wood wall n wool ~ cast-on-itis, full blown case

We got a new tv, perfect to put over the mantle.  It was hard to see with our necks cranked up that far and the tv was sitting up a bit too high.  And I wear bifocals so tipping my head up to see the screen had me peeping through the reading part of my lenses.  We planned to lower the brick by 3 rows and put the oak mantle top back on.  What we thought would be a simple, weekend project and a small drywall repair wasn't quite what we expected.  The fire brick behind the decorative brick front of the fire surround we discovered was installed before the drywall.  The drywall was butted up to the frame.  Result? The firebrick of the chimney stuck further into the room than the wallboard around it.  There were lots of ways to fix that, most easier than what I was hoping for, but Don was a sweetheart and humoured me.  We clad the wall - after a lot more chiselling, grinding and dust then first planned - in wood.

We used rough hewn pine boards that we had planed to a smoother surface and brought all the boards to the same thickness.  They range from 11 to 13.5" wide.  Amazing how out of square a 26 year old house is, but Don did a fantastic job cladding the wall.  I put a fresh coat of paint on the adjacent walls, then made a stain from the left over paint by cutting it 50% with water to stain the pine boards.

Loving the finished wood wall.  We need to deal with the wires, blu ray player and cable box on the mantle in some sort of attractive manner and accessorize on the right side of the fireplace.  Any suggestions would be very welcome.  Check out the wall all finished up with the pine planks!

I haven't knit in forever.  Not for a lack of wanting to.  I'm about to cast on for Lily Kate's pretty shawl pattern McCafferty .  It's just what I'm in the mood for with spring here, something chic to wear  my favourite white blouse and jeans.  The pattern is available here on Ravelry.  The yarn I plan to use is The Plucky Knitter Primo, but just can't decide on which colour?  Pink or Gray?  Help?!  Which colour should I use?

I'm pretty certain I'd wear the gray more, but this pink "Gumball" colourway is fun too...     

Because one just isn't enough & "Dark and Stormy"

This is another "not" Noro Striped Scarf a la Jared Flood's formula.

To see Details from my other one click here.

I had 2 tan balls of the Rowan Tapestry in stash and the blue/gray ones were on clearance for 40% off.  How could I not knit this again?... so this is a 1/2 stash busting project.

Now check out this knit pictured below!  There isn't anything I don't love about it:  the shawl collar is flattering on everyone, the colour - well, y'all know I'm nuts about gray.  The detail and shape of this garment is retro and yet cutting edge for today's knits.  I. Must. Knit. This!!  I can see myself trucking around town all stylish with a smile on wearing this cardigan.  And maybe my new boots.

These three 'Dark and Stormy' photos are courtesy Thea, copyright 2010 Splityarn (who takes awesome photos!!)

I can't stop thinking about this pattern.  Thea Coleman and Sarah Dimond have collaborated to release "Dark and Stormy".  If you're not on Rav click here for Thea's blog post.  I didn't get the yarn Sarah's selling to kit it (not that I didn't try!), and when I tried to sub Madeleinetosh worsted there wasn't anything in darks that I liked.  My weakness?  Lisa Souza in mahogany.

I'll be stalking my mail box for yarn to show up and casting on asap!  Thanks Thea and Sarah for what I think is the most appealing and wearable pattern for Fall 2010.  I'm biased I'm sure, I LOVE this pattern.  I'll be knitting like a fiend on my current WIPs because the second the Lisa Souza goodness arrives I'll be ditching everything else to swatch.

Hoping to have this striped scarf completed before the weekend is out and positively itching to cast on for Dark and Stormy!  The pattern is available separate from the kit from Thea is you (like me) weren't able to get it all from Sarah.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful fall weekend!

edited to add:  Ha, ha, very funny - you know who you are!!  I will not "only" have on this cardigan, a smile and my boots -- there'll be pants too...  sheesh!  lol  Renee

Christmas Yarn Giveaway

Do you need a little help with your yarn stash?  Would you be interested in rehoming some gorgeous Plucky goodness?

This is 400 yards of Sock weight yarn in the colourway "Prickly Pear".  80/10/10 Merino, Cashmere and Nylon.  Oh - so - soft!  The colours are beautiful.  I see a little more of the greens when I look at it then it photographed.

Leave a comment and let me know how you are or what you're up to.  I'll leave the Giveaway open until December 16 at 4pm.  Be well everyone and have a Merry December!
Best,
Renee

been outside playing

The last few weekends I've been outside a lot playing with the dogs and friends. Tracking, actually ~ one of my very favourite past times. These 2 dogs are Tracking Champions, only 11 to date in all of Canada. They are Questa ~ German Shepherd and my boy Chase ~ Standard Poodle.


Yesterday we also were playing with three of these absolutely adorable 9 week old puppies. How cute is that face? They're field trial bred labs for working homes from Pat and Chris's B-Line labs.

Star and Pat are prepping for their next tracking test so we'll be out plenty tracking. With having been down sick for so long I really missed getting out to track. So did Chase.


This time of year the colours are amazing, but it's going away fast. The trees have started to drop their leaves pronto and will be bare soon. I have to keep reminding myself that a week from today it will be November. Yikes.


Last night I was swatching. The colour of this Valley Yarns Williamstown is glorious. Usually I dig out autumnal colours in October, traditionally I knit with reds... but when I went stash diving last night this is the yarn that I kept picking up and petting. Not sure what it'll be yet, I'm having trouble settling on my next project. I want to start lots of them... "Cold Sheeping" has given me a serious case of startitis. This one is washed, dry and ready to see it if hits gauge on my 5.5 needles. I like the fabric is produced on 5.5 the best. The colour isn't at all like it photographed, it's a lot more vibrant and apple green.

Hope everyone is happy, well and enjoying their weekend!
Best,
Renee

Win some Yarn ~ It's Giveaway time again

Could you use some new sock yarn? I'm feeling the urge to share some fingering weight love. There's enough to make 4 pairs of socks or 4 scarves or 4 pairs of gloves or whatever your heart fancies. It could be your new stash enhancement until you decide what you'd like to do with it yarn with no buyers remorse? Free to a good home.

This is two skeins of Knit Picks Gloss in Cocoa, which is a 70% Merino and 30% silk blend.

Two balls of Socken Wolle 4-ply in blues, greens, purples and turquoise. I have got to tell you ~ these were hard to part with, but I'm sure someone else will love them as much as I do. A 75% Virgin Wool and 25% Polyamid (nylon) blend that's machine washable and felt resistant, says so on the label.

Two balls of Knit Picks Essential 75% Superwash Wool and 25% Nylon in a two-tone brown and cedar shade called Dune Twist.

And finally two more balls of Socken Wolle in the same 75% Virgin Woole and 25% Polyamid blend in really delicious solid green. It's photographed on the olive side in this picture but this yarn is a vibrant apple-y green.

If you're interesting in re-homing this pretty yarn leave a comment and tell me something about yourself. I really, truly enjoy getting to know you all. Or if you'd rather not tell me something about yourself, feel free to ask a question or two, or three about me! Ask anything at all you might be interested in knowing about me EXCEPT how much I weigh... 'cause I am just not going to answer that question! A simple 'want yarn' will do too.

The Giveaway will stay open until Sunday, September 20th at noon. Let me hear from you if you want this to show up in your mailbox and I'll send this sock yarn happily your way doesn't matter where you live!

I've been feeling a bit blue

Good thing I have ample blue stash. This is a sampling of blues, there's plenty more of each yarn.

Since I have 4 new projects in the planning and starting stages I can't blog about ~ or I'll ruin the surprise ~ I've decided to cast on something new for myself too. I'm leaning towards the Kidsilk Haze in shade 592 as Kim Hargreaves Trinket, minus the beads.

If you haven't seen Carolyne Roehm's books check them out. They're filled with incredibly photographed home, garden and recipe ideas. Her web site is inspiring. Be sure to read her bio, she's a multi talented woman who is also a dog and horse lover.

I have all but Carolyne's first book that is no longer in print. At Home With Carolyne Roehm is by far my favourite. It's set up by the seasons, page after page of gorgeous photos and recipes. Have a look at it next time you're in a book store ~ it's eye candy and a oft browsed coffee table book here at our house. Charlotte Moss's Winter House is one I pull out every winter too.

When The Blues strike me it's a good thing! :) Have a lovely day everyone!

Christmas Yarn Giveaway

Post a comment and you could win this lovely yarn. I am delighted to be one of the lucky people receiving a ball of Leslie's tweed yarn from her Rose Hill post. She is generously sending out yarn for other people to enjoy. I want to keep the circle of giving revolving by sending out 400 yards of "Keep It Real" colourway from my all time favourite indy dyer Sarah aka The Plucky Knitter.

If you would like to give a new home to a festive green skein of 100% Merino Superwash Fingering yarn from The Plucky Knitter then leave a comment to be added into a random drawing on Christmas Day. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I can't sit still

I found this in my mail box. 100% Cashmere 2ply lace from Plucky. 800 yards of hand painted goodness. There's 4 skeins of fingering headed my way soon too for some serious sock knitting. I really need to sit down and knit. Take a holiday. Maybe go away somewhere for a weekend to knit? And take Piper and Chase. They don't mind my knitting a lot.

I started a blog. Then 2 blogs. Now 3. In one month. #3 is a passionate project I'm working on. It's been rattling around in my head for a long time and has me very excited. Yesterday I secured a domain name for a web site I plan to build over the next year that will be linked to that blog. I haven't a clue about building a web site. It's going to cut into knitting time, like my first month on Ravelry. I need to look into the regulations regarding copyrighting the name. Not sure if I need to or not? It won't be an operational business for a year or 2 while I make prototypes and wash and test them and build a business plan. It's a sewing endeavour. I love fabric as much or more (did I say that aloud??) then yarn. Shh, don't tell my yarn stash. I have a pretty impressive fabric stash too. I hope to develop a Cottage Industry type business. No idea about anything like that so I'm at the beginning of a huge learning curve. The suffering manufacturing industry vs. a stay at home cottage one is making it looking more appealing now. Made in Canada with Canadian and American materials. Made in my home. In my kitchen. By me. No made in China merchandise that litters the shelves of the local pet stores with no concern for the North American floundering economy or safely regulations concerning lead and other dangerous content. I am a huge supporter of things like Moms Unite.

It's too bad I need an income. I'd happily stay home and be a mom and taking care of my family and craft to make gifts for family and friends. But that wouldn't last long. I need to be challenged. To work and create and do something! I need to learn from the Diane Keaton character in Baby Boom and make something from all the excess apples in my life.

Me being me, I can't leave things alone. Get a new recipe ~ tweak it after the first try. New knitting pattern ~ a little more shaping here, maybe some extra length? It didn't take long until I noticed Blogger blogs that were tweaked. I can change things?? This blog started out with a blue background. Then I decided white would compliment the various colours of my knitting and photos better. Then the header looked too plain... I can be a tad obsessive (stop laughing Dawn) with things that interest me. Things shouldn't change too much more here at Renee Knits Too, after I figure out how to change the font on my header to one that isn't available from Blogger. But that's not a promise, I like to make things nicer when I can so colours or layout just may change here still... I'm still trying to figure that HTML edit out. And I'd like to add 2 bands of colour down the outside margins of the body and sidebar. I tried a few tutorials. Change the background colour of the blog, then edit the html codes to make it white again behind the body and sidebar. I'm sure it's a simple enough edit, I just haven't made it work yet. Soon, I'll figure it out soon. Like a dog with a bone I shall persist.

Notice the frame around my little garden angel? I discovered the toys on Big Huge Labs. That's where the frame and mosaic tools I used on an earlier post came from. I'm determined to find a way to change the font in my header (see I'm like a terrier... can't let that change go until I kill it or fix it). Tried 4 different free fix ideas. None worked. I'll keep trying. Anyone been successful at doing that on Blogger?? If you know how, could you put me out of my misery? Helpful advice from friends ~ priceless. I'm enjoying the challenge of figuring it out and I won't give up. I'm German. If nothing else I am stubborn and determined. It's in my DNA, it's not my fault...


Little angle dude? He's not doing so well. He's made of cement. He's been in my garden for 20 years. I took the picture with the lush ferns just before I started this blog -- before killing frosts and snow came. Actually, it was the very first picture I took on my new digital camera. Last winter I forgot Angel Dude outside.


He was buried under snow early in the winter and didn't resurface until spring. Water got down into his neck shearing his torso in two when it froze. He's been decapitated too. He's perched precariously there in amongst the ferns and propped up from behind by driftwood. I don't want him losing anything else so he's coming in for the winter. I don't dare forget again, he's already lost his head and the tips of his wings are crumbling away. He's still smiling though. Gotta love that about an empty headed cement cherub.

Knitting is progressing slowly. I'm outside most of the time I'm not at work. Soon though, I'll keep telling myself that. Soon I'll have more time to knit. Until then it's a sock that is travelling around with me for a few minutes here and there. The urban sweater finally has a sleeve, one more to go. I've made more Luxe neck warmers for gifting and started a scarf. Dawn and I will be going to a sock workshop on Saturday in Orangeville, ON. That's should spark a frenzy of sock knitting around here to coincide with all the Plucky sock yarn on the way.

No day for me is complete without a little knitting, even if I can't sit still for long.

Pumpkin latte 'n muffins

With October in full swing, Thanksgiving last weekend and Halloween just around the corner at Chez Koch there's been eating, knitting and enjoying of many things pumpkin. It's cozy to be surrounded by the colour orange during this season, it's supposed to evoke energy and calmness at the same time.


The yarn is 140 yards of 100% Merino Superwash bulky from The Plucky Knitter Sarah. It's called Pumpkin Latte and looks good enough to eat. It's destined to become another Luxe Neck Warmer, the Tudora from Knitty.com (I've been itching to try that pattern) or Cap'n Crunch by Jennifer Adams. I'm leaning towards the Cap'n Crunch, especially if I find the right buttons.

Pumpkin Chip Muffins are pure pumpkin bliss. Ryan likes them with cream cheese icing. This is the Grand Prize winner from the May/June 1995 Country Woman Magazine pumpkin recipe contest. I usually mess with ingredient amounts after I try a new recipe -- replacing oil with applesauce, lowering the amount of sugar -- but I haven't changed this one except for using fewer chocolate chips. The original amount calls for 2 whole cups. If you're a fan of pumpkin these are a winner.

PUMPKIN CHIP MUFFINS
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 can pure pumpkin (16 ounces)
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil until smooth. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill sprayed or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 400F for 16 - 20 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Yield: about 24 standard sized muffins.
***For an interesting change in flavour switch out the chocolate chips for pecans, yum!