Ravelympic 2008 Training

Yep, I’ve been swatching like a fool and I think I’m just about ready for the games to begin!  I’m on Team Canada aka Crazy Canucks (Ravelry link).  How cool is that?    If you’re a Revelry member come on over and visit us.  We keep talking about Timbits a lot.  Mmmmmmm, Timbits.

I’m doing the February Lady sweater in Araucania Nature Wool.  I swatched on a 5.0 mm needle and got gauge but I’m not happy with the fabric.  It’s just too loosey goosey and I don’t like it.  Tried a 4.5 mm needle and I’m getting too many stitches to the inch but the fabric is so much nicer.  It’s about a 10% difference so I think I’ll just go up a size and use the smaller needle.  Unfortunately that means more stitches to knit and it is the Ravelympics where time is of the essence, but that’s just too bad.  Smaller gauge, bigger sweater, nicer fabric.  Done deal.

Left is the 5.0 mm needle and right is the 4.5 mm needle.  I also think I’ll use two balls at once and alternate every second row to eliminate any flashing/pooling of colours.

Not much else going on around here.  I’m drowning in salad greens from the garden, which is a nice thing.  In another week I’ll be drowing in sugar snap peas.  Can’t wait!  I also pulled up my first ever turnip this morning.  How cool is that?  It smells amazing.  A couple more should be ready this week and we’ll be having them with dinner one night.  Yummers!  Good lord, I am so food oriented it isn’t funny.

You’re going to love this…no really…I promise

• one man
• one dying computer
• six hours of fighting to save the data on the dying computer
• four a.m. and all alone and bored
• one label maker

Yep, every time I sit down at the new computer (which I’ve named Alice, by the way), that’s what I look at.  I really think he loves me best. 

One a much more interesting note I got over 5 pounds of fibre from Paradise Fibers today.  Yes, I spelled that fibre for me but Fiber for their business.  I’m not happy about it but there you have it.  They are legally called Fibers so I can’t ‘correct’ that one! 

Anyway!  I got 2 pounds of Black Welsh Mountain top (much darker than the pics).  Swoon!  There was some other stuff too but the Black Welsh just took my breath away.  Love that stuff.  Two pounds of this and one pound of this and four ounces of this.  Yeah, I sort of lost my mind a bit.  That last one is so cool.  Black, black fibre and these brilliant threads/bits of silk in amazing bright colours.  Really pretty.

I start my new assignment/secondment/whatever on Monday.  Very excited/nervous/etc.  I’m really going to miss some of the people at my old office though.  The new assignment is only 20 minutes from my house by bus and I could ride my bike there in nice weather.  How great is that?

Okay, I’m going to go drool over my new fibre some more.  So gorgeous!

Now with visual aids!

I finally stopped and bought a card reader after work!  I gotta tell you, I felt naked without being able to upload my picis.  How weird is that?  Anyway, thought you’d like to see how hubby is doing on his scorched earth policy of yard clearing.

How cool are those wellies?  That’s his ‘yard machete’ he’s holding over his head.  I don’t ask questions, I just nod & smile.  Next time, I’m marrying for money!  Snort.  Yeah, then he started talking like a pirate:

How cool is that?  Yeah, it’s that cool.

All you Canadian Ravelry knitters, there’s a little thing called the Ravelympics going on and we’ve organized a Team Canada aka Crazy Canucks team.  Come on over and join up!  Nothing like knitting to a deadline in the heat of summer.  If you’re not Canadian, have a look around.  There are a bunch of other teams with new ones popping up everyday.  Very cool and fun.  I’m going to be attempting the Central Park Hoodie in Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed.  Crazymaking I tell you!

Anyway!  Glad to be back with y’all visually.  And now, it’s Mojito time!  Happy Friday. 

A song in your head you say?

Hey Rachel, you thought Torn Between Two Lovers was bad?  Go ahead, click this.  Days of this just running around in my head.  Days.  Snort!

I did really enjoy humming Seasons in the Sun at work though.  I’m not sure my co-workers liked it quite as much though.

You know that song?

Torn Between Two Lovers?  Yeah, it’s like that.  I got the new computer.  I totally caved and I’m now the proud owner of a new HP with Vista installed.  Bloody Microsoft.  It does have a nice 19 inch widescreen monitor so I’m trying to make myself feel better by looking at that.  A lot.

Now I just have to get all my data from A to B.  At first we considered doing back up discs and moving it that way.  Um, yeah.  Not going to happen.  I have way better things to do with my time, like laundry and vacuuming.  So, we’ll be picking up some sort of magic cable dealy later today and moving the files that way.

Is this what purgatory feels like?

Today,

is my country’s birthday.  She’s 141 years old.  A veritable spring chicken by some country standards, but still, it’s the oldest she’s ever been. 

I’m really happy to be Canadian.  I get to spell things funny.  i.e. colour, neighbour, grey, and centre.  This makes WordPress put little red lines under my words in hopes that I will ‘correct’ my spelling.  I find this  amusing.

Today, I will be extra thankful that I live where I live.  I will spin some Canadian fleece, knit some Canadian yarn, read a Canadian author, listen to some Canadian music, and quite possibly drink some Canadian cider.  That will look something like this:

But with shorter hair…and if it’s as hot as today, there will be shorts involved.  Today, my Canadian content will be at 110%.

Have a great Canada Day everyone!