Knitting Pharm

(Wool) Pig in the City

My day in the city was very fruitful, yarn wise!

I got one more shade of the SWS, the Plum one.  Also some Regia for a sock project for a friend.  Cotton, gender-neutral for a married couple.

But the Classic Wool... oh, the Classic Wool!

They had a bunch of variegated shades I'd never seen, and they coordinate perfectly with the solids!  I got five different combinations to do bags.  The photos, of course, don't do them justice in the least.

Pardon me for now.  I think I need a moment alone with my stash.

Lots of progress and FOs

I will have to post photos later, but I must brag about some finished and progressing objects.

• "Tubey with Boobies".  I did a slightly modified pattern, adding short-row bust shaping and omitting the bell shape to the sleeve.  I used Cascade 220, black for the top tube and black/maroon twist for the bottom one.  She's all done and waiting for some cooler weather.
• Pomatomus number 12 of 14 done.  I think I'll put a push on to get the last pair done soon.
• Jen's Jaywalkers - about halfway through the first of a pair in Knitpicks Dancing (Two Step)
• Mitered square blanket in Regia sock yarn.  Sure to be done long before my friend Michelle welcomes her first in October
• Cozy shawl.  Look one post down.  Look at my Wendy!
• Soy Stripes bag.  Couldn't help but allow this to jump the line over the weekend
• Sock pattern submitted for winter Knitty last week
• Bag pattern submitted for winter Knitty the week before last

Photos?  Soon.  Seriously.  I've been working full-time this week for two injured coworkers.  Badly injured.  I'm not leaving my house without a helmet and a suit of bubble wrap.

First of all, the WEDDING!

Wendy is officially a married woman.  She and her shawl enjoyed a beautiful day on Saturday.  Here they are:

My parents arrived for babysitting duties and a weekend visit, and my mom brought me some new stuff, Patons Soy Wool Stripes.  Perfect for a new fall bag.  (Mine is in the Natural Earth colourway.)

Great news for felted bag maniacs:  it has the colour depth of Noro Kureyon with the felting tendency of Patons Classic!  Mine, in a single cycle in a front-loading washer, came out thick, dense and fully felted.  I also added a new dimension to my knitting:  the hammer!  The grommets came from Michael's, and I added the fittings by poking the holes with a needle (as for the famously fabulous Booga Bag), then opening them up slightly with a snip of the scissors, pushing the washer through and pounding the backing onto it.  That was repeated for all eight holes, and voila!

I will use this stuff over and over, especially in my favourite vertical stripes!

The Pomatomus Project

Many months ago, I was bitten by a beguiling little bug.  Her name was Pomatomus.  My first pair was done exactly to pattern to ensure I didn't miss any of her subtleties.  Then I went toe-up, and there is no looking back!

Those of you who have been following my antics on the Knitty Board are well aware of a current project.  I am in the midst of making seven pairs of my beloved pomatomus, all in Knitpicks Dancing, all in the Ballet colourway.

I banged off the first eleven socks in no time, then needed a break.  Thank heavens for Wendy and her wedding project!

Here are some photos of my beautiful babies.

I just cast on number 12.  It's nice to be back.

I am not Wendy

... and that's not a wedding dress I'm wearing.

That said, here is Cozy, about 3/4 done.

  

I absolutely love the lace pattern and am plotting to use it for a sweater for myself, possibly even in the same cotton.  The effect reminds me of a slightly stripped-down version of Reid, one of my favourite Knitty patterns.

The sheer boredom of alternate rows of purling gave me a reason to learn somehing new - knitting back!  I really enjoyed the change, and I really enjoyed not having to turn my work, especially when the length got past the 24-inch mark.  I would definitely recommend this as a method that's worthwhile to learn.

Anyone care to comment as to whenther Cozy needs a crochet edge?

Progress - Knitting and Otherwise

My house!

The living room carpet (shockingly, new in 2003) has had an awful lot of things spilled and spewed on it.

Tuesday morning, it looked something like this:

Friday morning, the men arrived and began their destruction.  By the time I returned from my day at work, I was greeted with this:

(red maple with gunstock stain, from Taggart Quality Hardwood)

Kid tested, mother approved.

On the knitting front, Cozy continues to grow, and Wendy loves the look of it!

Here she is, a little over one hank in:

 

One week to go!

I actually DO knit

My friends Wendy and Christian will be capping off a lengthy friendship and whirlwind courtship in fitting fashion, with a beautiful wedding on the 26th of this month.

Last week, Wendy mentioned to me that she was going to go looking for a wrap of some sort to wear with her wedding dress, to keep her bare shoulders warm in the late August chill that we all forget about almost every year.

With two weeks to her special day, there was no way I was going to let her shop for a wrap.  I called the wonderful Mimi at the Loop in Halifax, and she matched me with the perfect yarn for the occasion.

It's Kertzer Butterfly cotton.  I'm using the silver shade to bring out the silver detailing in Wendy's dress.  The pattern is Danielle Schoonover's Cozy.  Wendy liked that it would be neutral enough to use as a scarf later on, and that the finished product would be machine washable.

I'm working the pattern exactly as written (a first!), 85 sts on a 5mm needle.  The yarn calls for a smaller needle, but I want the nice, loose drape. Here she is, a few inches in.

I plan to work until my yarn supply (3 hanks) is exhausted, and will post finished measurements.

Cheers to Wendy and Christian!

Why Knitting Pharm?

I am a pharmacist by education, and have been licensed in Nova Scotia since 1996.

We pharmacists are a peculiar lot.  From the moment we enter our chosen institution, we do a funny thing with the letter f.

We substitute the letters "ph".  We think it's cute.  We can't help ourselves.

Want some examples?

** Please note that I use the term "pharmageek" with an affection that can only be mustered by one referring to one's own **

"Hey, are you going to the Pharmacy Phorum this afternoon?"  (one pharmageek asks another if they plan to attend a debate and pizza party)

"Hey, did you get your new InPharmation?"  (one pharmageek asks another if they have latest issue of the student newspaper)

Fast forward a lot of years.  2 pharmacists move to rural Nova Scotia, to a small town.  This town happens to have a lot of farms, and an agricultural college to boot!

One pharmer (see, I can't help it!) becomes very involved in the knitting universe, and needs to make up labels for some knit items.  But what to call herself?

I think you see where this is going.

In case you think I'm too cutesy for words, allow me to share the story of my friend and coworker.  She's a pharmacist.  Married to a dairy farmer.  The pharmacist and the farmer.  The pharmer and the pharmer.

That one may even be too cute for me.

"Why aren't you blogging?"

Knitting and blogging.  They go together like needles and yarn.  As the last knitter in the universe to start a blog, I feel I have a lot of catching up to do.

So here I am, thanks to Laurie and her last e-mail, the contents of which included, "Get blogging, woman!"