with real finished object photos tomorrow.

ode to the Christmas box

2008-12-07T01:31:00.003-06:00

One of the things I love best about Christmas, is the tree. Well, actually the ornaments to be more precise. Over the years I've built up a collection of hand-made ornaments using everything from baked and painted salt clay, to mini knitted garments, and of course there are those few keepsakes that have managed to stick through it all and still adorn the tree year after year. I look forward to seeing them when I bring that big Christmas box up from the basement, like old friends I only see once in a while, they still bring a smile to my face. This little Santa is like that. I am certain that my mom picked him up in a set of ornaments sometime in the early 1980's. I remember playing with all of the characters, Santa, a deer, a mouse, and others. All plastic. All covered in some sort of mysterious fuzz layer. All totally awesome. Santa here is the only fellow who has endured, and is still around to cheer up the tree year after year. Isn't he a fine fellow?

This Christmas decoration is not actually a real decoration, but a tin that used to hold real maple syrup that my hubby brought me back from a business trip to Ottawa. It is kind of like those great cookie tins that have cute little paintings on them, my mom always saved those...

This little tin pretty much epitomizes a Canadian winter in the 1980's. I get all nostalgic looking at it. Although, realistically, those kids would have frostbite in the sub-zero Canadian winter weather! Where are their snowsuits? You know, the ones where you can hardly move your arms, and that take so long to get on that you have to pee by the time you're ready to leave (& will take another 20 minutes to get off again). That, and the milk would be frozen.
(I should point out that this tin does not epitomize a West Coast Canadian winter, if it did, it those kids would need rainsuits)

Speaking of those festive cookie tins...

Here is my all time favourite Christmas cookie tin. I admit, I love this tin so much that some years it never makes it back into the Christmas box; it just stays out all year. Don't you just want to let that gnome inside and give him and his goat (angora goat btw) some milk and gingerbread cookies?

This next one is a snippit of a little Christmas scene I set up this year, we have lots of tiny winter themed figurines, and they look so cute on the mantle on a big vase of stuffing snow.

And of course, the Christmas Pickle. This is a relatively new ornament, which I recieved just two Christmases ago as a hostess gift when I held my annual Christmas potluck fete. I absolutely love the randomness of a pickle ornament, and I have a feeling this one will be with us for a long time.

These Yetis Mean Business!

2008-12-04T18:27:00.003-06:00

If you live in Victoria BC, these Yetis want YOU to go to the MAGICAL CHRISTMAS CRAFT FAIR this weekend!

Hurry to scoop up these cuties (and other awesome one-of-a-kind COY softies) before they are all gone!!

Just a reminder, in case you forgot... it is running from Friday(tomorrow) to Sunday (check a few posts below for full info)

And for those of you who may be looking for me in the crowd, I won't be there!
I know, "what the heck Nessa? You won't even be at the craft show you've been pushing for the past week or two!!?" I really want to be there, but final exams are next week!!! Sadly, I need to spend my weekend in the books. Though, I might try to sneak down briefly during a study-break to check out the other vendors.

ps. send the A+ vibes my way ;-)

how much is that doggie in the window?

2008-12-03T20:32:00.004-06:00

I almost forgot to share this little pup with you! I have dubbed him Percival Pup, and he is quite the fashionably doggy, as you can probably already tell from his swanky new knit scarf!

I crocheted him up while watching Season 4 of Grey's Anatomy. We don't have TV so I have to wait for these things.... no Season 5 spoilers please! I'm waiting until it's on DVD!
Percy is the first crochet amigurumi that I've ever designed. It was done free-style though, so I couldn't tell you how I did it :-)
Oh & of course he will be for sale! How much IS that doggie? $20.00 CDN. :-)

Well, right now I am knee deep in organic chemistry studies, so I should be off. But I did want to share that I actually distilled orange oil in the lab the other day! I actually made real orange essential oil! How cool is that? Organic chem is SO HARD, but seriously awesome sometimes!

~Nessa

Sunday Brunch

2008-11-30T16:31:00.007-06:00

Today I dropped off all of the softies for the craft fair. Now they are out of my hands. I feel a bit sad to let them all go, but yet I really do want to have them sell out! I guess I will be a bit dissapointed, and a bit happy each way; if my favourites sell, I'll be sad that they are gone forever but happy that they sold, if they don't, I'll be sad that they didn't sell but happy that they aren't gone forever.
Anyways, here is the last of the softies I sewed up for the Magical Christmas Craft Fair at Pearkes Arena (see previous post for all the details).

I present, Little Red.

She took a whole lot longer to sew than I had anticipated, as the work was a bit fiddly. I have already thought of a few ways I could make her easier to sew when I make more in the future. My vision is to have Little Red dolls in many different skin tones, and hair colours. Not shown here are her polka-dotted undies, which is an extra detail that I love. I know I would have gotten a kick out of it as a kid.

She is approximately 18-20" tall.

And because I love to share... here is a recipe for brunch.

I have a love-hate relationship with eggs. As a toddler, my mother had to force feed me the stuff, some of which invariably ended up down the bib in protest. As a teen, I tried to like eggs. It just seemed like such quinessential breakfast food that I couldn't really believe I didn't like them, although when I did eat eggs I usually had to choke them down. As an adult, I have come to learn that there are a few different ways I do like my eggs.
One is poached eggs, fabulous! If it is eggs benny, even better, bring on the Hollandaise!
Sunny side up eggs, with peanut butter toast. Similar to the poached egg in flavour and texture, and the pb toast for dipping. I know what you're thinking, "peanut butter toast? And EGGS? Seriously?", Seriously. It is so good.
Oh & of course to round this out, I do like soft boiled eggs with buttered toast "fingers".
Eggs are also delicious when made into French Toast, or as egg salad sandwiches.
Other than that.... all bets are off.
So today, when I dreamt up this brunch food, I was in that hopeful naive place where I forget that I'm not really "that" into eggs. Luckily, it turned out fabulously! Do you like omlettes, grilled cheese sandwiches, or french toast?... then you will likely enjoy this delicious brunch toast! Don't like mushrooms and onions? Substitute your favourite omlette veggies, or meats! Having guests over for brunch? Grab a large pan and make a batch!

Nessa's Brunch Toast: (serves 1)

1 piece of rye bread (or your favourite bread)
1 egg
4 slices of sharp cheddar cheese (or strong cheese of choice)
1 green onion stalk, chopped
1 button mushrom, sliced
olive oil for the pan

heat up your oil in a pan, and lightly sautee the mushrooms and onion.
remove mushrooms and onion and set aside.
place bread in the pan and let heat up on one side, remove from pan.
immediately break an egg into the pan, and cover with mushrooms and onions, place bread on top. (I broke my yolk at this stage)
let cook until the egg seems done, then flip toast over and place cheese strips on top.
Cover, and let sit until cheese is all melted.
Serve immediately!

(this is a tweaked version, as I placed the bread in the pan first, then broke the egg onto the bread... it required a spatula to hold the raw egg on the bread until it was cooked enough to flip over. I think the version above should avoid that problem.)

Magical Christmas!

2008-11-29T19:35:00.004-06:00

As many of you already know, the fabulous Arika from my knit group has so graciously given me some space to showcase some of my softies from the Coy shop!

The Magical Christmas Gift Show is running from December 5th to 7th at the Pearkes Rec. Centre.
The hours are 10am-8pm Friday, 10am-5pm Saturday & Sunday.

So if you are in the area, please stop on by and check out the fabulous items on display at Arika's booth! She has knitted some adorable punk-baby sweaters, legwarmers, and more, a couple of other knit group friends will be selling at the booth too. Tiffany will be selling the most adorable kids hats, such as a dragon hat, and a viking hat *tooo cute*, and Sylvana is selling some crocheted goodies.
**The address is 3100 Tillicum Road, right beside the Silvercity theatre. **

I found my mind exploding with new creative ideas after the never ending mid-term exam train, so this project was incredibly cathartic.
I would wake in the night with the schematics for a new softie, and have to run to my idea book so I could capture it for later use. I still have loads of ideas that have not yet been used, and you can look forward to seeing them around Christmas and in the new year.

I actually spent time sewing while studying for exams (I took creativity breaks), and had a couple of days of solid sewing a few weekends ago to get ready.

I think the Yetis are my favourites by far, they are just so unbelievably soft! It is truly difficult to send them away. I will definitly be making up more of these cuties during the holiday break, so stay tuned. I might even try out making some BIG yetis. These are around 11" tall.

This one is my favourite yeti, he is grumpy. I always choose the grumpy character. Grumpy dwarf, the Grumpy Carebear, Oscar the Grouch... I dunno, grumps just make me wanna cuddle them & cheer them up!

Here is my sewing desk (aka my "kitchen table")mid-way thru the sewing. It now looks like a major disaster zone, but we'll not talk about that...
Mess indicates creativity right??

~Nessa

create-ivity

2008-11-16T22:50:00.005-06:00

I was perusing through some of my photo albums on my computer, and I found some great pics I shot & edited last fall around this time.

This is Roo, our loveable, naughty, chubby cat-who-thinks-he's-a-people.

This shot is of the fire in our woodstove, which we just got last year. I absolutely love it! The smell of woodstove fills up the house with this warm, sweet pine filed, winter fragrance. We don't actually use that much wood because it heats the house so well. We haven't fired it up yet this year, but with that November chill in the air I sense it will be soon.

These last two shots were used as a part of an online presentation for my bio class last winter. The top eye is my hubby's, and the bottom one is mine. Can you see the camera in my eye?

I've been swamped here with studying for midterms, and feeling slightly hopeless, but I've been taking creativity breaks so that I don't go crazy. So far I've sewn up about 10 items for the impending craft fair in December, and I have loads of ideas in my little idea book for more. I've also got some tricks up my sleeve for presents this year... he he he... you'll have to wait until after Christmas to see~

~Nessa

a cure for the blues

2008-11-12T19:50:00.008-06:00

The above pic was taken a couple of weeks ago when fall was in full swing. But now it is almost beginning to feel wintery! And by wintery I mean West Coast BC wintery ie.cold, wet, and grey.

So I have been making some cheerful stuffies to chase the winter greys away.
It is impossible to have the blues when you've got a fluffy frosted cupcake with rainbow sprinkles, and a maraschino cherry on top!! It is like happiness incarnate!

These little guys will be for sale at the Perks Arena Christmas craft fair (more details to come closer to the date).

When I showed these to Jeffy, he asked "but can I eat them?"
Sorry Love, they're full of the wrong kind of fiber.

These little fluffies make me hungry for the real thing, which I admit I've been indulging in quite often this season :-) Can you blame me though?

I've also been working on some other more festive stuffies for the Christmas craft fair, but no pics of those yet.

And what is late Fall/ early winter without some hearty warming soup? Here's what we ate for dinner tonight...

Minestrone With A Colombian Twist

Ingredients:
1 can diced tomatoes (796 mL)
3 stalks of celery chopped
1 handful of cilantro chopped (about 10-12 sprigs)
1 can of beans rinsed, I used white kidney beans (540 mL)
1/2 pkg Mrs.Leepers Corn Rotelli (one pkg is 340g)
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup vegetable juice (like V8)
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 cube boullion (I use veggie boullion)
Shredded cheddar cheese for topping
Sour cream for topping

Mix all ingredients together except for noodles, sour cream, and cheese. Heat in a large pot on medium.
Cook noodles according to pkg directions, set aside.
Once celery is cooked, add the noodles.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream, and a sprinkle of cheese on top. Cheese quesadillas, or corn chips would be a tastey side :-)

Happy November!
~Nessa

I really have been up to stuff...

2008-10-11T20:07:00.006-05:00

This vest has taken forever to knit! Ironically, the actual knitting time needed to finish this is very small. I would even classify it as a weekend knitting project for a quick knitter. But it has taken since August to make this sucker. I am still not quite done the finishing.... but who has time? I'm usually stuck under some heavy textbook or other.Maybe I'll get it done for Christmas...

Next we have a simple knit, great for chilling on the couch and watching a show.
It is going to be a Christmas present! Go me!
Can you guess what it will be?

The last one is decieving, thrown in for a little autumn colour. I haven't actually worked on this for a while, but it is a KIP I am doing as a shop sample for the beehive.... What will it be?

Ok enough being mysterious, I really should be studying immunology...

Happy Thanksgiving to all you knitters-and nonknitters alike :-)

~Nessa

Bad bad blogger

2008-10-01T18:45:00.002-05:00

Hey all,

I know I am a bad, bad blogger, but I've been super swamped with school! I have had a little time for knitting, so there are some new projects in the works to show you all.
BUT I haven't had time for photos.
The lineup of classes this semester feels a bit crazy: calculus, physics, organic chemistry, and immunology (a chemistry). My mind is reeling. Even now I am falling way behind in math homework so I should go work on that.
In good news, I made it through the first clump of midterms with ok grades in calc, and excellent grades in physics and chem. The bad news, there is another clump of midterms coming up in about 2 weeks. Gah! There is no rest!
Anyways, I know I'm whinging about something that is entirely my own choice, so I'll stop now. Besides, I really should be studying!

~Nessa

Artist Weekend Recap

2008-09-13T14:10:00.004-05:00

Hey all,

so this post is a loooong time coming, but I think you'll all forgive my silence as it has been a crazy first two weeks of school. I am taking four lab sciences: two organic chemistry, immunology (a bio chem), calculus, and physics. So far I am enjoying being back at the books, even though the homework assignments are already beginning to pile up.

The artist weekend was a blast! I met some great local artisans, and got a really good response from the public about my artwork. I was so nervous to put myself out there, but it seems I need not have been so worried! Sales were not so good for any of the artists that weekend, I guess a cafe as an artistan market isn't the best consumer atmosphere but at least I got out there and got seen and known a bit by the public & it was a free venue too. The two days were glorious and sunny and loads of friends came out to visit me! Thank you all for your support, and it was awesome to catch up with so many of you that I just don't seem to see very often. Special thanks to Bonnie, who came out on Saturday to be my knitting buddy for several hours!

First, a sampling of my work...

Bonnie and I getting in some quality knitting time in the sun.

A silly little doggie, doesn't he look sinister?

One of the guys from the bonsai club, with his gorgeous bouganvillia bonsai!

An incredible ironwork sculpture from one of the other artisans, Nancy.

a little art...

2008-08-30T21:15:00.005-05:00

Thanks to all who came by today to see me at The Roost! & if you haven't yet heard, come check out the Artist's Weekend happening tomorrow at The Roost Cafe in Sidney.
I'll update with more pics of all the fun later.

Artist weekend

2008-08-25T20:53:00.001-05:00

Well The Knitting Olympics are over. And I didn't complete one single project on my list. Oh well, sometimes life just gets in the way. I did, however, finish the July/August Lady sweater of Ravelry fame last night.

These pics are the best I could do since I had to take them myself.

That last one looks so much like a baby cardi to me, since there is no scale to judge size from. I guess it is fitting, since this pattern began life as a baby cardi.

The reason I was unable to finish all of my knitting projects for the Ravelympics was that I was busy doing another form of art...

This painting is just one of the ones I've been working on for a show during the Artist's Weekend at the Roost cafe in Sidney. I will be showcasing & selling some of my paintings, & collectible stuffies. Come check it out if you are in the area on Saturday & Sunday, August 30 & 31 between 9am & 5pm.
The paintings are acrylic on canvas.

As always, I have a love/hate relationship with my artwork. Part of me is the proud mama of each painting my brush touches, the other part doubts my talent. I guess it is hard to be objective about something you put a lot of time & creative energy into. I hope you guys like them!

p.s. I just ate the best lunch! I'll share the recipe here, but no pics cause I gobbled it up too fast. Inspired by Smitten Kitchen (see my fave links list)

Brunch Quesadilla:
(serves one)

2 corn tortillas
small amount of olive oil
1/8 cup of piquante salsa (or mild if you like that)[add as little or as much as you like really]
3 chopped basil leaves
chopped up strips of cheddar cheese
1 egg

pour a little oil in a non-stick pan
place one tortilla in the pan, and 1/2 of the cheese strips on that
when cheese begins to melt, crack the egg over top of the tortilla
break the yolk
top with basil, and dot salsa across egg evenly
cover with the 2nd half of the cheese, and the other tortilla
Let fry until egg is almost done cooking
flip it (careful! this can be messy)
Let fry on other side until it puffs up.
It should look golden on each tortilla side, with egg and melty cheese coming out the edges...mmm...

Serve cut into quarters, or however you prefer to portion up your quesadillas
EAT IT UP!

handspun yummy

2008-08-16T20:52:00.001-05:00

This is the first yarn I have spun on my new wheel! I can't even believe how fast this spun up, it is about 75 - 100g of Merino wool from Ashford. I am kind of obsessed with this colour this season. Can you tell?

I love how it has that classic handspun thick & thin texture. I think I might knit a slouchy hat or toque out of it for this fall. I still have the handspun I did on the drop spindle to use up too & I think it will work nicely together with this wheel spun yarn.
I can't wait to knit it up!

~Nessa

Get your geese in a row...

2008-08-15T20:51:00.001-05:00

I am trying my darndest to get the E.Z. take-off sweater finished for the Ravelympics. I think, I might just make it!

I am officially onto the sleeves, which of course are only 3/4 length. So really it's like 1.5 sleeves worth of knitting. (I feel like that was really terrible grammar, but I don't have the brain to fix it right now. Sorry grammar police!)

You are probably noticing that the waist band isn't finished. That is purposely on hold to see if I have leftover yarn from the sleeves to make knit the band 1.5" long, right now I am running out of yarn for the band and am about .75" into the band. I still have one ball reserved for the sleeves.

I am also feeling a bit overwhelmed that summer is coming to a close very soon. I am heading back to school on September 2nd, and I just don't feel ready. There is so much to get done, and all I feel like doing is procrastinating. I am looking at my schedule, and all of the commitments I have made & starting to freak out just a tad. Work one day a week, 4 lab science classes, volunteering one day a week, teaching a sock knitting class! I really need to get it together, but am finding it hard to get out of the summer groove.
Speaking of summer grooves, check out Jon & Roy. They are a local Victoria band that I have recently fallen in love with! (Their music of course, not them personally :-P). The song, Right Groove, has been running through my head at work a lot lately. They are just the perfect West Coast summer sound.

Here's a pic of the bike out on the Galloping Goose. I can't believe how much fun riding a bike is!

And speaking of geese...

happy summer knitting,
~Nessa

Updates!

2008-08-10T20:50:00.001-05:00

Hey all!

There are some new goodies up on the Coy shop! With more kinds to come in the next few days. I have been test driving this new style of stitch marker to make sure they hold up to real knitting. I am using them with a basic vine lace pattern in a worsted weight yarn. They have not snagged on anything & have held up to knitting action just fine!

& here's my update on the February Lady Sweater! I have now memorized the lace pattern so it is moving along much more quickly! It is one of my Ravelympic challenges to finish this baby by Aug 24th!

And a couple of proper daylight pics of the Bella Bike Seat Cover!

my awesome friend Bonnie from work gave me a bike helmet today! So now I can hit the road on my new Bella Bike!

happy sunday!

lacking clever title

2008-08-09T20:50:00.001-05:00

This past Monday, I spent the day with my friend Victoria. It was BC Day for all those non-British Columbians, and so the city was in full festivities. It was a lovely day! I didn't even mess with the colours in photoshop, these dreamy colours were what my camera actually captured!

We walked around Beacon Hill Park, and then on to the Inner Harbour to see some great free concerts, including Collin James, Sarah McLaughlan, and Feist.

Then, yesterday I bought a bike! It is a used vintage Italian folding bike in a wicked orange colour. The seat has a tiny hole in it from previous use, so until I get a new one I will use this crocheted cover over it.

I used my freestyle crochet skills to make this cute cover, which I have dubbed the Bella Bike Seat Cover, since my bike was called an Anna Bella model.

I intend to use my new bike to get to & from school & work. I love how it is so compact, and fits my tiny frame very well. More photos when the weather is not so miserable!

~nessa

Tofino/Ucluelet Adventure!

2008-08-02T20:49:00.001-05:00

Last weekend, the hubby & I took off on our very first vacation together! Yes, we have been together for five years, and married for three, but nary a vacation have we been on!

Last weekend the hubby & I were supposed to go camping with his friends. We even booked time off especially for it, but at the last minute his friends all bailed. On Friday night, the hubby phoned me at work, and told me to try and find a place for us to stay in Tofino for the weekend.
So that night I spent the evening frantically phoning around up island to find us a campground, hotel, or b&b. I lucked out & found accomodations for both Saturday & Sunday night at a B&B in Ucluelet, which is about 40km from Tofino.

Saturday morning, we hit the road.

Knitting in hand of course...

Along the way, we found a cool glacier fed river to check out.

The water was so green.

After which we hit the windy road up to Tofino, which was an adventure in and of itself. Especially with Jeffy being so new to driving standard, and our new car (btw. we got a new car, well new to us, a buick 2-door). Luckily, we didn't drive off the edge of the mountainous road, and we arrived safe and sound in Ucluelet.

Our B&B was a beautiful new home in a weird little rainforest. They called it Old Growth, but we knew better. It was pretty though.
That night, we had dinner in town, and then snuggled up to watch a movie (the owners had a good DVD collection to choose from).

The next morning, we went to check out Tofino.

We puttered around, and chatted up some of the locals. Had some wicked chai latte, and checked out the many art galleries and shops.

We ended up having lunch at Sobo's (nothing to do with this photo, this was a carving that I liked), a unique cafeteria style restaurant that started out in a van. Then headed back out of Tofino.

Then we went to Long Beach

A couple of times actually...

We would check out part of it, then get back in the car...

and drive to find more...

and walk through some trails, and down stairs...

and there was more....

It is aptly named.

The evening was capped off with an evening stroll through Ucluelet, some Khalua mudslides, another good movie, and some real stars! Seriously, it puts Victoria night skies to shame.

Because of our evening fun, we slept in on Monday, and had a lazy drive back to Victoria.

with more knitting

and more gorgeous views.

It was a lovely weekend, and two pairs of socks are almost complete now. I just have the toes to do on 2 socks!

~Nessa

No recap just yet

2008-07-30T20:48:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting to blog about our Ucluelet/Tofino adventure, and show you all the fantastic photos we took, but the hubby downloaded them all onto the laptop & there they are stuck until I can transfer them over to the pc. Oh the frusterations of having multiple computers! (I know, my life is so hard).

So you will have to be appeased with this cute pic of the pony at Oldfield Farm, one of the Island's local organic farms. This fellow was quite pleased when I let him sample one of my blueberries, and quite insistent that he have more. He demanded more by agressively hoofing at the gate, and snuffling at me after he ate said blueberry, which was decidedly poor manners even for a pony.

And to give you a taste of what is to come, here is a short list of weekend highlights:

1. our first real holiday in 5+ years
2. car knitting
3. 680 km/8 hrs on the road
4. a b&b in the rainforest
5. a long beach
6. two pairs of socks

~Nessa

Wahoo!

2008-07-25T20:48:00.000-05:00

Goin to Ucluelet & Tofino for the weekend + monday!

WAHOO!!

happy weekend to all!
~Nessa

Monday is for show and tell

2008-07-21T20:47:00.000-05:00

So loads to show & tell today!

My pattern, Algormortis finally went live today on Anticraft! Check it out! Thanks to Sylvana, & Lorraine for being my helpy test-knitters :-)

Next Up: Preppy Socks

I am on a sock binge lately, somewhat aided along by the staff free-leftover-yarn bin at work. These are being made from some leftover Kroy from aforementioned bin.

I finished spinning a skein of yarn on my Ashford Drop Spindle!

It is about 65 meters long, so I guess I'll need to spin one more if I actually want to make something out of it. I haven't done a swatch yet, but I'm guessing it is around a worsted/aran weight.

AND FINALLY, LAST BUT NOT LEAST: I got a spinning wheel!

My friend Tiffany suddenly found herself with too many spinning wheels, so she sold me this Ram Spinner for a great price! She also, so very kindly offered to come and teach me the ropes sometime soon. Here it is modelling the drop spindle yarn.

Happy knitting, & spinning!

~Nessa

Huzzah for me!

2008-07-16T20:46:00.000-05:00

The fantastically bright Huzzah For Me Socks are done!
I used one skein of Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 to make them. I think I want to cast on for another pair straight away, since these were so quick and easy to make. A lovely mindless project that I can do when I want a break from my bigger harder projects.

A gratuitous flower shot from a local organic farm's U-PICK garden. This one is of Bergamot.
I also picked up some sour apples, rhubarb, & ginger & made a fantastic apple/rhubarb crisp, but alas, we ate it up so fast there are no photos to share. I will definitely be making more soon, since it is a relatively healthy and oh so delicious dessert! Oh & I have lots more rhubarb left...

And a bouquet of poor-man's orchids, aka, wild sweet pea blossoms from my garden. So pretty :-)

So what haaave you been up to, Nessa?

2008-07-08T20:45:00.000-05:00

I know, that's the ten dollar question. What do you mean I'm supposed to say million dollar question? You think I'm MADE of money?

Last weekend we had my Uncle come up from Seattle to visit us. We haven't seen him since the Christmas before we got married, so it was nice to catch up with him. Being the rad uncle that he is, he brought me some antique teacups that belonged to my grandma.

The green flowered one is my favourite. It somehow seems so mod for being made in the early 1900's which is when I think it was made.

But what about knitting?

I finished one sock of the now dubbed "Huzzah for me!" socks. I am using The Comfy Soled Sock Pattern. This pattern is for people with sensitive feet, such as diabetics. The soles are purled rather than knit, so the knit side is on the inside of the sock, much smoother.
I just like the feel of my socks worn inside-out, so this pattern was a good fit for me. Cast on while travelling to Saltspring Island, I later realized that I really needed this project, since two of my other on-the-go kips have lace involved. I need a break from lace!

With that said, here is one of the two lace things I've got on the needles...
I present, The Leming Cardi. Thusly named due to the high volume of ravelers knitting this sweater.

Of course I am at 282 sts, and on the first lace repeat I missed 3 YO's, this will be my second time ripping back on this many sts, as the first was due to an error in the pattern. Aiya. I really need to bring myself to just do it!

If the whole thing was garter stitch instead of just the yoke, I think I'd be done by now.

And finally, since it is finally feeling like summer here... here's a pic of my new Indian summer scarf! Love.

Saltspring Island

2008-07-03T20:44:00.000-05:00

This past Monday, I got to spend the day on Saltspring Island with fellow knitters, Iona, Tiffany, and Iona's all-around-crafter friend Barb. The day could not have been nicer! It was sunny & warm, and felt like real summer weather. This first pic is of Ganges Harbour.

We had a lovely lunch at Barb's parent's place on the top of a mountain (they own the top!). This is their view from the porch!

After lunch we walked to the tippy top of the mountain for amazing views of Saltspring, but of course I forgot my camera. You'll have to trust me when I say it was incredible.

Barb's parent's have an adorable black lab, his name is Cash. Look at him pose ;-)

Myself, Tiffany, & Iona on the porch.

Later in the afternoon, we headed out to Ganges to check out the local yarn shop/quilt store, Stitches. It is a lovely shop & I reccommend that you check it out if you're ever on Saltspring. I left the shop unscathed, with no yarn or fabric purchases! It was difficult, let me tell you, but I was saving my money for unique locally produced yarn which they didn't carry.

Next, we hit up The Rainbow Road Trading Co.. This unique little shop is always a must-visit when I'm on the island. When you enter the shop, which is located in a victorian style heritage house, you smell sweet incence and spices. In every nook & cranny of the house you will find a funky assortment of odds and sods, with everything from real Indian garam masala spice, to intricate hand-knitted garments.

I ended up buying a cute brown strappy camisole (scroll to the bottom of page 1 to see), some gauzy cotton luxa scarves from India (top of page 4), and some cute little carved wooden tea spoons. This eclectic shop is too awesome to leave empty-handed (I don't think I ever have!).

It turned out that Art Craft was on while we were there, so we decided to check it out. While there, I picked up some lovely handmade soap from local soapsmiths Kama Soap. It was lucky Art Craft was on, because I had almost run out of their soap that I bought last year. I love this soap!

More soap was procured from the Saltspring Soapworks, wherin I obtained a little 3 soap sampler. While I love the Kama Soap the best, the Soapworks shop is so cute to visit. They have bubbles blowing from their sign into the street to welcome visitors. Too adorable.

Finally, we went to the chocolate shop for some gelato...

Time ran out to visit any of the farms, so no unique Saltspring yarns were procured. However, in all it was a great little mini-vacation & it was nice to get to know Tiffany & Iona a little better. Thanks Iona!

Done like dinner...mmm...dinner

2008-06-26T20:44:00.000-05:00

Today was so tiring, and I am not sure why. I think it is because it was a cloudy, overcast day, which sort of drags me down a bit. I'm going to feature some garden photos to cheer things up a bit; these were taken recently in my garden.

Today I bought a nice little yay-for-me gift for myself! I purchased the new CEY pattern booklet, Make It Modern! I have been drooling over this magazine ever since I first laid eyes on it, and waiting for it to be put out on the sales floor. I was a bit concerned that I would miss out on getting a copy, as I did with this book. Today I finally broke down and asked the manager if I could please just buy it & she said yes! So yay for me!
I know some of you will be thinking, Nessa, you don't even use patterns usually. And if I am dying to own this pattern booklet, it is because the designs are so adorable that I just *have* to have them in my arsenal! I think I would knit pretty much everything in this booklet! Every design is *so me*. They are all quite feminine, pretty, and yet comfy looking. I can't wait to start knitting from it.

Also, as some of you already know, I have jumped on the Ravelry bandwagon and am knitting the E.Zimmerman take-off sweater. I am very excited about it, and I'm sure I queued this pattern the day she made it available! I'm making it out of dark teal Cascade 220 & it is knitting up pretty quickly so far. I think it will be a very wearable sweater, that I will use all the time.
Again, I wouldn't normally use a pattern, but the design is so loveable that I couldn't resist!

And, here are some pics of my friend Sarah, wearing her beret! I think it looks so fabulous on her, & it suits her so much more than it suited me :-)

Well, I think I'll toodle off & make some Vegetarian Garam Marsala. Yum!
~Nessa

yarn fiesta weekend!!

2008-06-22T20:43:00.000-05:00

This weekend was the Victoria Fibre Festival! Aka, the stash got enriched!

First, a list:

1. The new banner & icon come from , aka Sarah McIntyre illustrator extrordinaire! It was her end of the deal for our art swap, which was blogged about in this post. Words cannot express how much I love this piece of artwork! The full pic is an original painting in watercolours and pen and ink, 8 1/2 X 11 inches approx. It is called The Yarn Tree, and yes that is me knitting with some sheep. My cat, Roo (seen in the icon), is knitting in the tree above.

2. Fleece Artist Merino 2/6, Seconds? Yes please!

3. Alpaca/Tussa (wild silk) roving.

Can you say yum? The soft soft alpaca is enhanced by the shimmery gold sparkle of the wild Tussa Silk!

4. I'm calling this one Spun Gold.

Gorgeous, silky smooth 100% rayon. This looks like it is spun from gold, and feels like silk!

What a lovely day! The sun was out and shining for a glorious spring day, the wind was a bit chilly but all in all it was nice weather for a fiber festival! Still glowing from my yarn purchases!

Happy yarn revelry (no not ravelry),
~Nessa

fun with fo's

2008-06-17T20:42:00.000-05:00

Well folks, these photos are as good as it gets around here I guess. I have asked multiple people to photograph me wearing the Drops Cardi, and mostly the pics were not up to par. Blurryness, closed eyes, unoriginal & unflattering angles all caused me to reject most of the pics. However, I think these pics are alright, albeit a bit dark but I'm just going to post them and call it blogged.

The Pattern: The Drops Asymmetrical A-line Jacket

The Yarn: Cascade 220, in heathered brown

The Mods: Crazy math skills were utilized in order to knit a sweater of medium measurements in a smaller gauge than the pattern called for. I ended up knitting a size XL stitchwise, a SM lengthwise, and ending with a petite size M overall. This is what I wanted, but I think I could have even gone to a size SM overall since the jacket has lots of positive ease on me. However, I still love it because the design is flattering, and the yarn is cozy & soft.

The second FO to show is Sarah's beret Caliente!

Project Notes are Here
This actually turned out alright. It was touch and go for a while, when the beret turned out to be massive, and I had to felt it down a bit. This, even when I ACTUALLY BOTHERED to KNIT A 4" GAUGE SWATCH! & my gauge was even giving more sts per inch than pattern gauge. I give you so many chances to just be honest with me, gauge, but you always lie to me! Why gauge? Why?

Anyways, now I am working on a semi-mystery project. As to how much of a secret it is, I have not yet decided. You may hear more sometime soon.
I am also working away on the Flower Basket Shawl, and I have only about 7 repeats of the main body lace to do, and an edging chart. When I knit this project, I have to really concentrate, so I work on it a very little bit at a time. I really should get my butt in gear on it though, because I have told myself I am not allowed to cast on for anything else, until I get these 2 things off the needles!

going for a spin

2008-06-14T20:41:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I finally procured for myself an Ashford Classic Drop Spindle, & some teal merino roving.

helped me start it up, and she pulled off about a quarter of one skein of roving. I have since spun the whole piece, and I guess I need to start on another quarter strip. I bought 2 skeins, probably around 50g worth of fiber, and I hope to make enough yarn to knit a toque. I might spin another colour and ply it with this one, but we'll see how this one goes. So far I am finding it pretty easy, although my yarn is a bit thick & thin looking, but let's just call that a "design element" :-)

HAPPY KNIT IN PUBLIC DAY!
Too bad Google doesn't have a knitting related icon for today!

happy public knitting,
~Nessa

Warning! Unbridled cuteness ahead!

2008-06-12T20:40:00.000-05:00

So , aka Carolyn has emailed me some photos of baby Leah with her Ella Phint! I just had to share these adorable pics of our finished objects (her baby, my knitting).
I know I *just* posted pics of this project, but I couldn't resist sharing the cuteness!

there, are your cheeks sore from smiling yet?

AND a note to all you non-knitters, who recieve knitted gifts. Knitters LOVE getting pics of their gifted knits in action! It tells us we are appreciated, and also lets us know that our knitted object has found a good home :-)

~Nessa

Sarah's Beret Caliente

2008-06-09T20:40:00.000-05:00

Pattern: Tweed Beret, by Kristen Tendyke. Interweave Knits, Winter 2006.

Yarn: Berocco Peruvia, colour "Caliente", one skein=160m. I used pretty much the whole skein to make the beret, and a gauge swatch.

Needles: 4mm - 60cm circular, & a set of 4mm dpns

Size: Large (supposed to be 22" circumference)

Project Notes: When it came off the needles it was WAY HUGE! I measured my head, which is 22" around & corresponds with the largest size in the pattern, and this hat is still too big for me!
So into the sink it went with a little soap, and some hot water & I hand felted it. It thickened up a bit, and finally shrunk to a more decent size. I think it will now fit a 22", or slightly bigger, head in a flattering way. I am waiting for it to dry now so I can try it on, and put the finishing i-cord onto the top. I will likely felt the i-cord to keep the look consistent.
Then this hot little beret will fly to the UK to be with Sarah!

Final Photos to come soon!

Pattern: Ella Phint, by Vanessa Carter

Yarn: Gallway in colourway Lavender. I used way way less than 1 skein, maybe 25m-50m.

Notes:I realize that I never showed you guys Carolyn's Ella Phint! The original Ella! I've made a couple of mods to the pattern since I made this first one.
Apparently, baby Leah loves Ella! Yay!

~Nessa

Toque Emergency!!

2008-06-06T20:38:00.000-05:00

Several years ago in a fit of fandom, I knit a Jayne Toque. It was right before the movie, Serenity , came out and everybody was making them to wear to the premier. If you have never seen the show then the fabulousness of this toque will be utterly lost on you, as it is kind of a "you had to be there" sort of thing.

As all good Canadian Toques, it had a fluffy pompom on top. Jeff removed this soon after recieving the toque, as it was for him to wear. It was/is the warmest toque I've ever put on my head, and a bit itchy since it is made from Alafoss Lopi.
Despite all of this, I love this FO dearly as it was the first time I knitted with a friend, & my first KAL item. I actually knit this with Beth from the Vancouver knitting group! It was the first time I met her, we'd been friends online for awhile and I actually went to her house at night time alone. Jeffy phoned me when I got there saying "are you being held hostage?", and Beth and I have been friends since then.

So, imagine my shock and dismay when I discovered this!

yes, that is a HOLE in the toque!

and another one here!

and here!

What the heck? I don't know how these holes got there. The yarn seems to have been cut right along the ladders between the stitches. I looked for evidence of moths, ie. the little larvae, or cocoons, and there are none. Could it have been moths? Should I be looking for another perpetrator? I will debrief the hubby on the situation when he gets home, and maybe he will have some explanation for it. It kind of freaks me out to think moths could have done this, but I imagine raw icelandic wool would be like caviar to those little winged bastards!!! (ok, ok, I'm jumping to conclusions on the moth thing, it could be something else.... but what?)

Anyways, I don't have any leftovers of the yarn, so I might buy some more yarn to repair it. But is it worth it to buy 2 skeins of yarn to fix a toque that Jeff & I hardly ever wear?
What should I do?

~Nessa

"a box of chocolates"

2008-06-05T20:38:00.000-05:00

I finished knitting these little boots several months ago, but didn't get around to weaving in the ends and adding the little buttons until a couple nights ago. I made these for a friend's new baby, and they are soon to be shipped out to Spain where he, and his new mum live.

I seriously love this pattern, but I think you already know that, since I've knitted these booties up many times.

The other night, Jeff came home and told me that he had gotten me a "box of chocolates" (his words). He handed me a box containing the above. No not the beret-in-progress, the fabulous skinny mac keyboard that I adore! The thing is about 1/4 inch thick, and has all kinds of cool buttons on it, like eject disc, wigets, play, stop, rewind, ffwd, pause, volume up and down, and screen light up and down. I feel like I can type faster with this keyboard (although that is possibly all in my head). This is almost as romantic as when he gave me my mac mini for my birthday a couple of years ago. Folks, when you're married to a tekie this is as romantic as it gets. <3 <3 <3

EDIT: I've been surfing UTUBE & ran across some pretty rad music I thought you might like to check out...

Death Cab For Cutie ~ Lightness This is one of my favourite bands, but for some reason I have never heard this song until tonight. I don't think it's new.

Metric ~ Between the Bars This is an acoustic cover of one of Elliot Smith's best songs.

Headlights ~ Cherry Tulips This is a band I've just discovered. I think this song reminds me of listening to oldies on the radio. Plus, they (pic yoinked from their site)

rainy Tuesday

2008-06-03T20:37:00.000-05:00

I finished the Manos redux scarf. It is just a simple seed stitch, but it blocked out flat and super long. It is almost as tall as me when I have it folded in half! I am really happy with how nicely it turned out, and how quickly it knit up. I am surprised because I seem to remember hating scarf knitting because it always took so incredibly long to finish a scarf. Lately my knitting has become a lot faster, and now it seems I can pump out a scarf in no time. In fact, this simple project was my zen project for when I didn't want to concentrate on knitting.

This yarn is from a yarn dying kit from Louet that gave me for my birthday this past March. (BTW, you rock Mary!)
I finally dyed it last night at my friend Ursa's house. She very generously let me come over and use her dyeing space, and skillz to help me achieve this fabulous colourway, which I have dubbed Oceanus.

Ursa let me use some of her turquoise dye, which I used instead of the grey-blue dye that came with the kit. The other two colours that came with the kit were blueberry (the brighter blue), and cornflower (the pale blue). I LOVE how this turned out! I don't know what it will become, maybe a shawl? I will have to see how the colourway looks when knitted. I achieved this look by doing an overall pale dye with the cornflower blue, and then laying out the skeins and painting the other two colours on with sponge brushes.

In other news, on the needles right now I have a red beret

which I am knitting for a swap with my friend , aka Sarah. In exchange, she has used her fabulous illustrational skills to create a custom work of art for me!!! I am so stoked!
I am using Berocco Peruvia in colour 7135.

I hope you are all having a wonderful Tuesday, I'm off to do some laundry now.

busy, busy!

2008-06-01T20:36:00.000-05:00

I guess it was a busy week, since I realize that I haven't updated the blog since last Monday!
I forgot tell you all, but recently my mom has started knitting!!

She is knitting on dk weight cotton, and 2.25 mm needles making bandages for the Leprosy Mission. It is her first knitting project! I am so proud of her :-) Her tension is so good. & she is also knitting mostly with one hand, because she had a stroke when I was a girl & she has partial paralysis down her right side. So she is knitting on tiny needles, and tiny yarn, and with one hand mostly, oh & she is doing it for charity. Mom, you're awesome!

And the drops Jacket photos are still coming, I just haven't been at home during the day with Jeff so he could take my pic!

~Nessa

Monday, Monday, Monday

2008-05-26T20:35:00.000-05:00

While Monday is usually a pretty lame day of the week, it is the beginning of my weekend! So TGIMonday!
On Saturday I knit this little cutie pie!

Lambie!

I normally don't use patterns for stuffies, since I like creating my own designs, but this was just too adorable to pass up! This pattern is FREE from Barbara Prime!
Go & make yourself a whole flock! They are too cute for words!

On Sunday I cast on for the flower basket shawl! & I am loving it so far! It is knitting up pretty quickly with the lovely dk weight yarn I am using.

Maybe another reason it is knitting up so fast is my new Addi Turbo Lace needles!!! I am seriously in love with these needles! Now I'll need to find a whole bunch of patterns that use 5.5mm circular needles so I can use these babies all the time!

Well I should go do laundry or knit or something...
Happy Monday,
~Nessa

out for a stroll...

2008-05-26T20:34:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was parknit so I went to a local beach for knitting with the . Afterwards, I went to work for a few hours, and all in all it was a fun day. I started knitting a surprise project (& finished it too!), which I will photograph tomorrow. I also cast on for a new project which I caved in and got addi turbos lace circulars for. By the way, I LOVE them! The pointier tips make them so smooth and quick to knit with.

The new lace project is already knitting up quickly in the deep red Wool Gatto (pretty much the colour of the first flower) I got for it.

I took these gorgeous flower shots walking back to my car from work yesterday evening.

They were in various residential gardens that I passed.

Photo's on the knitting front to come tomorrow...

happy knitting!
~Nessa

all by myself

2008-05-22T20:33:00.000-05:00

So my life has been a bit hectic lately: working at the woolshop, two knit nites a week, spending time with friends, getting the normal chores done, cooking dinner... the list goes on. I know, I should hardly complain! I mean, everything on my list (aside from chores of course) should be filed under fun, but when you are an extroverted introvert, like me, you need time to yourself to recharge the batteries.

You are probably wondering what on earth an extroverted introvert is, so I'll try to explain. I started out life as a shy little girl, who had a vivid imagination, and loved to read and draw and paint and be in nature. As the only child of a single mom, I often did things by myself. When I hit high school, I went through several awkward years where I spent some time being pretty antisocial (read: still shy), and introverted. My circle of friends at that time could be counted on one hand (even if a couple fingers were missing). In the later years of high school I began to reach out to others, and found that the world was filled with lots of interesting, kind people who I had been missing out on all that time. Since then I have been trying to be an outgoing person, and I especially make an effort to reach out to all of the shy, or "new" people I meet. I was once told by a coworker that when she had first started working at the shop, I was the one who made her feel welcome. This makes me feel so good inside, because I know it is exactly how I want to be treated by others when I am the new girl.
Anyways, since the outgoing me is actually a learned behaviour and the introverted me was really there first (and still is somewhat), spending time with others, while very enjoyable, can be draining if I don't even it out with alone time.

So on Wednesday, when I could have called up half a dozen friends that I really need to get together with because I haven't seen them in ages, I stayed at home doing laundry, reading, knitting, and baking cupcakes ALL BY MYSELF. It was wonderful. Even the laundry was nice because I have this new lilac scented laundry soap that smells like the real blossoms!

I call these the
They come from my favourite cupcake recipe, and include many modifications by me.

CUPCAKE MODS:
instead of soymilk, I added 1/2 cup of orange/lemon juice plus 1 cup water
I added 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
I halved the oil to 1/4 cup
I added the grated zest of the orange and lemon
I omitted the coconut flavouring
I iced them with cream cheese icing and some crushed ginger snap cookie "sprinkles".

When I make these again, I will add even more lemon & orange. Maybe 2 lemons & 2 oranges + grated zest. I would like them to be even more lemony. Also, they would be great with less sugar, and blueberries added for blueberry citrus muffins!

In knitting news, I have gotten quite a bit done on my seed stitch Manos scarf redux.
And I have completed (as some of you have seen me wearing it!) the Drops jacket! I don't have the final photos because I really want to do a proper photo shoot of it. It deserves that. So it will have to wait until I can get Jeffy to be my photographer (probably on the weekend).

Happy knitting!
~Nessa

Sunday Spectacular

2008-05-18T20:32:00.002-05:00

Today, and I went photo-shooting at the hill near my house. It is a Garry Oak ecosystem. We got some great shots, including some new ones of the Sunday Market Shawl. The scent of lilacs, and camas flowers was lovely on the warm summer breeze. It has been like summer here this past week!!

Wednesday WIP, & a Little Teddy

2008-05-14T20:31:00.000-05:00

Well, I recently learned about WIP Wednesday (how many years have I been knit-blogging and I only *just* found out about it!?)
So here are a couple of WIPs that I've got on the needles...

1. The Drops Jacket!
This baby is almost done. She is seamed, and her collar is about half way there. She should be done very, very soon. I am making the full sleeve version.

2. My So Called Scarf Revisited
This Manos was one of my favourite colourways! I knit it into My So Called Scarf, a few years ago, but I found I never wore it. The stitch pattern showed the pillyness of the yarn, and it curled at the edges, which basically took away from the gorgeous yarn. I am frogging as I go, and making a simple seed stitch scarf (gasp! I'm making a scarf! Me, who HATES scarf knitting!!). It is mindless DVD watching knitting, or reading knitting. I actually am looking forward to wearing this non-curled version, and I don't think the pills will show as much on a seed stitch pattern.

3. Michiru! A Japanese-inspired bear!
Some of you may remember the felt bears I made a few years back. I revisited my pattern, changed it to be an inside seamed design, and voila!

She is, of course, for sale at Coy
at a low introductory price!!!

Happy crafting,
~Nessa

Gentle Forest

2008-05-14T20:30:00.000-05:00

There is nothing like walking through a rainforest. The smell of the moss, the trees, the earth, the forest flowers. An indescribably sweet, organic scent. Everywhere you look is green, and not just grassy greens, but greens of all hues, luminous and refreshing greens, mysterious dark greens, greens that seem to glow as the shafts of light touch them, greens that reach into your soul and give you peace and lightness of heart. I love the shapes: fiddleheads, star shaped flowers, tiny mushrooms, large lamp-like tree fungus, limb-like tree roots and branches, leaves of every kind.
I feel at home in the forest, and I know if I ever leave BC, I will miss the forest and the ocean most of all.

Happy Mum's Day

2008-05-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

Happy mum's day to all the mums & mothering type women in the world!
This was a custom mother's day request from J for this surrogate mum. She loves birds, and has a beautiful blue parrot as a pet. He decided she needed a blue bird of course.

I actually fell in love with this one, and it was kind of sad to send her on her way to her new home. I might have to make another one soon, possibly for the shop.
Thank you all so much for your positive feedback about Coy!!

Knitting news: the drops jacket pieces are finished!! I have blocked them & I will do the seaming today! Squee!

I hope you all have a lovely day!
~Nessa

Patterns!

2008-05-10T20:26:00.000-05:00

I have been holding onto these designs for a while now & I am really excited to be able to finally offer them!

First up: Miss Ella Phint
She was designed on the fly as a gift for a fellow knitter's new baby. The original was in lavender yarn.The design is fairly simple, and requires very little seaming. It is the perfect project for an adventurous beginner, or as a quickie project for an intermediate to advanced knitter. Some of the techniques involved include crochet provisional cast on, knitting flat and in the round, increasing, and decreasing. She is 6 inches long, the perfect little size for a new one. I have designed the trunk to be bendable, or non-bendable (the bendy option is not for babies, and young children).

Next up: Pinot Noir

This simple yet elegant design was created with my spanish grandmother in mind. It is made to be both cozy, and breathable. It is perfect for fall, winter, and spring weather.
The stitch pattern is deceptively simple, easy enough to memorize, and quick to knit.

Thanks for testknitting this pattern, and modelling for the photos!

COY GRAND OPENING!

2008-05-10T03:25:00.002-05:00

My new online shop, Coy, is open for business!

Click on the photo to go and see.
Please come check out the shop! To celebrate my new little shop, I am offering free shipping on all items from the Blackbeary, and Bunny Love lines, and half-price shipping on the Bird in Hand line.

All items are lovingly handmade by me, Nessa, and are unique and one of a kind. They are all created from my own designs.

~Nessa

Haagen Don'ts

2007-11-16T01:50:00.000-06:00

Frusteration on the mystery-knit front. There was an error in the pattern I was using. There was a K3tog 6 times for a total of 6 sts decreased, obviously it meant either K2tog 6 times or decrease 12 sts. I went with the former, but by the looks of it I should have done the latter.... alas.
I'm trying to decided whether to just finish the project the way I see fit, or to rip back and do it proper (which could end in disaster if it still isn't right).
The thing is, the stitch pattern, while simple, is slow knitting and the knit is to go to it's recipient tomorrow. What to do, what to do.
The headache is still here, gah, but on the bright side it is friday tomorrow... mmm... weekend...
This week has been like the blink of an eye, so fast. Each day has sort of melded into the next so I was barely sure what day it was each day. Luckily I ended up in the right classes :-P

In other news, the hubby is undoubtably trying to fatten me up (for what sinister purpose I am not yet certain). He bought 2, yes 2 tubs of Haagen Daas ice cream, a box of triple chocolate chip cookies, a ginormous bag of chocolate almonds, pizza, Granville Island Winter Ale, and I just barely convinced him to leave the grocery store without a jumbo bag of chips and tostitos cheese dip. He is a serious enabler and obviously well aware of my lack of self-control in terms of goodies sitting in my cupboards. I am positive I will weigh about 5lbs more by the end of the weekend. Gah! And to think I just managed to shed 3lbs, just to inevitably gain it all back!
I have the best self control when in the store. I do not buy goodies. But once they're in the house..... beware.... I will rack the cupboards looking for snacks, and will pass right over that broccoli in favour of a triple-chocolate-chip cookie Haagen Daas ice cream sandwich of dangerous proportions! HELP ME!
The only thing I can do is try to get him to eat it all first. After all he remains svelt no matter what he eats (damn him), due mostly to his freakishly tall frame and suspected hollow leg.

ps. Haagen Daas Myan Chocolate Icecream is quite possibly the best ice cream flavour evar! And only 20 grams of fat for 1/2 cup. Bastards.

The Sunday Market Shawl

2007-08-29T01:00:00.001-05:00

Inspired by the drapey loosely woven shawls sold at the local Sunday market, I designed this scarf/shawl to be worn on cool summer nights, or warm fall days. You can use it as a shoulder wrap over a summer dress, or even over a tee shirt. This yarn is soft, and not too warm, with a lovely sheen from the silk.

Difficulty: This pattern is suitable for a beginner, it requires only the knowledge of cast on, knit, purl, yarn over, and bind off. Note: If you knit tightly you may want to go up a needle size or 2, it is meant to have nice big loose stitches. I don't think guage is important for this piece, however, it is important to keep an eye on how much yarn you have left and leave enough for binding off.

Materials: 2 skeins Noro Cash Iroha (40 g/ 99 yrds per skein), Size 6 mm Needles
[Note: if you are using a yarn other than Cash Iroha, you may want to use more yardage & knit until it is close to your desired length. I can only vouch for Noro's stretchability with blocking] My finished measurments are 65" x 16". Also, this stitch does not hold well with slippery yarns. Therefore yarns with some stick are recommended, such as wool blends.]

Loosely cast on 30 sts

Row 1: *K2, YO* Repeat ** across, ending in K2

Work scarf in stockinette stitch for 128 rows, or until you are close to the end of your second skein. Ending on a WS row.

Next row (RS): *K2, drop stitch* Repeat ** across, ending in K2

Bind off loosely.

Block as long and wide as you can stretch it.
{I used a clothing steamer and that worked great.}

This pattern belongs to Vanessa Carter Copyright 2007. Permission is granted to use this pattern for personal use. Please do not copy any of my photos, or this pattern for commercial use or sale.

think think think... knit knit knit

2007-06-25T16:16:00.000-05:00

Hey knitters! I am trying out my blogger for a bit, I'll still be keeping my lj account knitfish, but I may eventually switch to using this account primarily since I like the format :-) We'll see!! This is my post from yesterday, sorry if you alread read it on the lj!

Well today has been chem equations, & drinking pots of Golden Phoenix Tea

BUT, I do have some knitting photos to appease you :-)

Rainbow Gnome socks are now a PAIR!!!

After knitting a pair, I still have 1 sock, and a bit of yarn left... should I rip out the cast on and make them knee socks? YEA or NAY. You vote :-)
It actually started to rain as I was taking these shots, do you think there'll be a rainbow?

*For Boosh fans, and knitting fans alike... when knitters go bad!* (for Boosh fans, it is Season 2 epi 3 I think? Nanageddon!)

~Nessa