Monday, August 11, 2014

Early Morning Knitting

I have always loved knitting early in the morning when it's quiet.  I find it just starts a day well, not in the "I've been productive" way.  It's more about doing something relaxing before the workday starts.  Knitting is still a very relaxing pastime for me even though I knit a lot for the shop.

This morning I started knitting the new hat I created last week in taupe heather.  It's what I want to knit on my way to work and I always make sure I'm at the beginning of a project.  You never know when the métro will stop and don't want to run out of knitting project.  It happened once and I'm prepared now!  I also wanted to get past the needle change after the ribbed section so I wouldn't have to carry both needles in my bag.



Taupe heather knit hat

As usual, Balou was right beside me while I knit.  You can see she's on top of the laptop.  Now she's beside the laptop as I write this.  She's been sticking around me so much the last few weeks; it's funny and a pain at times.  When she stretches out and ends up either on top of the laptop or my mouse, a lot of funny things start happening!  Pop-ups!  Windows closing!

Here's what the finished new hat looks like.  This one was knit with burgundy yarn.

  
Burgundy knit hat side view
Burgundy knit hat back view

I'm thinking I will have to start giving names to the items I knit.  Calling it the "new hat" won't last long until I have another "new hat" in the works.  How do you go about choosing a name? 

Monday, June 16, 2014

Afghan Stitch Knitting




The last few weeks I have been working on a new cowl using the Scrap-Yarn Afghan Stitch Barbara G Walker has in her knitting book, "A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns".  Below is the stitch pattern. I don't do ssk but prefer to knit 2 together through back loop (k2tog tbl).

Multiple of 12 + 3 Colours A & B.

Cast on with Color A and k one row.

Row 1 (RS): With Color B, k1, ssk, *k9, slip 2, k1, p2sso; rep from *, end k9, k2tog, k1
Row 2: With Color B, p1, k1, *p1, k4, (k1, yo, k1) in next st, k4; rep from *, end p1, k1
Rows 3 and 4: With Color A, Rep Rows 1 and 2 


You just need to carry the yarns up as you knit.  There are many great tutorials on YouTube for this.

As you can see below I'm having fun mixing colours right now!








It is a lovely stitch that could also be used to knit a scarf although the wrong side is not as neat as the right side.  The number of stitches needed totally depends on the yarn you'll be using and how wide you want your scarf or cowl to be.  Knitting a few rows to see how it looks will be the best thing to do.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

It's Easy Being Vegan and Sometimes It's Not

Go on any forum and you'll often find someone asking about how to be a vegan.  Some people will say it's easy and others will say they tried but found it too hard.  Some days I find it easy  and more of a hassle on other days.

If you look at the photo below; these are some of my favorite vegan products.  Missing from the photo are Daiya and Gardein products.  Just to be able to find these products I need to go to 4 different stores and 2 different online stores.  I just wish I could walk into one grocery store and buy all my stuff like most people.  Yes, I know I don't need to eat any of these products to be vegan but I love them!


Some of my favorite vegan products.
Also, companies that used to be cruelty-free are being bought by big corporations that do animal testing.  It can be discouraging at times, although never enough to stop being vegan.

And then there are days when I look at some yarns and wish I could find those colorways in non-animal fibers.  At times like this I remind myself why I became a vegan; animals are not here for my personal use. They are not here to feed me, clothe me, entertain me or test my products.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Some Fun Aspects of Being Bilingual

One of the fun things about being bilingual is how I think in both languages.   Earlier this year I saw an interview with the comedian Sugar Sammy and he mentioned how he thinks in English first and then translates to French. Depending on the subject I think in French and others I think in English.

Take knitting for example.  I taught myself how to knit using French books and one of them had the terms translated in various languages.  I was able to use it to work with English knitting magazines like Vogue Knitting. 

Although I started learning in French I have noticed I work more with the English terms except for counting.  The other day I was knitting the lace slouchy hat and realized I was counting my increases in French.  I thought it was just a one time thing but no; I count my rows and number of stitches in French.

Tha lace slouchy hat I was knitting.


Another funny aspect of being bilingual is when it comes to movies.  Don't tell me the French name of an American movie.  I wouldn't know which one you are talking about.

So, bilingual readers, what are some funny aspects you have from being bilingual?