Stormy Weather - a scarf!

I walk around heavy-hearted and sad
The sun comes around and I'm still feeling bad
Snow poundin' down, blinding every hope I had
This pitter and patter and beating, freezing rain driving me mad
Snow, rain, windchill, the misery will be the end of me...

Stormy weather...

(with apologies to Ted Koehler and Sorry, Billie...!)

This is the tune I was humming for most of the week. However, my mood has now improved drastically. Why? Because early on Sunday when I was trudging to the gas station for smokes, the glint of beads caught my eye even in the glare of piles and piles (and piles!) of snow...


So I went to investigate...
... and look what I found!


All right, all right - I really didn't find it. In fact, I made it all by my little self. Not bad, eh?

In fact, thanks to Evelyn Clark, I now feel like a genius! This is because with the help of her Knitting Lace Triangles book...

... I could design my very own lace triangle shawl - witness the chickenscratch to the right of the photo above! (and, fellow knitters, so can you. Buy the book. It will be the best $25.00 or so you ever spent if you love lace...)

Specs:

Pattern: my adaptation of the Sunshine and Shadows pattern in Knitting Lace Triangles
Yarn: Handmaiden Camelspin (70% silk, 30% camel) - 70g total (the skein was 100g/300m). I don't know the name of the colourway... but isn't it gorgeous???

Needles: 4.0mm Addi lace
Start Date: 2 March 2008
Finish Date: 8 March 2008
Finished Size: 41" at widest point, 23" at deepest point
Number of Stitches: 13,934 (why take this stat? There is a method to my madness... stay tuned. Two weeks from now or so, all should be revealed...)

Notes:

• if you find out you can score some of this yarn locally, run, don't walk. Words cannot describe how luxurious it is.
  

• despite the relatively thick yarn and large needles, the fabric is feather light, which I hadn't expected.
  

• I placed some beads on the scallops as per the recommendation by Evelyn in the book. Good call, Evelyn...

• earlier, when fondling rolling around naked on trying on the shawl, I realised what it is I love so much about lace these days. Have you ever had croquembouche??
  

One of my favourite desserts - I have many fond memories from childhood of Fay's fabulous creations at the Christmas dinner...the combination of the beautiful crunchy spun sugar and silky smooth pastry cream is unparalled in my experience. And, the lace fabric reminds me of soft spun sugar. Hmm.

• This is the first time I have used blocking wires - and many thanks to Wannietta for recommending them. I now understand all those "blocking p@rn" photos I have been hearing about! The wires helped turn this:
  

...into this:

...with minimal effort and not all that many pins. Get some today!

• I like the blocking wires so much, in fact, that I intend to reblock my Tuscany and Swallowtail. This is very significant, in that I usually take all measures to avoid blocking anything at all (although this has, to date, been difficult to avoid with lace. However, if I recally correctly, I never actually blocked the Tuscany!)
  

Nothing to report this evening, news (or fearmongering) wise. The only news is the weather this weekend, apparently. Nothing else is happening of any consequence anywhere in the world. They have been showing the same cars driving sideways on some highway in West Virginia since Friday night... I'm writing this Sunday night.

Why restrict the accident coverage to West Virginia of all places when we live in Toronto?!? I wish they would show video of the guy who nearly ran me over earlier today on Bathurst while yakking on his cell phone and driving way too fast! And run a public shaming campaign while they're at it.

Where was I? Oh yeah - time to stop rambling and start working on the Secret of the Stole II go to bed so that I can get up and go to work tomorrow. Gotta pay for all this yarn lusciousness somehow!

So, bye for now...

kind hearts and Coronets

Now, I don't know if you're familiar with the British movie of the same name as my subject line... if not, you should see it. A true classic. I was so chuffed when it came on TV the other night!


But, to me for other reasons, it was an obvious title for today's post. Hopefully at some point in the post I will be able to make it obvious to you as well.

Why "kind hearts"? Well, my resident kind heart...

J. "Rock, Paper, Scissors?! Bloody hell? Is this some kind of wanker British game? Ye'd think they'd have somethin' better to do wi' their time, no?" J. has abandoned me today and left me to my own devices.

(All right, all right - he had to go to work. But don't feel too sorry for him. He has been whingeing about whining worried about what he calls a "canker" on his thumb. This must be some kind of esoteric Scottish usage... anyway, a callus that was becoming painful. Then he realised last evening the cause... too much Spider Solitaire at work!!! He also made a big mistake in sharing this information with me, obviously. But I'm not bitter...!)

OK, OK... so why "coronets"?

More about this topic later. First, I want to rant about my various travails today.

First off, when we work up the heating system in the building had malfunctioned. It was 10 degrees C (50 F) inside the apartment!!! Seriously. This is how I've had to go around all morning...

Then I realised that I had not planned very well for the storm and that I actually had to leave the apartment to pick up some essentials:

Anyway, this was the walkway on my way out the door...

... and here was the sidewalk on Bathurst Street (a major thoroughfare, mind you!)

So, taking my life in my hands, I crossed the street - the pavement is like a skating rink, and I can't even skate! - only to find this sidewalk on the other side:


Not again!!!

This is what 30cm (12 inches) of snow in two days looks like, folks.

(Now, you may well wonder what compelled me to buy ice cream when I had just forged through 9 inch deep sidewalks - but seriously, could you pass up Oreo Loaded?! Huh? I didn't know such a thing existed. And, gotta love the French name:

Indeed.)

So, all in all I'm not in the greatest mood. However, there is an upside to stormy weather. I managed to whip up this little number in a couple three hours last evening!

Isn't it cute? Not my usual colourway, I know... but everything being equal it will be winging its way southward to Amy in Oklahoma tomorrow. It is intended for her friend Dona.

The pattern is called Coronet (a-HA!) and is highly recommented for a quick and fun knit. I love the cable pattern on the hat band!


It will be hard to part with it. I made it with one skein of Rowan Calmer (I LOVE this stuff! I have yet to use my hot pink blush Calmer stash, but this is making me think about it again) - it's very soft and stretchy. This version is not suitable for winter weather, which is partly why it's heading to OK (L-A-H-O-M-A OklaHO-ma!!! yay!).

(Sorry, Amy - couldnae resist. It was only a matter of time before I broke into song about your home state, really.)

I modified the pattern somewhat as the yarn I was using was much different to that called for in the pattern. I've got a list of the mods here (or if you're not on Raverly and you're interested in making the hat with Calmer, just drop me a line).

In this regard, I'm very glad for my wee hat model (as yet unnamed. I wonder why? Let's call her ... Ado Annie!)

(Man, I wish I looked like that!!! Instead, I get to be the geek in the hat:

Sigh. Good thing it's going to Dona, eh?)

Anyway, if you're making hats, I recommend you get your hands on one of these. Ado Annie cost me... oh, $4 or thereabouts. There is a mannequin shop across the street from my office... how cool is that?!?

I knit the hat on two circular needles, one long enough so that I could stretch out the hat enough to check for fit throughout.

And, because I couldn't leave well enough alone, I've started another hat!

This is the Sunflower Tam by Norah Gaughan in her book Knitting Nature. You will see that it is off the needles in this photo as I have managed to @#$(*&#(*$@ up what is actually quite a simple pattern. But that's only because I hadn't had any of this at the time, mind you:

(I have to say I'm rather flabbergasted by this coffee logo. "Jump"?!? "Extreme Energy?" Of late I've been wont to wonder just when it was that everything became "extreme" in our society. But, it's hazelnut vanilla, so I won't complain too strenuously).

And, here's a sneak preview of the other end result of nasty weather... the Stormy Weather scarf!

Hey - maybe I'll have a snow day tomorrow!!! hee hee hee

Well, that's more than about enough for now. Time to get back to knitting hats to procrastinate from starting clue 8 of the SOTSii housework. Or something like that.

when will it end?!?

Well, it's official: I have had it with winter weather.

The weather gods are cruel, I have to tell you. They beckoned to us with halcyon promises of spring on Monday... I went out for a smoke without a jacket, it was so warm!!

But now this:

Snow, ice, freezing rain... and $#*@$&(@*#$&(@#*$ pigeons. Nothing is guaranteed to make heading out to work more daunting than this combination.

(Did I ever mention that I took this movie to heart?


Blech.)

Nothing, that is, except this ... the first thing I saw when stepping out the door to go to work.

Don't eat yellow snow!! (and man, did I ever get an odd look from one of the neighbours who passed me while I was taking this photo!)

This was the path out from my building to the main drag:


And when I got to Bathurst Avenue, hours half an hour some time later, I saw yet another depressing sight:

(Let me remind you, folks, that's per litre, not per gallon. About the same price as 10 metres of Camelspin - which would come from more or less the same part of the world, no? I should note that I'm geographically challenged. Anyway, I know which I'd rather have! Do you? Three guesses and the first two don't count...

You got it in one!)

... and yet another:

And now for a short public legal educational break...

Advisory to tenants: Nothing, and I mean nothing, is "free" when it comes to landlords. The TV probably retails for about $250.00 (provided it didn't fall off a truck, that is!) - and the bachelors in this building rent for $900.00/month for 600 square feet. You do the math.

And why the 13-month lease term, you ask? I'm not entirely certain but this has become more common of late. My educated guess is that the landlords are worried that the government will reintroduce rent controls on vacant units - fat chance! - and in that event, a thirteen month lease term will allow them to raise the rent after the permissible 12 month period so that even if the tenant should leave at the end of the lease period, the rent on the vacant unit will be higher. Those landlords... always thinking!!!

Grrr. My mood did not improve by the time I got downtown, either. But, for your information, this is what the CN Tower looks like when it's covered with snow:

And - I noticed a solution to a big mystery that has been plaguing some of us here in Toronto.

(Did I post about these mock ads on here or not? I can't find it. My brain has officially frozen. Anyway, these mysterious ads popped up in bus shelters and on transit around Toronto recently:

...and no one knew who was putting them up. So, here's the answer:

Subversive, no? A bid to get parents to stop pushing their kids into uni when maybe they'd be better off at a community college! Huzzah!)

Finally, I got to work. But, on the upside, look how much I got done on my travel project!!!


(well, not all that, but she's lookin' good, no?)

And actually, it's about time to stop whining. Shameless plagiarist that I am, I'd like to take a page from Amy's book blog and list three things that I am thankful for today...just to bring some (much needed) perspective...

1. I'm grateful that I remembered to bring my lunch today so that I don't have to trudge out into the blizzard to buy something.

(Leftover lamb curry from Gandhi and naan by the President! Mmm!!)

2. I'm grateful that they had chocolate raspberry coffee and butterscotch praline muffins at Fresh and Wild today on my way to work.



3. I'm grateful that I actually have a job to go to, and one that pays quite well and that I actually like most days to boot!

Cheers,

Kristina

PS. Well, I'm not quite done whining yet. Those of you who visit regularly know that I have a little ongoing beef with the news media, especially regarding their increasing tendency toward fearmongering. So, given that JJ will insist on having the evening news on television, I figured I'd start a little daily feature on the blog: Yesterday's Most Ridiculous Attempt to Induce Fear in the General Public. (If anyone has any ideas for a snappier name, please advise).

Today's entry:

We are apparently meant to be afraid that, in ten years' time or so, there will be too many jobs. That's right, folks.

You don't believe me? I couldn't make this stuff up!!!

Aging workforce fuels concern of labour shortage

Updated Tue. Mar. 4 2008 8:26 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

The workforce in Canada is aging significantly, prompting concern from analysts about the impending threat of labour shortages across the country....

...Earlier this year, a Conference Board of Canada report warned that 90,000 jobs in the tech industry need to be filled over the next three years.

If not, the economy will take a $10-billion blow, said the report.

Too many jobs?!?!? Last week, we were subjected to a discussion of the increasing unemployment rate!!! When will it end?

Well, I'm back where I started, so it's high time I got off my high horse and signed off.

spring has sprung!

Really! It has! And just in time for Valentine's Day! Yippee!!!

Although a peek out the window belies this statement...



it is a fact.

(Unaccountably right now I'm reminded of a little ditty my friend Bronwen came up with when we were in high school:

Spring has sprung
Here come the turds
Where the hell
are the goddamn birds?

Man, the brain does work in mysterious ways...)

Anyway, here is my evidence that spring is here:

!!!! And not before time.

I picked this up at Romni Wools yesterday.

But it's not even PayDay yet, you say? What was I doing at Romni? Weeeeeell...

I had been doing some work at home in the early morning and was leaving late for the office. Late enough, in fact, to catch the 10 a.m. opening time at Romni on the way in. Where I had to go, by the way, because I needed some fine-gauge crochet hooks with which to string beads.

Good Kristina then made an (increasingly rare) appearance and reminded me that Amy had proffered a very good suggestion involving fishing line as a solution to this issue earlier this week.

Hardware store... yarn shop? Hardware store... yarn shop? What a choice!

But Romni is right near my streetcar stop closest to work (if by "closest" one means "5 blocks further west than the stop which is really closest, but a more scenic route by far"), so the choice became clear. Only for crochet hooks, of course.

You might well ask. It's that time honoured game in which my pocketbook (and any hope of ever buying property in this town) are always the losers.

As soon as I stepped into the shop, this leapt into my hot little (well, cold by that point - it was well below zero yesterday and I had been knitting in the street) hands:

Handmaiden Mini Maiden! Look at the pretty colours! The colourway is called "Blackberry" (I assume after the real thing, not after the obnoxious electronic rudeness-sanctioning device). How could I resist?!

Besides, it will be perfect for the Swallowtail shawl that I plan to start tomorrow at the weekend one of these days.

(Good Kristina: But I thought you already had this stuff for the Swallowtail?!?


Evil Kristina: Ah, shuddup.

I am always astounded by the efficacy of rudeness, even against myself. Maybe those Blackberry-wielding urban warriors have a point?! Hmm. Not one I wish ever to understand, mind you.)

I also scored the perfect buttons for my Bespoke:


...and some other very flashy vintage buttons besides.
I then left the shop, glowing with the satisfaction of shiny new purchases. A block and a half later, I realised that I had forgotten to look for these!

SIGH. I found 1.0 mm and .75 mm hooks (and whoever actually crochets with these and reads this blog, please contact me and I will send you a medal. Really. 3.00mm stretches the limits of my patience, which is admittedly not a hard thing to do).

All in all it was a productive day. I accomplished all this in my commute to and from the office:

Sleeve No. 1 of my Bespoke. (Did I mention before that I have found the cure for the dreaded SSS?! Take your sleeves with you wherever you have to wait in line/sit on a train, bus or streetcar, etc.)

I also reviewed some pressing legal research materials:

...and did a little light reading over the lunch hour:

(Dang. Did I mix up those photos again?! Bad habit).

Now it's off to work - but spring has sprung!! Does this mean all the snow has melted, d'ya think?

Er...nope.

Oh well.