To my Canadian readers…

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Happy Victoria Day long weekend!!!

It feels SO good to have this extra day off…. agreed?! Another day to relax, catch up on laundry (or knitting :p), make a yummy dinner (Paleo pulled pork… yum!!!), write a post (which I haven’t done in far too long… too busy workin!!)… oh AND… discover how to make the most AMAZING coffee I’ve ever had. In my own home. In a matter of minutes. I feel like I’ve struck gold!

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Curious?? Go read for yourself.. it’s called Bulletproof Coffee. It’s creamy, smooth, anything-but-bitter, and tastes just like a latte. It’s making me look forward to waking up tomorrow morning. Yes, it’s THAT good.

Tinder update anyone?? I’m nearly finished my first front piece.. yay! I’m just about to bind off the stitches at either end to shape the armholes. I put it next to the back piece last night for the first time and it made me soooo excited to see what it will look like when it’s all finished!

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That’s all for now! I better go do something to work off this caffeine high so I can sleep tonight…

Just a little Tinder update…

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I couldn’t keep my hands away from the needles any longer… it was just too hard to resist! I’m only working at it small bits at a time though. Although it’s tempting, I don’t want to overdue it. Plus, I don’t have all the time in the world anymore TO overdue it. This past week I landed a Monday to Friday full time job… yahoO!!! My brain is still finding it difficult to adjust…what… no more days spent sitting on the couch knitting??.. but having a little knitting time here and there is almost more rewarding now than having an entire day! Go figure… lol.

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I guess I did find some time to knit this week though because.. the back piece of Tinder is DONE! I bound off the stitches last night and it made me soooo excited. I’m working in an office now and Tinder will be the perfect addition to my “office wardrobe”. It will still be a while until it’s finished…a long while I’m guessing… but I’m looking forward to it already!

Hmmm.. maybe I’ll get started on the next piece tonight! ;)

Its puzzle-mania over here!

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Guess what??

I found a new hobby to keep me occupied until I get the go ahead to start knitting again! Puzzles! Or.. puzzle (we’ll keep it singular for now… hopefully I won’t need to go through more than one.. or two at the most).

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I’m completely type A (organized, sensitive, caring, truthful, impatient, multi-tasking, slightly OCD) so I’m really enjoying the act of sorting through hundreds and hundreds of little tiny cardboard pieces. Whether it’s hunting for the very last edge piece, similar colours, or the ONE piece that I need to fill that spot, I find it relaxing. And different. And so much better than staring at a tv. Oh, and see the round containers on the right? There are actually three – one is filled with purples, one is filled with sky blues, and the third has ocean water pieces. See what I mean about being organized?

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Try something different for a change…
you never know what new hobby you’ll discover! :)

Be back soon!

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Due to a condition with one of my hands, my doctor has recommend that I step away from the needles for a few weeks. Along with the treatment I’m receiving, my he feels that giving my hand a break will aid the healing process.

I’m sad, frustrated, and I don’t know what to do with my free time, but I would rather not knit for a few weeks than have my condition worsen (as it slowly has been).

So.. wish me luck and hopefully I’ll be back in a few weeks!!

– CJ –

Tinder Update: I’m getting somewhere!

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There’s been a lot of learning,

ripping out,

re-knitting,

ripping out,

and most recently,

cries of happiness that I was finally doing something right,

in this house lately.

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For example…

  • I cast on for the back piece in the smallest size, 31-1/2″, with 4.0mm (US 6) and 5.0mm (US 8) needles, but after doing the ribbing and a few rows of the waffle stitch, I didn’t like how loose it looked. I took it in to Black Sheep Yarns to see Judy (a wonderful lady who works there and helps me with all my projects… Thank-you Judy!!) and she suggested going down a needle size (3.75mm – US 5 and 4.5mm – US 7) and doing one size bigger, the 34-1/4″, to get the size I was aiming for to begin with, the 31-1/2″. Although it took longer (smaller needles = more rows of ribbing to get the required inches!), I’m much happier with how it looks.
  • The next difficulty I ran into was at the beginning of the decreases for the back piece. After decreasing the first two stitches, I wasn’t sure how to continue the waffle stitch pattern “as established”. After trying once on my own (and failing), I sent an email to Jared Flood (pattern creator), and then decided it would be best to get some sleep. As much as I hate to admit it, sleep always helps. I woke up the next morning and someone from his team had responded with just the direction I needed! As a beginner/intermediate knitter, I’m used to following pattern instructions stitch by stitch, but as I was expecting, Tinder is presenting itself to be a challenge! With the help of the email from Jared’s team, I learned that I have to read the stitches on my needles to work the waffle pattern “as established”. After I did one row, I couldn’t believe how simple it was!

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  • My most recent difficulty was with the decreases themselves. Not actually doing them, but rather with how they appeared. Because of the waffle stitch, the decreases were producing two purl stitches side by side, instead of just the one, making somewhat of a gap. I ripped it out thinking I had done something wrong, reknit it, ripped it out, reknit it… and then learned that this “gap” is part of the waist shaping and is completely normal. Oh well, at least I’m learning!

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Doesn’t this look cozy!?! I just want to cuddle up with it… !

Happy knitting!!

The Beginning of Everything: Tinder

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Ahhhhh!

I’m excited.

Like, can’t hold it in, heart racing, excited.

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You can call me a nerd, I don’t care.

I started a SWEATER!!

I was at Black Sheep Yarns (my LYS) a few days ago  looking for suggestions on what to create with my yarn from England, and to get yarn for another project (a gift for someone, so I can’t talk about it yet). I went home happy with my purchase, started working on another baby hat, and then somehow, somehow, I was on Ravelry looking at sweater patterns. Imagine that!

10 minutes later I was out the door, heading back to Black Sheep Yarns. I was leaning toward doing Ease last week, but when I saw Tinder, I fell in love.

I LOVE the waffle stitch all across the front and back, the length in the body and the arms, all the ribbing at the bottom, and just how cozy it looks… and I’m sure will feel!  I also decided to go with this pattern because although it’s not my first official sweater (I’ve done one other with super bulky yarn), I didn’t really want to spend a whole lot of money on yarn when I’m still learning. With this pattern, I had the option of still going with a high quality yarn, but at a lower cost. I went with Cascade 220 Heathers in Silver Grey and I’m SO excited to get started!

 Happy Sunday! :)