I would much rather be…

• outdoors and soaking up the glorious sun
• grocery shopping because I like food and there isn’t much left around here
• reading a book than watch another daytime tv program
• working and creating
• healthy and well again

But at the moment, I can only manage this until I get over this cold:



What would you rather be doing today?

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FO: Toasty Cabled Vest

I’ve had a cold for over 2 weeks now. It comes in waves where I feel better and then I’m in bed for a whole day again. The up side of this is that I’ve spent a lot of time resting, knitting and crocheting. The down side is that the photos of me with the FOs look pretty awful.

Remember the Crimson Ridge Cowl? There is a reason why the photo of me is blurry. I felt pretty damn awful and my skin was dry, reddish and blargh! Unfortunately, I feel the same today. So please excuse the pale skin, puffy eyes and reddish nose. I’m putting on a smirk for the camera (well, attempted to) because I’m so dang proud of my Toasty Cabled Vest!





Knitting Pattern: Knitted DROPS top with short sleeves with cables and rib
Yarn: Patons Micromax 16 ply (Free yarn from a friend who was destashing! Yay!)
Needles: 8mm
More @ Ravelry

This vest was surprisingly easy to knit. Knitted in the round so there’s barely any seaming. The pattern had clear instructions and measurements. Love the chunky cables and boy, did this fly off my needles! I knitted most of it over the weekend and was lounging around in it last night while watching Saturday Night Fever on tv. It’s truly a too-sick-to-get-off-the-sofa kind of project.



Even with my sore head, I managed to graft the shoulder seams together using the Kitchener Stitch. The arrow and dotted line in the above picture show where the grafting happened. It’s pretty good I think, especially since it’s the first time I grafted non-stockinette stitches. I followed the clear instructions from TECHknitting in the latest Spring issue of Interweave Knits. It’s worth getting the mag for that one article if you haven’t bought it already.

Now for the bestest bit. I put on the vest for the first time and Richard said, “Wow! I love the cables! Would you knit me a cabled vest too?”

Ahhh… music to my ears!

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My Creative Space

My creative space has been filled with …

… arm lengths of knitted i-cord,

(tutorial coming soon)

… shades of lofty violet cotton going round and round,

(my “forever” blanket wip)

… and the click clack of excited knitting needles.

(a cabled vest for me)

Life’s good.

Pop over to Kootoyoo to see all the other creative spaces playing this week.

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Join Women on the Bridge

“To honor the resilience of millions of women survivors of war around the world, Women for Women International is hosting a global campaign called Join me on the Bridge on International Women’s Day: March 8, 2010.

On that day, we will bring women from Rwanda and Congo together in peace on a bridge between their countries to demand an end to war and to demonstrate that women can build the bridges to peace and development. At the same time and in solidarity, we will bring women (and men!) together on bridges throughout the world, creating a truly global movement that says NO! to war and YES! to peace and hope.”

Quoted from Women for Women website

Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend any of the bridge events but I have signed the pledge to give my support to the global Join me on the Bridge campaign. I want my government to know that I want them to invest in women. 70% of the world’s poor are women and 75% of civilians killed in war are women and children. It can’t go on like this.

Please, TAKE ACTION.

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Free Pattern: Crimson Ridge Cowl

When the rest of the world slowly puts away their winter woolies, it’s time for those down under to start crocheting for the upcoming chill. The Crimson Ridge Cowl is an easy project you can whip up quickly for those unpredictable autumn days.



The cowl gently tapers to the top for a better fit. No need for buttons or shawl pins to hold it in place.



Simple ridges and a rope edging adds a nice detail and makes crocheting it even more fun!



Click here for free pattern (published in Favecrafts)

Difficulty level: Advanced beginner
You will need to have basic crochet skills. This project uses a slightly advanced stitch, simple shaping and edging.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
22″ (56cm) circumference around the widest part and narrows to 19″ (49cm)
9.5″ (24cm) tall

MATERIALS
Approximately 107 yards (98m) of Lion Brand Wool-ease Chunky or any bulky/12ply yarn
US M/N (9mm) crochet hook
Embroidery needle

GAUGE
10 stitches = 4″ (10cm) in single crochet through back loop

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