First of the year

Log Cabin Afghan

Pattern: How to Knit a Log Cabin Square
Yarn: Naturally Tussock 10-ply, 20 balls with about 3 balls' worth left over.
Yarn Source: Fun Knits inventory counting party
Yarn Cost: FREE, baby. This was the grand prize draw. Replacement cost of the 20 balls of yarn is $11 per ball or $220.
Needle: 5.5mm bamboo circular
Cast on: December 30, 2007
Bound off: March 23, 2008
Finished size: 53" by 63" unblocked, slightly stretched
Notes:
I had an overall plan for using the colours, but it didn't work out. I had to keep adjusting the colour distribution as the strips got longer and longer, therefore using more and more yardage.

I wanted a slight rectangle shape so it would go all the way from chin to feet. I doubled the width of the strips on opposite ends, twice, to end up with 10 extra inches of length.

A lot of people have remarked that this seems like an awful lot of work. You do have to cast off the entire length of each one of those strips, then later pick up along the entire cast-off length with another colour. There were a fair few ends to weave in, but not as many as one would expect. I did a bit of (sloppy, uncertain) math and figured out I bound off 928 stitches. And that means I also picked up 928 stitches. This is give or take, but basically you're looking at about a thousand stitches bound off and a thousand stitches picked up.

But you're not doing this all at once, so it's really not a problem. It's therapeutic, really, and I would absolutely make another one of these. Maybe with different colours though.

I am completely happy with this blanket. It has this amazing soporific effect on me, its weight and warmth and sheepy smell putting me straight to sleep. Luckily, Mr HalfSoledBoots thinks it's uncomfortably scratchy, so I shouldn't need to worry about him claiming it. He's more of a polar fleece guy.

It was an awful day today. Snowing when we woke up, then rainy, dark and miserable. At 2.30 I made myself a lovely boozy hot chocolate and cozied up with my blanket.

Marshmallow courtesy of Butter Baked Goods. (That marshmallow is worth $0.80, I'll have you know. [Eeesh.])

I can't believe it is the end of March and this is my first finished object post of the year. I don't really know where the time went. But Saartje's booties are lined up for an FO post, and soon I will have my Marina Piccola socks finished, so I guess I'll catch up soon enough.

Listen, Bambi: Actions have Consequences.

I forgot to show you guys the socks I cast on instead of fixing my lace mistake (which is currently in the corner having a time out). I went for the Marina Piccola socks again - hoping to break the Sockapalooooza hex.

This counts towards stash reduction - and frugality, too. I got the yarn from Shelley at Fun Knits, when the Group was over there for the afternoon last year. Judy Maclean, the Sweatermaker dyer, had given several tangled skeins of merino/nylon sock yarn to Shelley. These skeins had apparently become partially unbound in the dyeing process and were a snarled mess. Judy told Shelley that if anybody wanted to go to the trouble of untangling the yarn, they could have it for free.

OF COURSE I took it. I spent two days untangling my skein and winding it into a beautiful, perfectly symmetrical, centre-pull ball. After having given away my first, aqua-coloured pair of Marina Piccolas, I was determined to have some of my own, and these are them. They. Those. here they are.



Again, I'm happy with this pattern: it's easy to memorise. I also like how the colour is knitting up. I'm getting about 10 stitches to the inch, magic-looping on 2.5 mm Addi Turbos.

Oh yeah: and progress on the log cabin afghan. It's now too big to take with me anywhere, so growth has slowed considerably. It's about 4.5 feet across at the moment.


It isn't easy to get good pictures these days, by the way. It's so dark here....I went out to take some garden photos and the camera saw fit to use the flash. Outside. At 10.30 AM.

Anyway, I was poking around looking for signs of spring. And I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but white-tail deer don't like crocus. Or bamboo. And yet?

Exhibit A

There were 100 crocus bulbs in here, evenly distributed and all about 1.5" high. It's hard to tell in this photo, but the deer have pawed (or pulled with their teeth) half the bulbs out and cropped the tops off of the remaining shoots.

Exhibit B

My poor bamboo. THE NERVE. What do they think they are, freakin' pandas?

Luckily, I am a member of a superior race. These opposable thumbs come in really handy for delicate work, and taxidermy requires some dexterity.

Exhibit C



Just kidding.

Thrift is Better than an Annuity

I found out about Wardrobe Refashion 2008 from Mel at Pipe Dreams and Purling Plans. It's a simple idea for reducing my consumerism and environmental impact: recycle, renovate, repair and create my wardrobe this year, without buying new clothes.

I will be spending today on the mending/finishing basket. One day won't cut it.......uh, especially if I stop to blog about it......but at least it's a start. And, if you've ever wondered how exactly you're supposed to patch a pair of jeans, wonder no longer.

You'll need medium or heavyweight fusible interfacing, scrap fabric (preferably the same fibre content as your garment, and pre-shrunk), an iron, pins or Stitch Witchery (fusible adhesive webbing), a sharp needle and thread. Once you have these things around, by the way, you won't need to buy them for a long time. Just get a half meter of both interfacing and quilting cotton - it'll last you quite a while and only cost a few dollars. If you prefer a heavier fabric, such as denim, you can skip the interfacing stage altogether. You can also cut patches out of worn out clothing - choose the less-worn bits, of course.

Fusible interfacing and quilting cotton.

Step One - Create a Patch.

Fuse a section of interfacing onto the back of the fabric, making sure it's on-grain, if you're using a woven interfacing.

Cut out your desired shape from the now-interfaced fabric (I used a sheep cookie cutter and an extra-fine Sharpie).

You can use any shape, keeping in mind that one with lots of points, such as a star, will start to show wear around the edges very quickly.

Now you have a patch - or, I suppose, you could always buy one from a fabric store. But it won't be nearly as interesting or satisfying, I'd wager.

Step Two - Baste the Patch.

You need to hold your patch in place while you sew it on. There are two ways to do this: you can use pins (and caution while sewing) or you can use fusible webbing. My mum calls this stuff "Stitch Witchery", which I think was a brand name back in the day. It comes in a roll from which you can snip off bits of the length you need.

Position the patch where you'd like it, with the Stitch Witchery underneath, completely covered by the patch - you don't want this stuff stuck to the soleplate of your iron.

Fusible web on the bottom - patch on the top.

Press, without steam and for a fairly long time. Use the appropriate setting for the fabric you're patching. The heat has to get right through the double-thickness of the patch, so test it by lifting up on the patch a little bit to see whether it's fused. It doesn't have to be solid as a rock - you're just trying to keep the thing in place while you hand-stitch it.

Fusing the patch to the jeans.

Or you could do it the old-fashioned way.

Step Three - Sew the Patch.

Hand-sewing is getting to be a lost art, as everyone knows. If you're not in the habit of mending, darning, reattaching buttons, and so on, you might have to practice a bit before you really get the hang of it.

For today's patches I used blanket stitch. I like the look of it on this patch fabric.

Here's a good photo tutorial for blanket stitch.

Working from LEFT to RIGHT, (though I hold my fabric so as to make it TOP to BOTTOM) bring needle out at point A (outer edge). Insert at point B (adjusting spacing as desired - I spaced mine about a millimeter apart), then with thread below the needle, come out at point C directly below. Repeat, noting that point C now becomes point A for the following stitch. Make sure your spaces are even - unless you want them uneven.

Taking the stitch - note thread is below needle tip (also note I did this one right to left - don't let it bring you down).


Drawing the loop smaller.

Pulling the thread tight, ready to take another stitch.

Here are a pair of finished patches on Charlotte's favourite jeans. These hearts had to be a bit on the big side, which brings me to my final note: Patch 'em as soon as they need it. Apparently it's true that a stitch in time saves nine.

Free To Good Home

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COMMENTS ACCEPTED UNTIL 4.00 PM PST MONDAY 28th.

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Here we are, at Half Soled Boots' 198th post. Coincidentally, my G00gle revenue has just reached $100, which means I get paid next month, which is GREAT NEWS for a stay-at-home mum suffering from a lack of jingle in her jeans.

To celebrate, I think I'll give away some yarn. In fact, I have decided that, in the interests of my stash reduction and to share the love a bit, I'll do a giveaway every time G00gle pays me. It just puts me in such a good mood when that happens. Also, that way, if I end up giving away something I'd really prefer to keep, I can afford to replace it. I can also afford to tuck a few extra things into the recipient's box.

I don't often get paid, actually - only about every five or six months...the clicks do take a while to add up. But whenever I reach the magic number, I'll post a request for comments. Anyone showing interest will be entered into a draw of some sort.

Today's prize will be your choice of one of these four Valentine-tinted skeins of sock yarn, all of which retail for about $22 (although at least two of them are no longer for sale).



From bottom left to top right:

1) Fleece Artist (unnamed colourway) washable, hand-dyed 100% merino. 325 meters - 115g. Ball band gives tension at 26/4" on a 3mm needle. This yarn comes from Nova Scotia - I bought it at Victoria's Beehive Wool Shop. The colour is lively and intense - cheerful, tooth-achingly pink. It is tightly spun, and has a beautiful, almost silky sheen. This is a candy store yarn if I ever saw one...it makes me think of the cool spicy crunch of Island Farms' Peppermint Candy ice cream - with swirls of melted pink sugar and rocky chunks of crushed magenta sweetness.



2) Seacoast Handpainted washable 100% merino, in colourway "Raspberries". 560 yards (no weight). Ball band gives tension at 7-8/inch (no needle size given). This one makes my mouth water...the colours are delicious, ranging from a cool silvery grey to an intense purpley magenta. There are bands of rose, orchid, lavender. This yarn reminds me of nothing so much as heavy, softly whipped cream streaked with the chilled juice of fresh, dusky berries swirled in....or the purple-stained fingers you get when you've been picking them right off the canes. (Are you getting the idea that I love this particular skein?) I bought this from Pick Up Sticks.



3) Blue Moon Fiber Arts' "Socks that Rock" in colourway Rose Quartz. 100% superwash merino, mediumweight. 380 yards - 5.5 oz. Tension is given as 8 stitches per inch on size 2-3 needles. I bought this yarn in Washington, USA, where I had trouble picking from all the beautiful shades. This colour was so appealing - pink overall, but with many subtle variations throughout the skein. The colour ranges from flecks of a bronzey-peach, to sections of pale mauve. The pinks are subdued - very subtle. (The close-up photo, below, does not reflect the colour as accurately as the group picture above.) The yarn is tightly spun, with a matte finish. Readers of the Yarn Harlot might recognize this yarn from the "Big Pink Thing" she knit for her friend with kidney cancer. When I read that post I was happy I had already bought this yarn - figuring it would be hard to find that colour from now on.



4) Sweet Georgia Yarns' Handpainted Sock in colourway "Merlot". 100% merino, NOT SUPERWASH. 420yds/384m - 112 grams. Tension is given as 28-32 over 4" on a 2.25mm - 3.25mm needle. This yarn also came from Pick Up Sticks. The colour is not as deep as I thought it would be - I guess that's why it's called "Merlot", not "Cabernet Sauvignon". The reds range from a pale, orange-tinted rose to deep ruby. The yarn has a matte finish, with a medium spin. I knit my Common Welsh Green socks out of a green version of the same yarn, and I can vouch for its longevity. It wears well, due to the untreated wool which felts slightly with wear. You should also know that, having finished an entire pair of toe-up socks with one skein, I have a great deal of yarn left over - definitely enough to knit some booties, possibly enough to have added another whole repeat to each sock. The yardage is excellent.





What you must do, elegant and clever readers, is simply comment that you'd like to be included in the draw, and which skein you would prefer to have. (Or, you could say you haven't decided -- we can talk about it later.) I will announce the winner on Monday, January 28, and will mail the prize by Friday next.

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Oh, I should also say, pet-free-smoke-free-well-loved-not-stored-in-sunlight.

That and This.

I am 34 years old. Mr HSBoots and I got married 11 years ago. And look! Just two days ago I grew up and got some furniture!



It's amazing how long these things can take. There always seems to be money for everything else except furniture, lamps, non-essential stuff like that. But I've finally had enough. After all, why else would I have a huge car accident, followed by a smallish ICBC settlement, if not to finally have a place to put the dishes?

I've been knitting on the Log Cabin blanket, but it's not working out like I had hoped. The thing is, the spiral design would have looked great if I had 20 balls of the same three different colours. Unfortunately, I have 20 balls of about 7 different colours. I would have done better to have knit a traditional log cabin, with a dark half and a light half, divided down the diagonal axis. But I'm not ripping this out. It's a 38" square so far, and it just keeps growing.



I won this yarn at the Fun Knits inventory party - six hours of pure leg-crampy, hip-ach-ey hell, punctuated by hourly yarn giveaways and crowned with the best pizza I've ever had. I was lucky enough to win the Grand Prize, which was the yarn for this blanket. It came in kit form, actually, to make a cool afghan made up of blocks of intarsia.

Intarsia.

My skin crawls just typing that word.

So I opted for the multi-coloured log cabin throw instead, and I must say I love it despite its confusion of hues. It's amazing how tempted I was to buy yarn so I could keep the colours consistent. I firmly squashed the urge, though, and have been working on accepting the fact that, whatever its colours, the blanket will be fantastically warm.

D'you know what I hate? Every single weekday, the postie drops off the mail. But instead of going down Next-Door's driveway, along the street, and up my driveway, Dude just ducks under the trees and crosses our two lawns. See the evidence?



And he comes round at 9.30 AM, just when I'm sitting near the front window checking my email and drinking my cuppa. Every single morning I about have a heart attack when a man's shape suddenly looms up directly outside the window. I don't know why I am still surprised when he does this.

So if anyone from Postes Canada Post is reading this and knows what policy he's violating (I DO know they're not allowed to cross your lawn) please email me and tell me who I should address my letter to.

In case there is anyone still reading this profound post, I would like to publicly thank Penny, of Random Thoughts from Another Dilettante, for choosing me as the winner of her two-year blogiversary contest. I got this delicious banana yarn - as well as some tasty UK goodies - a good while ago and kept meaning to post about it.



I haven't completely decided what to make, yet, but I do have some ideas. I saw a beautiful scarf in Fun Knits while I was there counting yarn and trying not to gibber with crazed frustration, and I think I'll beg the pattern off Shelley. It looks like just a yo k2tog with edge increases/decreases to create a cool bias thing - only about 8 inches wide. It's nice and I think it'll look good with this yarn. Thanks, Penny!

PS: Thank you so much, everyone who voted for me in the Canadian Blog Awards. I must say, the thought that people might be coming here to check whether the blog is any good kind of gives me writer's block. ("You don't say.")

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EDIT
Uh oh. The Yarn Harlot just asked everybody to go vote for her friend who is nominated under the category "Best Personal Blog".

So thanks anyway guys. I guess I can hang that belly dance costume back up now.
: )

You can take the girl out of UVic, but......

This box arrived at my house today, long before it was expected.



Note the pattern on the tissue. It can only mean one thing:



There IS a Doctor in the house.



And not a moment too soon.



The handknitted socks feel right at home.

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Oh, yeah: here's some knitting. Progress on the Log Cabin (note the colour change - such is the nature of stashbusting) and the Cap Shawl.

Almost Forgot a Title.

Today is one of those coastal days that overwhelm newcomers and visitors by their sheer pervasive soakedness. But hey - it grows the trees that everyone admires so much. (Click to embiggen.)

Well, my respite from knitting lasted all of about 2 hours. Here is the Log Cabin Blanket, in progress:

And here are the first 18 rounds of the new lace project:

which will in time become this:

Gift certificate in hand, I went to Village Yarns' (no website) January sale the other day. I had a bit of trouble spending the money, actually - the vastness of my stash has been a weight on my chest lately, interfering with my enjoyment of it. One thing I hardly have any of, though, is laceweight. So I picked up three skeins of Zephyr Wool-Silk in Ruby, for the Cap Shawl, and also bought 15 skeins of Berroco Glace at 70% off. Yes, Please!

The Glace (the orange rayon in the picture below) will become a Clapotis - at last - for a friend. Then there is the celadon -....lime?.....celery?....whatever, it's green - Handmaiden Sea Silk, which is gorgeous, and which I bought for my mother at 40% off. She's trying to decide what to knit with it, and left me one of the two skeins to wind into a ball for her. Lastly, at bottom left, are the two balls of Naturally "Me" which is a 50% cashmere, 50% merino blend. I bought this at half price to make myself Odessa.

I've been spending some time on Ravelry lately. It hasn't cut into the knitting time, much, but I find the queue concept very motivating. It's not that I didn't have a list of things to knit BEFORE Ravelry, it's just that having them all in a line, with thumbnails clearly visible and yarn details noted beside the photo, keeps me enthused about casting on. I've already started three of the things in my queue, and have plans for at least two more.

What I'm hoping, then, is to revive my Stash Reduction Plan of last year. I haven't fallen off the wagon, per se, but I have not done as much actual knitting as I thought I would have. I haven't bought much yarn, either, but there is still Much to be Done.

Thank you for your encouraging comments on my very cheerful and zingy New Year's Day post. I think you all were right: it's bound to be better. Besides, in the end, really, there's nothing to do but go on - one has no choice but to hope for the best. I appreciate your words.

I also appreciate these.

They arrived in my mailbox today, and should go a long way toward cheering me up....which, if you are at all familiar with the plots, will probably strike you as ironic. Thank you so much, Joe and Dave, for your generosity.

Proud to be a Language Geek.

I have to put up something quick to deflect notice from the book review which garnered some mockery from my smart-ass sister and my erstwhile friend.

YEAH I SAID "ERSTWHILE" YOU COCKROACHES, IT'S CALLED BEING LITERATE: LOOK INTO IT. You should be happy there is still someone out here in the blogoverse who doesn't write crap like "this book is kinda cunfuzing but 2di4, ur gonna luv it lol".

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After the intensive monogamous Christmas knitting, I find myself somewhat at loose ends. I have several things in my Ravelry queue (oh, by the way: I'm on Ravelry! Whoop-de-doo!) but none of them are really pulling on my skirt, you know? I see something I like, but when I open up the pattern and see the bit where it tells me how many stitches to cast on, I just can't dredge up the motivation. I heave a halfhearted sigh and click on.

eeny

I think it's okay to drift rudderless for a bit. I was talking to Karen-of-the-Comments about it, and she said I need a bit of time to come down off my Aran/Print o' the Wave high. I think she's right....and we agreed that, come January 1, I will probably be flooded with inspiration, innovation, anticipation, and determination.

Also, apparently I will be beginning my career as a motivational speaker sometime soon.

meeny

My Ravelry queue includes Saartje's Bootees (so cute!), Odessa (very needful in this weather), a Log Cabin blanket (because I just won a bunch of yarn that I think will be perfect for it), and Clapotis (one of these days). I have some WIPs I need to finish, as well - the Anemoi Mittens, a Sirdar cardy for my first-cousin-once-removed, and the second Geisha sock for my farm-girl friend. I should probably get at least one of those out of the way before I start something new...

miney

I don't know. Maybe I'll let the knitting go for a couple of weeks (unthinkable!). Then I'll find my mojo again and the blog will be more interesting.

Well, less uninteresting.

Dear Universe: what are you trying to tell me?

After I ran out of yarn for the Gothic Spire socks, I decided to go with Kate Gilbert's "Marina Piccola". I realized that I had the perfect yarn in my stash - Sweet Georgia's superwash in "Life Aquatic". About halfway through turning the heel, I read on my Sockapalooooza recipient's blog that she, like me, used to be a competitive rower. With the blue colour and the wavy pattern, the socks seemed more perfect than ever. I was happy. I felt a certain peaceful serendipity about the whole thing.

Then, when my joy was at its zenith, tragedy struck. What do you think is possibly, maybe, about to happen?



What do you think are my chances? I'd say, not very good.


PS: Sweet Georgia is on about a year-long hiatus and isn't making any more yarn. I can't find it on eBay. I can't find it on Google. My Obi-Wan hope is a shop in Windsor which, according to one blogger, had some Life Aquatic as of 9 days ago. But all their yarn has been 40% off since then, which lengthens the odds somewhat. They open tomorrow at 9:00 AM Eastern...this should be interesting.

PPS: The suspense is killing me.

PPPS: I'm not doing Sockapalooza 5 next year.

A Quiver Full

Trellis for Rachel (formerly Trellis for Grace)

Pattern: Knitty

Yarn: Paton's Classic Merino in "Old Rose", approximately 125 grams

Needles: 3.75mm Clover bamboo

Cast On: June 2006

Bound Off: November 2006

Buttons Sewn On: July 9, 2007

Mods: Knitted slightly tighter than usual due to (then) smallness of child.

This sweater was cast on for my cousin's daughter, born just before we left for the transplant last year. In the course of nature, and since other things got in the way, the baby turned into a 13-month-old toddler who needs a new, bigger sweater. This new one is on the needles now (and now I know it's a race against time).

The great thing is, on Canada Day my wonderful friend L. gave birth to her fifth baby - a long-awaited girl. Her first baby was a girl, 12 years ago or so, followed by three boys...so there are a lot of truck sleepers and Bob the Builder t-shirts in her hand-me-down bin. Along with our prayers and best wishes, Little Rachel will get the newly-finished Trellis, which should fit her beautifully in the fall and winter.

What a relief...an FO and about 300 metres destashed.

Progress, on Several Fronts.

It's been a gruelling week chez HalfSoledBoots. My poor little baby is on day four of a feverish cold, or flu, or whatever it is. She looks like a ghost - observe:







But I'm in high hopes she's beginning to feel better. I did the old Vinegar Sock trick* last night, and it seems to have broken the fever. This morning she had something to eat, and has been actually playing toys today. It feels like weeks since she has been herself, instead of days. I remarked to my mother yesterday that it's no wonder the 'flu is so often fatal to impoverished, undernourished children, since it turned my healthy, strong, first-world girl into a mere shadow of her former self in just three days.


Waste Not, Want Not

Work continues on the Ogee Tunic, excruciatingly slowly. I actually can't believe how long it is taking me to knit this, between the splitty yarn, the slippery needles, the sick baby, and the sick mummy (yes, I've had it too). At this rate I won't be finished until June.








But I really like how it's looking. I think the yarn sub is going well (the pattern called for 100% wool; I'm using 100% cotton because it was in my stash and wool wasn't...those are the rules).





And lastly, in the continuing spirit of Using Up What We Have:


Potential:



Oldish speckled bananas, and Old slumpy apples.

Actual:


Lovely, buttery apple pancakes.




Yummy banana bread.

* The Vinegar Sock is an old-fashioned home remedy for fever. You soak a sock in vinegar and put it on the child, putting another sock overtop to keep the vinegar more or less off the sheets. The vinegar is absorbed through the feet and drawn up through the body, cooling as it goes. It does not usually bring the fever completely down, it just makes it bearable. The principle is, if your body elevates its temperature, it has a perfectly good reason for doing so, and as long as it's within a few degrees of normal, you should not get all wiggy with the Tylenol, but simply let the immune system do its job. Once I had a vinegar sock on my daughter for about 36 hours straight, and by then you could smell it on her breath, and she was complaining of a funny taste. But, the fever was down.