Too much knitting

This  morning I woke up with my shoulders and lower back hurting.  The reason : too much knitting.  Friday night I spent the evening knitting, going to bed past midnight.  I just kept telling myself, " A few more rows and then you'll go to bed."  Saturday was spent knitting all day as well.  I have a few custom orders to knit right now and want them to be ready to ship as quickly as possible. I also had quite a few fringed scarves to finish so I could finally add them to my shop.

Last week I had a pair of fingerless mitts with flap to knit and they turned out great.  I really love the cap for the thumb, it's so cute.  I once again used the Knucks pattern and added the flap by following different ideas people used.  I now have to knit a pair in red.

Short and sweet post

This is going to be a short and sweet post.  Saturday, October 23rd in the afternoon, my computer gave me the dreaded blue screen of death.  This weekend it was resurrected, quite easily I might add, by the tech guy who sold me the computer years ago.  I did have to lug it to the Eastern Townships by bus but it was worth it.  It has taught me to back-up my stuff from now on as well.

So, soon new posts will be appearing and new creations will be added to the Knits By Nat shop.  All this non-computer time did allow me to knit a lot.  It also showed me I spend a bit too much time on the Internet instead of knitting and doing other important things.

Custom order bragging day

Yes, I am going to brag about the custom orders I have knit lately especially this wonderful set that has gone to Scotland.  I started with a pattern I found for the hat but ended up knitting it in the round instead of flat with a seam in the back and added an extra cable section.  For the fingerless gloves I used the Knucks pattern as a start and added the cable pattern from the hat, I also made them longer.  The scarf was simple stockinette stitch with the cable pattern in the middle.  The set turned out just gorgeous and although I don't usually wear hats I could see myself wearing this one easily.

Another custom order was for my shell pattern with ruffles scarf in lavender.  The colour is just beautiful.  This scarf is now in New York City enjoying the Big Apple lifestyle.

And last but not least is this wonderful dark charcoal slouchy hat that now calls Trois Rivières its home.

Last week of September

I can't believe it's already the last week of September.  It just seems to have flown by.  I do get a bit more busy evenings with bowling twice a week. So, that may explain why I didn't see it go by.

Fall happens to be my favorite season of the year.  I love seeing the trees changing to yellows, oranges and glorious bright reds.

I get to see this tree change colour every morning on my way to the subway and last year I finally grabbed my camera one morning to take a picture.  Isn't it just gorgeous?

I also love fall because of the local vegetables available at this time of the year.  I buy beets by the 5lb bag and end up eating them for weeks.  My favorite way to eat beets is in a simple balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.

I'll cook all kinds of delicious stews with squash to fill my freezer.  I especially love the acorn squash for it's slight peppery taste and beautiful orange colour.  Do you have a favorite sqaush and which recipe do you like to make with it?

Murphy's Law, knitting and some bowling thoughts

Thursday is bowling night so instead of working my regular 10-6 schedule I work the 9-5 one.  Taking public transit at this busier time usually means I never get a seat to sit and knit.  Last week I decided not to bring any knitting project with me and wanted to kick myself since I had a place to sit.

So, this morning I decided to bring some knitting along and guess what?  No seats were available the entire ride.  I hope on the ride tonight I will get to sit and knit. 

Right now I am working on some cabled fingerless mitts and they should be available in my Etsy shop over the weekend.  I really find them comfortable and warm, I may even knit myself a pair.

Tonight's bowling should be lots of fun since I will be playing last.  This is reserved for the player who got the highest score the game before.  We decided to add some fun by changing our order of playing this way and it has spurred my teammates to play better.  I guess we just love the idea of beating one another to play last.

Some shopping and a surprise

I finally found the teapot I  wanted to knit cozies for. It's a nice bigger-sized teapot than those I have and I love that it's white as well.  I found it at the community garage sale La Tohu organized today.  I was on the bus when I saw the tents pitched on the grounds of La Tohu and decided to get off have a look.  I'm glad I did.

 I already have all kinds of ideas for teapot cozies and can't wait to start working on them.  I do have to finish a custom order for fingerless mitts beforehand.

When yarn changes the outcome

When I knit one of the scarves with fringe I often know ahead of time which fringe I will use to go with the solid-coloured yarn.  Well, today it didn't work out that way at all for 2 of the fringed scarves.

The fringe I wanted to add to the blue denim scarf wasn't working at all;  even the 3 options I thought would be beautiful with it didn't work.  So, I dug into my stash of novelty yarn and came out with one that was absolutely perfect; one hundred times better than the options I initially wanted.  This is how the scarf turned out.  The medium violet red and plum tones make an amazing contrast to the blue denim.  Isn't it just gorgeous?

 
The second scarf hasn't fared as well though.   I don't have a single fuzzy, textured or sparkly yarn that will go with it.  It is an olive colour and absolutely none of my novelty yarns look good with it.  I guess I will have to go out shopping in yarn stores ( like that's a big sacrifice on my part ) to find a novelty yarn that will be amazing with it.