I am officially declaring this blog dead. There is no “gargantuan post ahead”.

Tyttö will remain here, possibly waiting for the day I have more interest. Likely just remaining a convenient place for me to keep all of my favorite knit blog links.

Ciao!

There have been crazy work hours (now over, thank god), and a serious computer crash (not quite done with that one, sadly). So, while I wait to have all of my electronic data from the past 5 years retrieved from my dead harddrive, there isn’t much to say. And there are also no photos.

Today I managed to purchase a new harddrive, install it, and reinstall my operating system all by myself. Woo!

a perfect sunday: new book, coffee, new hat

A finished object, largely of my own design. Or at least my own ability to pull together other peoples elements of design. Intarsia hat, knit in the round. Inspiration from Red Light Special, blank chart from Hello Yarn, and motif from Folk Knitting in Estonia, by Nancy Bush. Overall, an enjoyable knit with impressive results. I will definitely be knitting more intarsia, and probably more hats.

Things I will do differently next time: Make the hat longer, probably by adding a pattern repeat (it doesn’t cover my ears, so it won’t be suitable for wear until it’s a bit warmer), and knit the cotton lining on smaller needles (it’s a bit bulky, but that’s not so obvious when the hat is on my head. Blocking really helped, too).

In fact, here’s a shot of it on my head:

sunset on an ugly stretch of College St

Recent obsessions:

• Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels
• True Affection, by the Blow
• Hot lemonade at Jet Fuel Coffee
• Staying warm

Me, that is, not the blog!

As seems appropriate on my birthday, I present a photo from when I was too young to dress myself (which is basically my only excuse for those cowboy boots. That, and I lived in Alberta).

bicycles + ice rink = good times

This is seriously one of the most fun things to watch in Toronto. I am too chicken to actually ride on ice, but I love to help out with this. Totally worth the risk of severe frostbite for my poor feet.

[photo by Martino]

for valentines day…

I have been interested in knitting the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts for some time. Finally, prodded by my sister (who will also be knitting it), I decided to bite the bullet. I don’t know why, but I seem to have some fear of sweaters. Maybe it’s a fitting issue, but it seems (based on my various finished, and unfinished, projects) that I like mitts and socks knit on small needles. (Am I the last person in knit-land to make this sweater?!? Not really, since la soeur has not even started hers, but almost!)

I am knitting the sweater in Malabrigo (colour: Bobby Blue). It is, as I expected, soft and really nice to knit with. Not so great with the Denise’s, as it doesn’t move well along the cable on its own.

Always interested in trying new techniques, I decided to knit the hem up as I went, rather than sewing it in at the end. I looked at two tutorials, and went ahead with it. I used LOTS of stitch markers, both in casting on, and in picking up the cast on edge, because I was worried about having the same number of stitches on both sides.

picking up the cast-on

Picking up the cast on edge was not too bad, as there was a lovely purl stitch that was easy to find.

purl stitches highlighted in pink

I think the slowest part was knitting the hem facing to the body of the sweater – it was basically like doing a three-needle bind-off (without binding off, duh), and the yarn just did not want to move along the needles. The result, however, was totally worth it. Also worth it: knowing that I do not have to sew 172 stitches together when I am finished.

the hem

I am now onto miles of stockinette. I’ve just finished all of the decrease rounds. It is slow and steady, more due to my lack of knitting time than anything else. I cast on just last week, though, so I’m happy with what I’ve managed in 7 days.

best colour shot

It is more than halfway through January, and I am finally popping in to say hello.

To recap my holidays (2 weeks, split over Victoria, Portland, and Squamish):

• the socks were well-received as gifts by both recipients
• I went snowshoeing (twice) – it was really fun, and easier than I expected
• I went skiing once – it was also fun, but harder than I remembered
• I finished a sock that I am now having trouble getting motivated to work on the second one (for the record, that makes 2 half-finished pairs in the lineup now)
• I saw a helicopter taking off pretty close by on Whistler
• I managed to overcome by laziness, and saw all of my friends while I was out west
• I made a bet with my sister that we would not eat ice cream all year. Do I need to tell you how much ice cream I ate before midnight on December 31? The important thing is that it was delicious, and that popsicles and gelato are still ok.

That is all!

This store is on my way home from work, at Pape and Mortimer, and it makes me smile every day. They had a bigger sign, which I was unable to get a photo of before it was taken down. As you can see from the newspaper in the window, the bread store is no longer in business. And with it’s passing, I am left with many questions. What more than bread did they sell? If they had named the store differently, reflecting that they were “much more than a bread store”, would the Bread Store be a more successful business?

I kind of look forward to seeing what will go in the space next – taking down the main sign has killed all hope for me that the Bread Store is simply under renovation.