Sunday, December 28, 2008

Santas let loose in Burlington


Okay, since my photos of me in my Santa outfit before the Santa Jingle race I entered Dec.13 are not yet available (not on a digital camera), I will treat you with this mini shot of all 1500 Santas starting the race. This race was not a personal best for me, I think I will blame it on the freezing cold weather down by Lake Ontario, running in Santa pants and all those jingle bells on the shoes jingling along. It was a crazy race.

I promised to show pics of my favourite petal/flower dishcloths before wrapping them up for friends for Christmas. However, I was in such a rush that completely forgot to take the pics. Duh! So, to make up for my oversight, I will provide links to those faves instead, I love making them and hope you try them out too:

http://www.groupepp.com/dishbout/kpatterns/petal.html
http://www.groupepp.com/dishbout/kpatterns/dbldmnd.html
http://www.groupepp.com/dishbout/kpatterns/dblflower.html
http://www.groupepp.com/dishbout/kpatterns/doilycloth.html

Saturday, December 6, 2008

December already?!


I know, I know, it's been awhile. I've been knitting, honest! And to prove it, here's a tidbit of a sock I'm giving as a present, soooo, shhhhhh. I'm working on washcloths too for gifts and will take a pic of all together when I'm done. They are very pretty and all are from free patterns that designers generously share on the internet.

I've also been busy training for running races. This past October 19th I clocked my best time ever for a 5k, 27min 4sec. This coming weekend, I will be in the Santa Jingle 5k race in Burlington, Ontario. I highly doubt my time will be as fast, the catch is, we all have to wear Santa Suits. Can you imagine 1500 Santas racing through the streets? I'm looking forward to the fun.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Run & Knit, Knit & Run

I've promised more pics of my latest projects, here's the back and a bit of the collar of Autumn Asters, a Michelle Rose-Orne design, in which I used Elann's Peruvian Highland wool. Love the colours and love Michelle's design. I just have to attach the other sleeve, figure out button bands and then embroider little asters (daisies) all over the shawl collar. When it's finished, I will take a proper pic of me wearing it, can't wait, it's a pretty sweater.

Besides knitting, I've also been running. Here's pics of my bib numbers from the Beamsville Bench (August 9th) and the Laurier Loop (September 21st), weird how they're both numbered 301...

I ran 5k in both, Beamsville I clocked 27 min 55 secs and in the Laurier Loop, 27 min 21 secs. I'm getting better. For my efforts this past weekend I won 1st place female in the Overall Masters category. I'm stoked!

Receiving that silly medal with a purple ribbon makes it all worth it. You know how they say runners have a love/hate relationship with their sport, well, I can certainly attest to that, especially when it's freezing outside or way too hot. But at the end of my run, I'm really happy that I made the effort. It always feels great.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Birthday Bash

It was my birthday this past Sunday, and I was the lucky recipient of love from family and friends along with tasty meals and gifts. I can't quite decide which gift is my favourite, surprisingly no knitting tools or fibery gifts were involved, but that's okay. I can live without knitting, really,...okay, maybe not, but it's still okay. My new Garmin Forerunner 405 keeps me in check with my running pace whenever I train (4x per week), and then my other gifts are pure enjoyment, not that running isn't enjoyable, sometimes it hurts, or it rains, or there's a hill. :)

I know I promised to show you my latest knitting projects, they are coming along. I've been working on 3 sweaters altogether, one from Vogue, one from Interweave Knits (Michelle Rose Orne's Autumn Asters) and my own creation which I plan to call White Water Rapids. Plus, I've added a new sock design to the mix too, and I haven't figured out yet what to call it. With so many projects on the go, I haven't had time to scan anything and will make up for that in the next few days. A blog without pics is just way too boring and I don't want you to fall asleep.

So, here are some more pics of the birthday goodies. I am a huge Tomb Raider fan and the following games have been added to my collection, as well as a new Seafood book for my cook book collection and a boxed set of Extras for my dvd collection. I suppose I have a lot of collections, at least they keep me busy and out of trouble.










Friday, August 1, 2008

Finish Line


I couldn't resist, here's a finishing photo of my running buddies after the Nissan 5k & 10mile race. Photographers were snapping pics and our group was chosen for a finish finale. See, we really do like running. :)

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Autumn Asters


As promised, here is a photo of my Autumn Asters cardigan, I'm still working on the shawl collar. I ordered the Highland Chunky from Elann and started running out of some colours after starting the body when the sleeves were done. I expected that and started substituting. I'm so glad I did, I will have little yarn left over and still a great looking sweater. I'll show you the body next week, stay tuned.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Nissan 5k


This past weekend I was in the Nissan 5k race down in the distillery district in Toronto. I've been training since March to get my running back up to par as I did take quite an unwanted break this past winter. Well, for the second race I've ever entered, it was quite exciting to run and pass people at the same time. Pictured is the bib I wore, time 28:04 min, I was 4th out of 12 women in my age group and 69th out of 237 women. I'm rather pleased and although I didn't get a medal, I got the free t-shirt and had fun hearing my name over loud speaker when I crossed the finish line. Now, as you can see, this is what has been keeping me so busy besides my designing. Next week I promise to show photos of a cardigan I've been working on. I've recently discovered Michelle Rose-Orne and am working on her Autumn Asters.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

3 is most definitely better than 1

Okay, I finally did it! All 3 new patterns, Elvenwood Stole, Autumn, and Milk & Honey are finally up for pre-orders. "The stole" which really wasn't a supposed to be a secret has kept me occupied for over 2 months, I simply couldn't put it down to take a pic.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Merry May


May is already halfway gone, I can't believe it. I am still working on my next 3 designs, photos need to be taken, patterns need to be edited and proofed. This will be the first time I'm publishing 3 designs all at once, so, I hope that there will be something interesting for everybody. To keep your interest from lagging, here's a photo, keep in mind this one is right off the needles, it still has to be blocked. I quite enjoyed the stranded and cabling work with Patons Classic Wool.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Opposites Attract


I love this colour combo, almost as much as purple and green together. This is another viney design coming soon (I hope). It's spring time and although I love designing and knitting, the outside world is calling to me, and I've been running more instead. I promise to keep working at it (the knitting/designing thing) and plan to offer at least three brand new designs, 2 colourwork patterns and 1 lace. Anne asked about the arrangement of the stitches, yes, Anne, the stitches are being shown the way I intended them to go, upside down. Stay tuned!

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Curvy Vine


Hmmm, it's been awhile since I posted but, it's okay if I haven't because I'm having too much fun knitting. At the moment I'm working on 2 things at the same time, I NeVeR do that. It must be the weather. On days that it's warm, I work on a sock, on days that it's cold, like today, I work on my new sweater. Here's another peek at a new design I'm working on. I'm afraid that colourwork has become my new fave. It doesn't mean I've given up lace and texture, I'm hoping to do more of that this coming spring and summer.