Pelotes etc...

We've moved !!!

2006-08-14T16:03:00.000+02:00

Wohoo !!! Finally finally after nearly a year it's there : the new (& hopefully better) chez Plum !!

The blog is also moving over there, please update your bookmarks. It's now :

http://chezplum.com/blog/

See you there...

Another car, and fleece booties

2006-08-07T17:46:00.000+02:00

So I made a second car, the pink and turquoise one. Encouraged by Ajour's comment, I tried my hand at embroidering around the windows but after about half an hour and trying several different stitches, I just left it plain. I sticked to my original plan and just added Xs on the wheels. (first car's wheels are too "fat", I might take them off to fix them.. maybe)

I went to the fabric / craft store on saturday (leaving the girls with laurent, makes it so much easier!) and just COULDN'T resist buying this book. The bag on the cover is so pretty, and some other projects are real cute too. But mostly, I like the general concept, the coordinated colors, plus now I have a little guide of easy embroidery techniques !

I also got a piece of double-sided fleece there, which I want to make a zip-up hoodie for prune with. (I'm trying to find a -super simple- hoodie pattern btw, suggestions..? I'll probably go and have a look at the library..). But I thought it would be perfect for some wee maryjane booties. I used one lonely bootie I found at the op shop for a template and a little later, here they are.Quite like them... I'll probably make a couple more for my Etsy shop. :-D

Now the question is what should I send to those 2 babies tho. I may stick with my idea (crocheted caps for the older brother/sister), but should I add a pair of fleece shoes as well..? Time will tell.

I've also cast on for the new Glampyre/Stitch Diva sweater the other night while watching a pay-per-view. I'm using a big cone of nice thin white mohair, it's very fluffy but I hope it'll turn out nice. I'll show a pic when I'm a bit further along...

Of ticks and cars

2006-08-02T13:56:00.000+02:00

We had a great week-end over at my parents with a lot of my family on my dad's side. There was 23 of us, ranging from 1 month to 95...! Not all of us, we're a large family, but already quite a bit.
It was really cool to spend time with them. Plus my mum babysat the girls to let me do a short walk with everybody else, which I sooo appreciated. Usually I stay at home while the others have fun.. ;-P
Here's one pic I like. Usually I'm the one taking photos, so I love when I'm on the pics too.. ;-)

Now the only downfall of that week-end is the little "souvenir" we brought back : a tick on prune's hip. Oops. And I hate those little guys! So we went to the doctor yesterday and had it removed... Only to discover that I also got THREE of them right afterwards during the mini-walk in the woods we made with my friend Pascale and her family. (she's such an awesome friend, and I love her aussie husband !)

...Morality of the story: I hate ticks. And I'm not going walking in the woods any time soon !!!

Craftwise, I've been (slowly) working on those baby gifts: crocheted cars. I'm still in the prototype stage, but here's the one for baby Nikita, nearly finished. Still needs a windshield. & I may change the wheels a bit on the next ones. Like the kitty rattle, it's got a wee sleigh bell inside. Prune has already placed an order for one... ;-)

Edit : Have you checked out Knottie's Pattern database yet ? Still in the early stages, but that should be such a great ressource ! Read about the project here, look for patterns here, add a new pattern here, and finally give some feedback here.

Learn a new (french) word : Canicule !

2006-07-24T14:05:00.000+02:00

"La canicule" is a super hot summer. Like the one they had in 2003 (we weren't in France then) or this one we're having now ! Everyday I fight against the heat to keep it away as long as possible. Closed blinds all day and going out only in the morning... I so need a fan !

But well, we're surviving. Not much kitting though. We were away all week-end again (our parents live in cooler places, thank god) and now with the 2 girls I just didn't take the extra time to choose and pack my knitting/crocheting..!
Got to meet this cool lady there who's selling all sorts of things (jewelerry, antique dresses and sheets, beaded bags etc..) on Ebay since 2003, and now has a little side-shop too. Might not be so extraordinary for you guys, but for me it was the first time I met sbdy with whom I could "speak the same language", if you see what I mean.. so cool !

Oh. And after finally succesfully destashing a bit (40 skeins !!), ... what do you think I did..? Well, re-stashed of course !! ;-)

I received my order from Pureknits last week, Ta da ! (people who know me will know it's quite extraordinary for me to buy brand new yarn from a real shop!!) So I got me bamboo needles (the circs are real hard to find here, and certainly more expensive !!), 5 skeins of Hip Knits silk in "barbie", 2 skeins of Malabrigo in "calypso" (still not sure what I'll do with it but that colourway is soooo pretty !!), ... and of course the pattern for the famous Noni Camelia's !!
As usual, it was all so pretty packed, and she even included little samples of Fable Handknit Yarn, so soft !!

I've added several pictures in the Gallery lately, go check them out ! Also, I had to remove all the direct "mailto" links featuring my email adress, I'm just getting SO MUCH SPAM !! Instead, my uncle said to dispay it in a jpeg picture (see it in my sidebar), so that the robots and search engines can't read it... Hope it'll help !

okay, now I'll try and start on my next project, .. another belated baby pressie, for little Gaspard !

Ooops !! Isabeau tote pattern correction !

2006-07-17T15:00:00.000+02:00

Thanks to "ChloeZ" in the Tote Knitalong for noticing a big bad typo in the Isabeau handbag and tote pattern :

In the "body of the bag" section, right after the seed stitch section it should read
"Next, work 33(53)rows in lace pattern" ( instead of 37/57).
~~I'll be sending the corrected pdf tonight to all people who bought the pattern.~~ I've just sent the corrected pattern to all the people who bought the pattern. Got a few failed delivery though, so if you haven't received yours, please contact me at sylvie@chezplum.com
So sorry !

The lime cardi is finally finished... BUT it's so too big for me !! I really should have gone with smaller sizing. Even though it's kind of ok in the boobs area (breastfeeding!) all the rest is too big. Laurent says it looks like a potato sack... ;-) (but he also says it's too bad cause it would have been nice otherwise.. ;-) He's not that bad..)
Hopefully I'll be able to make better pics later. It's so dang hot here these days we keep the blinds closed all day, which is not the best to take pictures... I may try to model it tonight as well, just so you can see it IS too big.

So now I'm not too sure what to do. Will I have the courage to knit a second smaller one ..? And what to do with this one ?... We'll see. I do like it altogether tho. Proud of the ties in the back too. Turned out exactly the way I wanted it too ... which is not always the case ! ;-)

Oh. And more real pretty Lacanau sandals there !

Why I love my hooks !

2006-07-13T09:14:00.000+02:00

The skirt was REALLY too short. The top was slightly too wide and kept on rolling. Prune wouldn't keep it on. All this for nothing..?
So I took my hooks, leftovers of Cotonina in an close-enough light blue... added a sc few rows around the waist with eyelets for an i-cord belt (but turns out she doesn't even need it) and one row of sc around the bottom of the skirt. Now it's the perfect size, stays around her waist and flares exactly how it should. (You can kinda see the mods on the first pic. )
Yipee for crochet !
It's really cute now... and she even seems to like it !

I just received this cute package in the mail from Marsha : 2 sk and a bit of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino swapped for some of my stitchmarkers...
I love swaps !! :-D Thanks again Marsha !!

Also ... some Lacanau sandals across the web already !!! :-D And Sunflowerfairy finished her shrug !

A very mini

2006-07-11T16:08:00.000+02:00

So I just finished Prune's skirt... finally. Tried to make the best of the yarn I had (really liked that color) but it doesn't make a very long skirt...! I guess I may make another longer one with some Cotonina, and with eyelets (and i-cord or something..) around the waist so it stays where it should ..! Doesn't show well on that pic but it's got eyelet and lace rows. Sort of the same kind of look as Kat Koyle's eyelet skirt on Knitty.

It also took me ages but I sewed the buttons on my lime cardi yesterday. Despite the 26° C in the appartment (!) I've already been wearing it much, and it's such a perfect cardi for the summer !!! The 3/4 sleeves, wide neck and airy lace pattern make it just perfect.
I still need to block it though. And I may have to do some minor mods / finishing on it.. We'll see.

I also finally finished the pattern for Nia's babyset. Yep, a crochet pattern chez Plum !

There are also a couple new pics in the Gallery. And look at the beautiful color Sunflowerfairy chose for her Isabeau shrug !

Lacanau !!!

2006-07-06T09:51:00.000+02:00

My pattern in the summer Knitty is finally out !!

I hope if anybody ever tries making a pair they'll send me pics ! ...& I'm actually glad it's out: didn't know what I'd blog about this week .. ;-)

We've had a bit of a heat wave here so I came over to my parent's place for a few days with the girls. And although I did knit and crochet a bit, there's not much I could show: the little skirt for Prune I had to rip entirely because I ended up not having enough yarn for the shape I was going for. And my other project is a nursery wall-organiser. Only a plain rectangle in progress so far, not so exciting...!

I also want to start on a little crochet toy thingie for my cousin's new baby (yes, it IS baby time big time these days !). Should be fun, and I have this plan of a collection of 2 or 3 of them for a new pattern... Stay tuned !

2 weeks & a bit

2006-06-26T14:07:00.000+02:00

... where should I start ? Oh yeah, first, the promised pic of the beautiful placket neck pullover (from LMKG) that Yahaira knitted for Maud.

Can you guess I am obviously IN LOVE with the color she chose...? ;-) She also sent along more yarn (hat, capelet..? we'll see this winter) and Swarowski crystals that I believe will soon become divine stitchmarkers... :-P

We came back on saturday night from a full week away. My cousin's wedding and then visiting pretty much the whole family. Plus saw some friends too, coool.
And the girls..? They're doing great, really. Prune was such a nice baby we expected the worse (like "you can't win all the time"..) but no, Maud hardly ever cries at all, & sleeps and eats well. And Prune doesn't seem too jealous at all so far. (Look at her hugging her "lil sister" at the clinic). Mind you, there is this wonderful thing in France called "conge paternite" ( fatherhood vacation) where the dads can take 2 (paid) weeks off for a new baby. So Prune had a lot of daddy-time and it certainly made the transition easier.

And here's Maud having a nap on her daddy's tummy.(& the uncropped original .. ;-) )

In knitting news.. not too much obviously, but I did weave in all the ends of my lime cardi. Need to attach the buttons now, hadn't brought them along. I'm also working on a very basic flared cotton skirt for Prune. Might have to rip a few rows but it's on circs, so very portable and easy to bring along anywhere. The perfect kind of project these days... ;-)

Laurent also nearly finished the "new" chez Plum yesterday. Hopefully we'll be able to put it online in the coming week ! (the blog should move over there too)

And last but not least, thanks for all your messages and comments! We're indeed very happy and it's nice to be able to share thatwith you guys..!
(and yet another baby to come chez Karen !!! Yeah !!)

Finally, baby Maud !!!!!!

2006-06-12T18:21:00.000+02:00

Hey, we're back home !!

Maud was born at 4 pm on thursday, labor did take a bit longer than expected because she "floated" so much (twice the average quantity of liquid), but once they broke the waters she was out in 3 contractions. 53 cm, 3.8 kg. She seems real calm so far, only thing is she sleeps a lot during the day, .. but has trouble finding sleep at night.. But hey, she's only a few days old !
I'm fine too, although I fainted on the first evening ( didn't eat for the whole day and you should have seen the meal they gave me, like I was on a weight watchers diet !!). All good now, just need to be able to find sleep again. Not that that I don't have the time, my body just won't go in "sleeping mode"... hormones ? Was the same for Prune anyway.

Anyhow, enough baby talk. Tomorrow we're starting the grand tour to visit the family, so you probably won't hear much from me for a bit ... But let me just tell you I got the most amazing package from Yahaira today, I'll post pics later but you can already see a pic of the beautiful sweater she knit for Maud on her blog.

Oh, and can you believe I even knit a few rows while at the clinic..? Actually I even would have knitted more if I had packed it from the beginning but I felt silly taking my knitting with me. But it was nice and relaxing to have something to keep the fingers busy during quiet times...

Okay, talk to you all later :-D

I have a date ...

2006-06-07T14:18:00.000+02:00

Remember how I said I had an appointment with my doctor on tuesday ? Well well ladies, turns out I'll be induced .... tomorrow !!!!! We have to be at the clinic at 7.45 am... Ta da !!
...unless she comes all by herself by then of course (I've had contractions all night and morning yet again)

I've managed to finish the lime cardi finally, after spending a whole evening counting stitches on each section about a million times !! This is REALLY not my favorite part of the whole process I tell you ! Now to weave in all these ends, give it a goooood block, and attach & choose the right buttons. I tried several options yesterday, I think my preference goes to the plum assortment (!) so far, but I'd love to hear what you think. (click for larger pics)

Okay, see you guys in a few days, wish us luck !! (I just hope everything is fine for the baby..)

Would be too easy ...

2006-06-05T14:41:00.000+02:00

if it always worked at first try. Progress is slow, but I'm getting there. The collar looks nice enough and it did motivate me to finish it, BUT I have to rip it all (already frogged the buttonhole front band this morning and nearly ended up with a major catastrophy but that's another story) and redo it. I tried to avoid the "300 stitches" thing, but it's not working nice enough otherwise so 300 stitches it shall be .. At least the numbers are written already, and (most) stitches picked up.

I'm also not too sure about the width of the sleeves. But I'll see that after it's blocked, and also check whether it's because I went up one size to accomodate my "pregancy-then-breastfeeding" bust...

On that pic, you might also notice my new love, a fantabulous necklace I found at the thriftshop on saturday (I'm always the best to find excuses to go to thrifstores..). It's heavy, it's heavy-duty looking, it's made with ceramics, metal and leather, I just LOVE it. I even took off my NZ jade pendant to wear it, and I believe it's the first time in like... 3 or 4 years..?!!!

... and what about that baby you may ask..? Well, either laurent is right and because I have a lot of amniotic fluid (?) all these contractions I keep on having aren't efficient, or she's just not ready yet. Anyhow, I'm seing the obst. tomorrow. And I can't wait to see what he says, I tell you...

See that ?!!!!

2006-05-30T17:40:00.000+02:00

I mean, did you see that ?!!! Yeah, the swatch !!! It may not look like much at first but WOW !

This is the proof that Gedifra "Wellness" is THE perfect substitute for my "Cotonina" yarn, the one I used for all 3 Isabeau patterns (shrug, purse & totes). Lime is cotonina, and olive is wellness. Same gauge, feeling, fiber contents and yardage, it's got it all. Even looks like the same color range. Like it's the same yarn with a different name really !!!

Thanks again so much Emmie for finding it !!! :-D

Not much new ...

2006-05-29T20:13:00.000+02:00

Seems it was more of a false alert in the end. She's still super low but hanging in there despite it all. Hope she won't wait until due date though, as the 3 next week-ends were booked with family, friends and weddings...

This week-end we drove again to my parents and celebrated the girls birthdays. Each one chose one of the Lucille dolls (yeah, still haven't embroidered faces, was afraid to do a mess..), and they got a phone too: look at them executive women !!!

The pattern for the crochet babyset is now ready but for the proofreading. Next up: finish the lime cardi. I've only got to finish seaming the shoulders & sleeves, then pick up the stitches for the collar and knit those - what, 4 rows ...? Better get it done now.

Her own way !

2006-05-23T15:28:00.000+02:00

So we've tried it all this week-end, the foot massage, grocery shopping with prune under the rain (!), the mini-hike, vaccuming and cooking for our friend's visit, and then to top it off a 2.5 hr drive (on a bumpy country road!) to my parents.. I sure did have a lot of contractions, but still no baby !!
So now I'll just let her decide, & she'll come whenever SHE feels ready for it.
One thing's funny though, my back really doesn't hurt half as much any more now she's so much lower. Cool.

I was trying to wait till I had a pic of the 2 finished Lucilles before I posted, but even though I'm THAT close now and it's just a matter of like half an hour, I guess I'll post it after. Just to let you guys know I'm still there..!

Instead, you'll get another kiddie pic :

The drive to my parents was to see my niece (and SIL) from Reunion island. First time ever the two cousins met !! Beginnings were a bit hard... but after a while, man, they were chatting and playing and laughing, it was so cool !!! We had gorgeous weather too so it really was a great day !

In other news... The fab Y. helped me do a little spring cleanup in my sidebar. (if it isn't working for you, please let me know). Oh, and I keep forgetting but my friend Emmie did it again, she started a Kal for the Isabeau tote ! (still free patterns up for grab for first pics of your tote/choker/shrug !). I also did a little reorganising chez Plum... Would you believe prune says "sayplum" now when she sees me working on the comp..?!

And we just learned yesterday that our great great friends are due in july (second girl as well, Christine, should we start a club ? ;-) )... by reading an interview of them on the internet, them sneaky monkeys !!!! But it's such great news they're forgiven ...
So.. it's just going to be another very-baby summer around here, just like when prune was born. Makes 5 of us due in june/july !!

Wow, that's going to be one lenghty post, better stop now ! ;-P
And back to the Lucille dolls...

Still there

2006-05-18T14:02:00.000+02:00

Booh. I was getting all ready so it's a bit frustrating now. However, I did have a few contractions again last night and she's so very low now that I'm not losing hope. I try to keep moving as much as possible, walk, vacuum, clean up the flat ect... And we'll try a mini-hike and foot massage this week-end... ;-) (I just read that story of a woman who got a feet massage and gave birth the next day. Sounds easy!)

Not much crafting done, we've spent a great deal of time outside with Prune. But lookee what I got in the mailbox yesterday: my second Destash lot !

That's Crystal Palace "Musique", Cascade "Pastaza" and Colinette "Point 5". Two big hanks of each. Again, Yum !!!
And I've nearly finished typing the pattern for the crochet set. Takes time and energy. Partly because it's not in my native language... but mostly because I'm just so lazy !!! ;-)

Maybe baby..?

2006-05-16T11:59:00.000+02:00

So, I'm supposedly only due in a full month. (june 17th). But yesterday I woke up at 5.30 half-damp with sweat and had contractions every 8-10 minutes till 6.30...
Then it just so happened that I had my monthly appointment with the obstetrician that morning. And he said... huhu, yep, could be very soon !!
The bag for the clinic with the baby's clothes ect.. is all ready now.
I had contractions again last night, not as strong and near, but on a longer period of time... and I feel the baby lower now.

Sooo... this is all so exciting ! Yesterday, right after examining me, the obst. took me to the clinic (just across the street) to check that she indeed is head down now (fortunately she is!) and fill in the forms with the midwives... To be there again reminded me such good memories ! Hey baby, come on, I can't wait now !!!!!

But suddenly this means I could have less time to finish my "schedule" (lime cardi and pattern for crochet set mostly). However, I did make a Lucille Peep doll. My niece is arriving soon from Reunion island, and as they're only 2 months apart with Prune we'll celebrate their second birthdays together. So the plan is to make one for each, with hopefully a little cradle-bag thingy.
Not a long project tho, so it should be easy. Just a bit tedious to make all these tiny pieces, but they're so small and quick it's okay.
Made the dress longer, looked as if it wouldn't cover/hide anything otherwise... ;-) and a couple wee mods. But an easy pattern.
Oh, and I'll most probably embroider eyes and a pretty smile...

Yeeessss !!!!

2006-05-13T18:16:00.000+02:00

"You're in" she said.
Who ?
Amy from Knitty !!! ... so watch for my first ever to be published pattern in the upcoming summer issue of Knitty... :-D
(all I can say it's an "extremities" issue, stuff for hands, feet ect..)

For anyone but Christine...

2006-05-11T23:25:00.000+02:00

The crocheted baby set is finished and sent. ~~Till she receives it~~ she's now got it, so here are the (clickable) pics :

So the hard-to-guess second item was actually a "baby-book", with fabric pages on which you print pics of familiar faces for the baby... Hope you'll see what I mean. Obviously the one I sent her has blank pages, just photoshopped the pic ..!
Anyhow. I'm now typing the pattern. Man, this is always more work than it seems..! ;-)

Otherwise I haven't knit or crocheted much these past 2 days. But I finally made the wee pouches for my stitchmarkers.

AND last but not least, I received some of the yarn I bought off Destash.

Of course you've recognized the little unlabeled pink skein as KSH... Yum. The Katia Sevilla (deep red ribbon yarn)I'd like to turn into a little wee top. Still need to swatch and all, but I've got this picture in my head... White one I think was some silky stuff, but I'll have to ask the lady again. And the baby alpaca is just soooo soft ! Of course it's all little amounts. But hey, you all know by now I like small projects anyway... ;-)

The lime cardi hasn't progressed much though. Right after I wrote about being halfway thru the second sleeve I realised I had an odd number of stitches... Oops ! Should have been even. So I ripped it all down to the hem. Started again, knit for a few rows, counted again, ... and yeah you guessed it, ripped again !!!
Odd that I've been doing fine with the rest of the cardi and now I seemed unable to concentrate enough to get it right !! Oh well.
I'm nearly finished with the increases now (counted every row), so it should be a breeze. Then the collar and seaming... and I'll have to face THE problem : who's gonna model it ?!!!!!! :-P

Nearly there

2006-05-06T16:05:00.000+02:00

I should have two FOs to show pretty soon. Yes, you did read correctly, two !! The crochet baby set only needs a bit of finishing, and I'm halfway thru the second sleeve of the lime cardi. I'm trying to concentrate on those and not work on anything else till I've finished...

For now, here's already the little softie toy from the baby set. It's got a wee rattle thing inside (any french-reading lady, how do you translate "grelot" ? .. and "ciseaux crantés" ..?) and the tail on the back is both for the baby to hold, or tie it on the stroller or whatever... (actually I wanted to add ties somewhere but wasn't too sure, and laurent said :" a cat ? it needs a tail !" I live with a genius !! ;-) )

And.. remember the Loop'd'Loop vest I made a couple months ago with some recycled tibetan yarn and how I said my friend Anouchka took the leftover yarn and gear ..? Well here's hers !!

..modeled as well by her little boy !! ;-) It was her first time ever knitting with circs (they're not so popular over here, France is still quite backwards knittingwise..). And because she's quite tall, she started by knitting a few extra rows to add length, but apparently it wasn't enough and she ended up adding extra length with ribbing as well...
Anyhow, she did a great job, ... and doesn't she look great ?!! The pic was taken in Brittany btw, .. I'm jealous !!!

Yes I know it's nearly summer...

2006-05-03T16:31:00.000+02:00

...but the kids just had so much fun ! And prune wouldn't stop asking for the "kis" until we got them out. Attempts to walk with the skis were fun, but the sledge works surprisingly well on the grass !!! (can you tell prune loved having a boyfriend to play with?)

We had a gorgeous week-end, saw some friends we hadn't seen for probably 6 years ... And they had this wee baby girl, not even 2 months old, so tiny !! I was glad to see prune very careful and caring with the baby. (cause sometimes she's a bit of a bully with her dolls !!)

Of course I hardly touched the needles/hooks at all while there. But I'm now working on the lime cardi, ... and started an openwork crochet cardi for prune with some stashyarn. Hope she'll agree to wear that one !! (and of course I'm using the new coloured acrylic hooks, love them !!!)

Finally, if you're lucky you might see my wee add in Crafster. Because I got only the smallest one, there's apparently 1/200 chances to see it... Still I got lucky several times and it's so funny to see it there.. Yeah !

Oh. And if you have a few minutes to spare I can't recommend enough to go and read emma's post on "blogging against disablism". I stumbled upon her blog today and just cried. But in a good way.

Ultrasound pics...

2006-04-28T20:53:00.000+02:00

Well well .. Thanks for your sweet comments guys ! And as you're asking, the ultrasound went fine, the baby still needs to turn down (but I'm only due in another month and a half).
Other than that, it's all good. Another big baby too (estimated 3.9 kg at due date !) but it went so well for Prune that it doesn't really worry me...
And now here's pics for you, the "inside" and "outside" shots... ;-)

(Please excuse the hunchback look tho, I was just trying to "fit" in the picture...)

My mum was here the other day and lookee ! She finished her stole, her very first crochet project ever ladies !!!! She did such an awesome job !

Monday is a bank holiday here in France, so we're off for a long week-end with some friends. Bike rides for the boys (or actually, girls as well... except me !!) and our first barbecue of the season. Yum, can't wait !
Now I just have to decide what project to bring along. I've been playing with some of my recycled silk these days but it's such a miniature project that it's not even worth bringing it... So I might work on the lime cardi finally !
Some may have the second sock syndrome, but I think I have the "finish-that-project-and-write-that-pattern" syndrome !!!!!!
Or maybe I'll give in and find a project to play with my new toys... ;-) (bought from Lemonade on Etsy)

Edited to add: anyone know of a nice and easy way to create a knitting chart, other than the old Excel table...?

One year !

2006-04-24T21:47:00.000+02:00

Funny how lots of us seem to have started pretty much at the same time... but today is my "blogiversary" ! Yep,made the big jump a year ago today. And I can tell you I didn't feel very comfortable with this blogging/posting on forums thing at the time... That's another great thing with blogging, the new skills (I call it skill because to my family I'm an expert .. ;-) ) and the ability to do it all by yourself.
Weird how it seems like forever tho. I mean, met so many people since, made good friends, fantastic connections, got my own site online, managed to write patterns and had the huge priviledge to see other people knit from those (!), got back into knitting (hadn't knit in like 10 years before prune was born), and even learned to crochet !
Anyhow, stealing the idea from Winnie, I made a wee FO mosaic to celebrate...

(and this is where it so obviously shows what a "small project" knitter I am...!)

Doing good progress on the crochet babyset, but I'll probably write more about that later this week. Just thought I couldn't miss writing a post today.
Oh. And I have my third ultrasound tomorrow btw... ;-)

Bunnies and eggs

2006-04-19T15:52:00.000+02:00

Hope you all had a happy Easter week-end !

I was lucky we only left for Grenoble on sunday because I don't think there's any way I could have sent my submission in time otherwise... ! Apparently they never received as many as this time. So really... all I hope for is to know soon enough if it's rejected to maybe submit it somewhere else. We'll see.

I brought back from my "secondary stash" more mohair. I have this idea for crocheted cardis with a granny square base... It could make a few really nice ones if it works out the way I see it. Still need to improve my granny square skills though ;-) But that' ll probably wait till colder times anyway.

Also found some crafting books I had completely forgotten about, including one on "painting with yarn" and the breathtaking "patchwork pictures" by Janet Bolton. Love my crafting bookshelf ! :-D

Otherwise, what else ? Been dyeing yarn again today: today's wenesday so Prune's at daycare ... And I'm now working on the second item for the baby set... have to rush, little Nia's born !! (yeah Christine, you knew it was for her, right.. You'll just have to pretend it's a surprise... ;-) )

Tomorrow I'll be leaving ing Prune for 4 days with my parents. Wow. This will be her first time. Hope it all goes well. Just hope she doesn't ask for us all night...!
And for us, we're planning to go out and see a movie. Hasn't happened since at least what.. 3 years ?!

It's coming along

2006-04-13T11:14:00.000+02:00

The Knitty submission piece I mean. I'm done with the first half of it, and pretty happy. I love the process, knit, see how it could be improved, frog, reknit, rethink of yet more refinements... Did a lot of that with the chokers as well, and it's so satisfying to see a cleaner end result..
My only concern is now to be done by friday as we're off for the week-end ! Anyhow, here's a sneak preview, as I hate to post without pics..

Second pic is yet more dyed yarn. Or how this turned into that.

Ever since I opened my shop there I'm spending a great deal of time on Etsy. There's just so much awesome stuff there ! I know where I'll get my christmas presents next year !!!

Oh, and finally. Most of you guys must have already heard about the big news : my friend Yahaira opened her online yarn shop pureknits yesterday and it's so cool. Go there and treat yourself to some of her stuff. You know you're worth it !! ;-)

Bois de Rose

2006-04-08T12:10:00.000+02:00

I found the darn food-coloring, in ... the kitchen cabinet !?§!!! I had looked everywhere in the yarn department !!!
Anyway.
So I dyed more yarn on wenesday. Dyed or re-dyed. Got some lovely results too, although I still need to buy more to perfect one lot. The cotton came out a real nice green from a second round in the washing machine too.

And then there were those 2 skeins. Didn't like them so much despite ten thousand dips in the pot...till I swatched it. And decided it'd make either yummy chunky socks, or a cool cardi for prune.
So this is what I did yesterday. Body is the said dyed yarn, and crocheted trim pink yarn comes from stash.

For some reason the colors remind of "bois de rose" although chances are it has nothing to do with it...

Anyway. Bottom line is picky little Prune for some reason refuses to wear the cardi and cries every time I approach her with it. Not that the yarn scratches or anything... So now I got to find this wee cardi a new home. I'll give Etsy a try, but if one of you is interested by a trade of some sort... (100% pure wool, fits 18month-2 years, 3/4 sleeves)

And second bottom line is, I love this dying yarn stuff. All the white boring yarn is now so cool I've nearly decided on a project for each and can't wait to get started on them. Stashbusting !

Lastly, about my previous post. It's actually not pants, nor skirt, and not a blanket. But I was being a bit silly, it'd be really hard to guess ! Anyway, Ajour's the closest shapewise so I'll send you a copy of the pattern when it's ready... ;-) (but if somebody else comes with the right answer of course there'll be a second copy..!)
And thanks for your trusting comments on my Knitty submission. For some reason I have a hard time sticking with it, but it still should be fine. And then fingers crossed.

Crochet cardi

2006-04-04T11:37:00.000+02:00

So I've finished the wee crochet cardi yesterday. Finishing is never the funnest part, but I quite like the result.

Now the question is, shall I continue with the other items of the set or shall I FINALLY get started on my Knitty submission..?! Deadline is april 15th, soon it'll be too late.

Btw, just for fun, if somebody guesses what the next item in that baby shower set is, you'll get a free copy of that pattern.. ;-) It ain't a hat, nor booties (although I do plan an assorted free pattern for booties a bit later on). And third item in the pattern will be a little softie toy...

In other news, for my fellow crafsterites, you may notice I've changed my username into "SylvChezPlum". No more Prunille. First because it's more "me", and also it might be easier for people to recognize me between all my different names (chez Plum, Pelotes, Sylv...)
Also, I just opened an Etsy Shop. Will see if my stitchmarkers get any luck there.. although I might redo some of them.

Oh, and I'm so proud of my mum. I taught her to crochet last thursday, lent her a book and the exact yarn (Phildar Aurore in the same shade as on the book.. did feel like my own yarn store !!) to make an easy lacy stole she liked... She's already made a potholder, and got a good start on the stole. Yeah for her !!!

Dyeing party - take 2

2006-03-29T17:24:00.000+02:00

This blog is starting to be a bit boring colour-wise : yet more plum and lime pics today ! ;-)

Here's the progress on a wee crochet cardi in the Phildar Licorne I swatched for last time. It's meant to be part of "baby shower set" pattern. I know, a crochet pattern !! I'm making some progress, for once a crochet project that I think might deserve an actual pattern...

Then I got more food-colouring this morning. And I'm much more satisfied with the results this time !

I especially love the lime boucle yarn at top right. And the plumish one just beside (used to be a boring grey). & The green-grape-red at the bottom left says it wants to become a pair of jaywalkers..! :-D
I also threw in the washing machine the cotton hanks along with a couple sheets to dye in lime (!), but the result is a bit dissapointing, too light and nearly yellow. Guess I'll have to redo it.

Oh. And chez Plum was offline pretty much all sunday and monday due to hosting problems. Sorry about that. We should switch to a more reliable hosting company soon anyway. All my emails from that period of time also dissapeared. So in case someone sent me an email sometime this week-end, would you mind sending it again..? Thanks.

Where's the food-colouring ?!!!

2006-03-24T14:27:00.000+01:00

This morning, I decided I'd have a wee dying party. Prepared all my hanks and then went to look for the gear. But the food-colouring was nowhere to be found. I resolved to using the Kool-aid I got in a swap a while ago (just wouldn't use it, the stuff smells so good !!).
BUT I hadn't realised it wouldn't work with cotton... And most hanks were cotton.
So here's my lame results for this morning. And to think all the lovely lime dye went down the drain in the rinse...! But I'll keep looking. Or buy more (food-colouring, not yarn !!). And I'll probably re-dye these babies. Needs more lime green in there...

Just to show I HAVE been knitting, a progress pic on the lime cardi. Will soon be done with the second front.

And finally, a crochet swatch with the magnifiscent Licorne from Phildar (I'm usually not crazy about their yarn, but this one is gorgeous).

Following the article in the latest issue of Crochet me, I played with front and back loops; On far left is regular dc, far right is dc in front loop. Probably doesn't show that well but dc in ft lp is gorgeous, very drapey, so much more suited for a garment. I'm starting on a wee project with it right now...

Haven't had much success yet with my swap offer. Really, anyone ? Up to 1 kg of french yarn for just a skein or two in return ?! (can you tell I REALLY want to get rid of it...)

No pics this time

2006-03-20T11:17:00.000+01:00

Not that I haven't touched the needles / hooks, there's just not enough progress yet to show.. Need to finish the first front of the lime cardi. I've also started swatching for a Knitty submission (!)
And I've started crocheting a needle case with the pink yarn. But I kept trying/frogging/trying again..and my grand'ma was like "unraveling AGAIN?!!". Yeah, till it's the right shape ! So there's not much done yet.

Btw, thanks for all the nice comments on my crate here and on Crafster. I'm so glad if that inspires others.. :-D If anybody's interested, I wrote a note about how I made it there.

Otherwise, 2 things. First, who wants to help reduce my stash ? I'd particularly want to get rid of this, this, this and this. Seeing the price of shipping from France I'd rather send big lots (as in, same price till 1 kg !) so basically you could have several lots for the same "price" (& have tons more not listed too) Don't want much for it but good stuff. Like one or two skeins (partial skeins ok) of Manos, KSH, Kureyon/Silkgarden, Malabrigo's colonia 140, Mission falls cotton 1824, Koigu Kppm in color p623... or whatever.
You can have any of the patterns as well ... I just want to make room for yarn I'll really use. ;-)

And second, concerning the chezPlum patterns : I’d really like to see your pics of shrugs, totes or chokers! First ones will get a free pattern of your choice.

The crate

2006-03-15T15:07:00.000+01:00

So here's my new "WIP crate"..! It was a bit of a process to find the right way to finish the handles and all, but I'm quite happy with the result. It's just perfect for its intended use, fits the shelves just right, & ... I find it pretty ! Even Laurent said it looked nice when he saw it all done yesterday night. (the "seams" on the sides really make a difference to give it a more structured look)

Also, I'm happy that I found such a good use for all this very scratchy yarn. I used up all the red, and still have lotsa pink. Which I think I'll make some round bucket-thingy with. I also need a basket for my knitting needles. Just have to decide on the shape.
... But Hey, I've been stashbusting again !!! And yet more satisfying, to a good use ! ;-)

Then this morning (day off, prune at childcare) I went to the bookstore. Looking for a book about linguistics. They didn't have it in stock. BUT there was the freshly published french edition of Nicky Epstein's "Knitting on the edge". And I had this 10 Euros voucher. What's a girl to do ?!!! So I got me a new book. Shhhh ! But it's such an amazing reference book. I know I'll be coming back to it over and over...

And I'll get the linguistics book from the library (As soon as I can borrow again that is!) Let's say it's all about priorities.. ;-)

EDIT: ...and hey, did you see ? There in the sidebar !! I just made a button for chezPlum !! Actually, I just cut it up from what shall one day, when laurent's not too busy (is that ever going to happen, who am I trying to fool ?), .. should become the new template for my site. It's sooo nice sometimes I can't wait but well...
Oh. And the usual stuff: steal my button, not my bandwidth.. ;-) (= save it to your own server)

Chokers and snow

2006-03-14T11:01:00.000+01:00

... The Pattern for the Chokers is up !! It's a real quick knit with just enough challenge to keep it interesting (talking mostly about the slanted lace one, not much challenge in the cabled one actually...) But basically, if you can make an Isabeau purse, you can make a Felicie choker. And the added bonus is, one hank of Synchronicity is enough to try your hand at both options, with the optional flowers !

I did get some knitting/crochetting time during that week away, and my "box" is nearly finished. I just need to add a finishing touch before I take a pic of it.
So instead, I'll bore you with holiday pictures... ;-)

I just love the second one ... "Have a relaxing time with Torino !" As you can see, we had tons of snow. Massive snow dumps, the boys even went onto the roof to clear the snow. With my giganourmous belly (actually maybe not that much, but getting really annoying in terms of mobility. And there's still 3 months to go !!!) I only did some walking and nordic ski, but it was good to be outside on the mountain. Prune had the best time with the sledge and igloo and snowmen. Her daddy even made her baby snowmen so she could take them with her in the sledge and give them kisses and hugs...

Oh, and btw, Maylin said she can sell the recycled silk for 5 euros /100g plus postage(that's from France). Pretty cheap, hey ? I think I might need more !! If any of you is interested I'll give you her email.

Off for the week

2006-03-03T20:50:00.000+01:00

Hoo hoo ..!! Look what was waiting for me in the mailbox tonight : 3 hanks of recycled sari silk from the awesomest Maylin !!

She just saw it in my wishlist and sent me some. How nice is that, I tell you !!!
Don't know yet what I'll use it for but it's so beautiful and luminous ! And so much softer than what I feared from the comments I had read on it !! This stuff is just gorgeous. I know it will "talk" to me very soon and tell me what it wants to become... Thank you so much again Maylin !!!

I'm just back from 2 days in Grenoble visiting the family. Did get the second tomato finished well in time for my nephew. I made this one a little sign that says "Je t'ai a l'oeil" ("got an eye on you"=beware, I'm watching you) and on the other side "Mon oeil !" ("my eye"= "my ass !).
..Had its little success, the stepdad even said he needed one for his car !!

And tomorrow we're off again, this time for a whole week to the family cabin. It's snowing like crazy, Yeah !! (mind you, personally I'm only going to do a bit of nordic ski again this year..)

So no post next week. ;-) But I'm taking along the lime spring cardi and the red "box"... hopefully I'll have at least an FO to show when I get back.

And in chez Plum news ... the pattern for the chokers is ready but I don't want to put it up now and then be away for 10 days, just in case. So it'll wait till we get back.
However, I did put online a tutorial for the single-crochet seam used in the patterns for the Isabeau bags (to join sides and handles). I wanted to do that forever, I'm glad I finally did. Hope it's helpful.

..Okay, see you guys in 10 days. I'll miss you ! ;-)

Sheryl, my hero !

2006-02-28T11:48:00.000+01:00

Can you believe thanks to Sheryl's help, the XL size for the Isabeau shrug is finally available ?!!!! She made hers with rayon yarn as her Olympic project, simply gorgeous !

As for me, I've been working on some buttonholes issues for the choker pattern but it's coming along nicely ... Thanks Yvette for your help with that.

I've started a (crocheted) box for my WIPs, still needs a lot of rows to fit nicely inside the living-room cabinet. This way it will all be nice and organised, no more carrying around all the stuff and losing needles and pens along.. !
Inside, you can see the nearly-finished back of a spring cardi I've started. I know, I said I really wanted to start on my hoodie and still do, BUT I so can't wait for spring !! ... Couldn't resist the call of that lime cotonina !
I'm still not too sure about the lace pattern though but we'll see how it goes with the whole shaping and all.

Oh, and I need to make a second tomato for Prune's cousin. We're going to his birthday on thursday...

Prune's new toy

2006-02-23T18:20:00.000+01:00

... a Psycho Tomato !!

I had a bit of a hard time getting started on it this morning: am obviously not a crochet expert !! But after a false start, I got into the groove again and it took only a few hours to make. I really LOVE LOVE the popping eye, do check Regina's stuff at Monster crochet if you haven't yet ! Now I'm thinking it would make a great cushion, with a real big hook and double or triple stranded yarn.. We'll see. But that was already a great use found for some of the cheap acrylic odds and ends that plague us all.. ;-)

And look at prune posing for me. She was like "encore, encore" (again, more pics !)

Better choker pics

2006-02-22T17:29:00.000+01:00

Just took some better pics. With the finally-finished detachable flowers.

Closeups of the slanted lace choker, lacey cable choker and flowers.

Pattern should be available by next week chez Plum.
(...And thanks to Nicola and Yvette for helping testing it !! ;-) )

Fighting with the stash

2006-02-20T14:18:00.000+01:00

So here I was this morning. Thinking "Phew", I've nearly got all of it in there ! (except the crap of course, which shall stay in my plasticy 5-drawer thing; and the rest, still stored in Grenoble.. ;-) )
Please ignore the mess btw, it's an in-progress pic...

But I still had that feeling, like, Hey, where are the 2 skeins of Any Blatt Merino though... So I went and checked under the bed. Yep. There it was. The third bag !!!

Now I just have to try and fit in the best of what's in there.

But anyhow, even though it's quite obvious that a lot of my stash is made of bits and pieces and crap, I'm already super happy whith those new shelves. Now it will be so much easier to plan what I need to use up and what I can use for each project ect...

I'll take a pic of the full room when it's all done btw. :-D

The chokers are done, and blocking. Of course I had to do yet some more modifications, but I'm really happy of the result. They end up looking so much neater than my first "prototypes". So I guess it was worth the wait...!

I hate to show you that pic, really doesn't do them justice, but wanted to check already whether there'd be 2 volunteers to test the pattern. I'm still working on embellishment options, but other than that the pattern is fully written and I'd really like it to be typo-free when I start putting it for sale..!
(deal is: I'd like each tester to make one choker, preferably within the week - I know, the Olympics!!- with whatever crap yarn, even if it doesn't meet gauge at all. I just want you to look for typos, or tell me what's unclear.)
Please email me if you're interested. (sylvieATchezplumDOTcom)

Oh. And who wants this pattern? I got it in a mag the other day (of course it's in french !!). Just send me an email and I'll send it to you.

...& btw, more patterns & yarn (for swap this time) here ! ;-)

Miss red daisy

2006-02-15T14:25:00.000+01:00

Here she is, modelled while trying to tuck in my tummy as much as possible !! ;-)

She's a delight to wear, and fits quite well. Although I'm wondering wether size small would have been better. I wasn't too sure and chose the Medium so I could wear it this winter too... We'll see how it goes after the baby !
Otherwise, it was all a breeze, and I'm delighted to have it already finished. Man, 2 sweaters for me in like only one month when I hadn't knitted one for like over 10 years !!!!

Anyway, it's also good because it means I can move on to the next thing, and my list of super-priority-project is pretty long at the moment. Now that I have the yarn, I really really want to make the chokers. Hope it works well with the Synchronicity (last yarn I tried was great and soft and beautiful, but lacked of relief).

Then I'm very excited about a lacy hoodie I want to make. It's all there in my head, and I really hope I can make it as nice !! Here's my first swatch, for what should be the "roses of Saadi" (after a poem we learnt at school)

..Oh, and of course if I were reasonable, I'd also finish the pattern for the Mouchelette. We'll see.

A Kal !!

2006-02-14T10:33:00.000+01:00

Yeah ! Can you believe Emmie started a knitalong on Crafster for the Isabeau purse ?!! She made a very nice one too, as well as dancingbarefoot : see the new pics in my Gallery !

Which reminds me, I can't wait for the first pictures of the totes, and more shrugs ... I'm thinking like a free pattern of your choice for the first pics ...? ;-)
(and don't worry, there should be new patterns available VERY SOON)

I've now also got all my new yarn :

The Phildar Aurore arrived last week. It's going to be discontinued soon, BUT is a close equivalent of the yummy kidsilk Haze : nearly equivalent yardage and gauge, also 70% mohair ... silk replaced by acrylic and such BUT for like 1/6 of the price !!! So I bought lots... :-D
They're 50 g / 450 m skeins, and it says you need 2 for a sweater. The plan is to start with a lacy vest.

Generous Phildar also gave me this fantabulous needle cozy (?)... This is ironic of course, here in France Phildar is more like Berroco to you guys, nothing to be really proud of so that you'd want to show off their colors... Like give me one that says Noro on it, and I'll be dancing !!! ;-)

Then yesterday, my Get knitted order arrived ! 8 skeins of Kureyon (color 138) to be a one-in-a-lifetime-perfect-cardi someday (question to you experienced with kureyon: is 8 enough for a small cardi ?)
One skein of Kidsilk Haze to check the compatibility with the Aurore, ..and finally one hank of Alchemy Synchronicity (in foxglove) for my chokers... a pattern that's been waiting in a drawer for months and months now !!

Yesterday I also went to Lyon to get my new shelves at Ikea. Ta da, I should be able to get all my stash organised soon !!

And finally, the red mohair cardi is nearly finished. Crochet-seamed it all together already, I'm now doing the crochet edgings. Of course I had to look over the definition of the "demi-bride" (= half-double crochet) and redo what I had started, but I think I've got the hang of it now and it looks pretty. Plus it keeps the borders from rolling: I'll probably be able to skip the blocking and wear it right away, yippee !! Photo coming hopefully tomorrow ?

I bought yarn.

2006-02-07T09:54:00.000+01:00

I did it. Went on a yarn binge. Probably a very small binge for other people but it's like the first time I buy real expensive yarn and end up buying more than just 2 skeins at a time... I guess there's always a first time. And I'm not feeling overly guilty because I'm using my "own" money (got the money for the fancy scarf !!! :-D) and about 3/4 is for future patterns/projects....
Except the Kureyon! But I figured for once I ordered online, I just couldn't wait any longer..!! ;-)

Which leads me to a question. I really love the cardi on the cover of the Debbie Bliss "Noro collection 1" book. But it seems the book's discontinued. Any chance someone would have a copy they no longer want (yeah, dream on !!), or know of a place where you could buy one for me ? (paypal or swap). You know, just asking...

I'm nearly halfway with the red mohair crossover. (don't think it was a smart move to photograph red on pink though, oversaturated the whole thing!) Goes really fast, but I just haven't spent much time on it lately. Prune 's been really sick since thursday (high fever without any other obvious symptoms, I ended up going to the doctor 3 times in a week!! much better today though). Also, I realised even plain stockinette but with a few decreases or a super simple chart to follow is hard to concentrate on when she's around.. !
So anyhow, I managed the back, right front and a half sleeve so far. Although I'll have to redo the top of the back. Messed up the instructions: when they said decrease for armholes on every row at beg. of row, I assumed it did mean dec. on every row. Wrong. So okay, I now realise what they meant, but still...

Oh, and I told you about my friend anouchka coming the other day..? Guess what. She left with the leftover tibetan yarn for a yoke vest, and all the gear for it !!!! Apparently she also plans on making several other projects from the book... Hehe, another convert !!! ;-)

It's a girl !!

2006-02-01T13:23:00.000+01:00

I had my second ultrasound a couple hours ago.. and we're having a second girl !

With this second pregnancy SOO different from the first and everybody telling me it'd be a boy, I was kind of prepared for a little guy, but no.
So it's cool, I'm slowly getting used to the idea. A team of girls. I had no sister (2 brothers!) and am always a bit curious (jealous ?) of the particuliar bond between sisters...
And oh. No new clothes to buy !! We can re-use all the cute girly stuff.. . ;-)

In knitting news, I'm nearly done with the back of the cardi. Goes fast really, but I just haven't been able to spend time on it lately, with my last papers for uni (Phew, it's all over now !! And I even got some surprinsingly good marks, am still floored !!) and family reunions and all...
Will try to squeeze in a few hours on it today before my friend Anouschka comes for the afternoon. I still have a hard time figuring what it's going to look like in red, but at least I like the way it knits so far, warm and fluffy, but not too dense.

The meme

2006-01-26T15:31:00.000+01:00

I've just started on a new project. A mohair crossover cardi with daisy eyelets on the front panels. I've been wanting to knit it for ever, and I just decided this big cone of deep red mohair should work. And it does : stashbusting !!!! Knits on 6mm, so that should be another cruisy and quick project... till I get all my new shelves and can browse thru all my yarns to start on the million other projects !

And here's the meme:

4 jobs you've had in your lifetime
carpenter on a log cabin in Alaska, housekeeper, interpreter for a snowboard company in Munich, .. but the closer to a "real job": cashier, selling ski tickets in ski resorts. (did that 5 years altogether)
4 movies you could watch over and over
just like sandra "Pride and prejudice" (BBC or others, actually..), "Moonsoon wedding", "Smoke signals" (fry bread power !!), "where the heart is" (the walmart baby)
4 places where you've lived
Saudi Arabia and Qatar when I was a kid; Squamish, BC, Canada; Wanaka, New-Zealand; ..and say Perth, Western Australia.
4 tv shows you love to watch
ooh, hard one. We don't have the same shows here, plus I'm not big on tv shows I guess. Nothing comes to my mind right now... (not that I don't watch any, though)
4 places where you've been on vacation
Arizona, Reunion island and Mauricius, Florence/Tuscany, ...and then french places I guess like the côte Basque.. ?
4 websites you visit daily
Crafster, Statcounter, my blog, ..what else ? Oh, maybe Google.
4 of your favorite foods
tarte au citron meringuée (lemon tart topped with meringue), anchovy-stuffed olives, salty stuff like dry ham, salami.. , and does a drink count ? jasmine green tea.
4 places where you'd rather be now
I'm pretty happy with where I am, but say ... a cool house that I could call my own around Grenoble, Reunion island, Perth, Irkutsk. Warm and sunny would be nice.
4 bloggers you're tagging
If you're up for it :
Christine of Knitting for Boozehags
Jacey of Insubordiknit
Marie of Brooklyn Handspun
Karen de Stitchounette...

The vest !!

2006-01-25T16:06:00.000+01:00

Yay, it's done, and I can still (barely) fit my belly in it !!! ;-)

For the profile shot, lookee here ! 8-)

So it was a really smooth and quick knit. Love the result, but I don't think I'll be able to wear it ~~long~~ this year ! Booh.
Probably doesn't need anything else, and no sleeves !! I love how the yarn works with that shape. And it's real warm.
The collar doesn't stand well on its own yet though, guess it'll need some blocking ..!

The pattern was ok. But on top of the correction already on Teva Durham's site, I'm pretty sure that on page 51 middle column it should read "sl1, left-slanting-dec, k31, (..) and not k33. Also, forget about the "5 stitchmarkers" : I ended up needing 17 for the yoke decreases !!!!

Some places I found a tad confusing, but that may just be me : I'm not so used to following other people's patterns in the end !!!

(And btw, I still have tons of yarn leftover, well enough for a second vest for sure. In case somebody's interested by a swap of some sort..?)

In other news, we've had a great week-end with our friends, lovely weather, fresh snow, kids dancing in the kitchen.. Felt great ! And we're going back for a whole week in march !! :-D

..And I've been tagged by sandra for the meme of 4, hehe, will do that shortly !! But Blogger is supposed to be down very soon if I count correctly.

The new Phildar website

2006-01-20T14:06:00.000+01:00

So I realised a couple days ago the Phildar website has been completely revamped. Looks ok, and you can now order yarn and catalogues directly online, which is cool. (not sure they ship international though..?) Anyhow, my point is, I already got a mail from sbdy who didn't know how to access the free patterns section anymore. And indeed, it's a bit trickier now. So if you want to see the 2 cool asymetrical cardis they have now (they change the free patterns like every season or so), what you have to do is this : go to "modeles presse", then click "creer mon compte" (= create an acccount / ID) and fill in all the boxes or at least the mandatory ones (marked with a star) and that's it !! You'll only have to "telecharger" (= download) what you like among the 2 ladies patterns or lots of cutie baby patterns..
EDIT. like sbdy said in the comments, they do ship international. But for like 29 Euros to the US.. Also there 's a link to an english version for the site (top left on homepage) although it doesn't seem to work. (?)

In other news, thanks for all your compliments on my circulars ! I'm really pretty happy with them too... I've just re-sanded a bit the 8 mm (and added another coat of clear nail polish) and they work pretty smoothly. I do have to "help" the stitches onto the needle most of the time, but that's ok. It's a real pleasure for me to knit with them... and my little stitchmarkers !! :-D (which don't even stain the needles in the end !)
So I've started on the vest, a couple hours on it here and there and I've already started with the increases (above waist level). So far so good, and it comforts me in thinking this yarn works really well with that pattern ! Only thing is, I've started noticing the little speckles that probably are.. sheep dandruff..! Yuk. But that's okay, just shows it really IS tibetan wool..!! ;-)

We're going away tonight for the week-end in the family cabin with friends, so I'm hoping it might be finished when I come back.... At least without the sleeves, and then I can decide whether or not I want to add sleeves...?

Yoke vest ?

2006-01-17T14:12:00.000+01:00

Yay !! I finally made my first ever circulars !! Had bought the dowels and stuff ages ago, but then laurent said his drill was too massive to drill holes in them :-/
And then yesterday, I got me some little hand-drills (kind of tiny corkscrew, really) and VOILA ! I'm a bit afraid the joint isn't as smooth as it should be, but I'll give it a try and sand it some more if needed..

Anyhow, I made two, 10 mm and 8 mm. So now I can start on my two top favorite Loop'd Loop projects, the cowl and yoke vest...

Cause actually I'm now thinking of using my tibetan yarn (frogged my first start, gauge WAS indeed terribly off!!) to make the yoke vest. Good or bad idea ? With or without sleeves (although that can be decided later)..
I'm just afraid it might be a bit tight looking (..especially with my big belly..but then that's only temporary, right ?!!) so maybe make it a zipper cardi ...?

Anyhow, I just made the needed 5 stitchmarkers... ;-)

Can't stop making them !!

2006-01-12T16:20:00.000+01:00

So I got me some new gear yesterday (mostly better quality tools!) and made more stitchmarkers today !!! This stuff is just so much fun it's addictive... plus I found this colored aluminium wire the other day, and I just looove the result !
Here's my favorite set. I guess I'll have to make some for myself now ... tomorrow ? ;-)

No progress on the knitting front though, since we suddenly decided to move the whole place around yesterday noon ! Which of course involved lots of cleaning, re-arranging etc. But now prune has her own bedroom. And we've slept our first night in the main room... with the noise of the fridge: that was a bit weird.
Anyhow, I should have my new shelves within a couple weeks but until then I've boxed all the yarn. Guess that means I'll just have to concentrate on my tibetan anyway, and have it done quick !! :-D

Tibetan, stitchmarkers... and my future "studio"

2006-01-10T15:47:00.000+01:00

Nothing super exciting to show, I've started on the "tibetan" cardi but I have to check the measurements, and my gauge. I'm afraid it might be off so I might have to redo the math and start over again. No big deal though, .. and this way I'll probably change a few things. It always takes a bit of "practising" on a new design to see how the yarn and shape "work"..

I also had good fun making more stitch markers this week-end. I needed a few extras for the new project anyways as it's all done in one go, sides and back together.
And then I went on and made some more. .. My fingers were all sore and red on sunday night from all this shaping the wire and stuff ! ;-) I've just put some of those in my boutique for a try.

In other news, we're on the verge of completely reorganising the appartment. We have only one bedroom here that we've been sharing with prune so far (and she'd sleep in the main room during the night). But we're going to let the room all for herself, and sleep in the living room.
But that's not the exciting news. Exciting news is laurent said he's had enough of having yarn lying all around the place, and that I'd get some new shelves for all my knitting stuff.
Sooo... I've been looking all around the place for what kind of shelves !!!!! Hehe... I still have to decide between a couple options, but the grand plan is I want a WHOLE WALL of shelves in what shall become prune's room, with boxes-like things on top to store my yarn !!!!
To which laurent said "noo, you're not going to make a full yarn store, you don't need to SEE it all all the time.." But of course I do !!!!!! ;-)
I can't wait, maybe this week-end..?!!!

..and a Happy New Year !

2006-01-04T13:56:00.000+01:00

Good, so all the festivities are over and we can now go back to normal life.. ;-)

Prune's got new mittens, and Laurent a new hat (although he may well get others, that one is far from perfect. but at least it's a hat, and it fits this time)

and I now feel like making a sweater for myself ! I actually brought back more "yarn" from my second stash (!) stocked by a grand'ma in Grenoble,
a finished sweater for laurent ( that he's never even considered wearing) with leftovers ect that I'll turn into something for me one of these days,

And this 100% tibetan wool sweater that I got at the salvation army years ago thinking of recycling that gorgeous yarn. So here I am. I've already dissassembled it all, and frogged the 2 sleeves. That's the 2 hanks you see, one has been washed and is nearly dry already, the others might go in the sink this afternoon. (I decided to do it right for once..!)

I swatched it on my 6mm bamboos. Guess it could even go with slightly bigger needles, but I really don't like the feel of the others (plastic ! Yuk!) so it should be 6 mm.. I want to go pretty simple, a fairly basic shaped cardi, all in stockinette to just show off the yarn. With maybe some fake apparent seams in the front (and back?).. somehow a bit like the LoopdLoop princess seams cardi, but different.. ;-)

We'll see what I manage to do. At least when I've decided on the plan and all, it should be a fairly quick knit.

And now I should get back to preparing tomorrow's finals. Gavaritié pa russki ? ;-)
But actually the russian one is the easy bit. I had another one yesterday btw, and managed to infuriate my teacher.. cause I answered a phonecall from daycare. I know that's wrong, but then .. and he was all surprised when I told him I thought my daughter was more important than a final at Uni! and he went on and on that I was living on another planet etc.. I was just mad. At least we both cooled down at the end, luckily for me. But boy it was hard to concentrate after that.

Of scarves and boots

2005-12-26T15:46:00.000+01:00

Well first, I hope you all had a really nice Xmas with your family or friends around.
We did. It was nice, but tiring as usual. Yesterday we went to bed at 8.30 !
Plus I had been a bit sick all week before (after prune of course), and add finishing knitting and crocheting my last presents... You get the picture, I now have to catch back on emails and stuff. And my voice is off completely. I can only whisper...
Anyhow. Despite all my grand initial plans of chokers and knecklaces and gloves and mittenettes ect.. my little basket filled only with scarves in the end ! But they were cool, and my sisters in law and mom in law all picked one (or more !)

And this "tentacles" (crocheted, and after a pattern for once!) one I finished only about one hour before giving it... Here are my two really cool sis' sporting their new scarves

..And can I just add 2 more pics ? Look at my ugg boots my sis' caroline offered me, I love'em so much I hardly took them off since (except to go outside, don't worry) plus with my cold and being so tired it's just what I need these days to keep my feet warm enough. Oh, and there was only Shweppes in my glass.. ;-) Which reminds me, would you believe I "realised" I'm pregnant this week-end. ...or rather, because there was a big mirror in the bathroom at that place where we stayed, I realised I actually do look pregnant now ! And I earnestly thought my tummy was still pretty flat and it didn't show.. Well, it does !! :-D
And this sweet Xmas card my parents gave us. It's just so special with the sidecar, seing the trip we did. My parents are real sweet.

More blues !

2005-12-19T09:57:00.000+01:00

Really, it's not on purpose but it seems all my fos lately are in blue-greenish tones.. Not for lack of other colours in my stash though.. ;-)

On saturday, I finally decided on the perfect use for that cotton yarn that I had been saving for a long time for THE right project (..plus what do you do with only one skein anyways..? Who am I trying to fool?) and tried my hand at some potholders. Turns out I LOVED the outcome, so much that I quickly made a second one for which luckily I still had enough leftover. Anyways, the second one, although probably more adapted to its use (ie. without eyelets right above fingertips) I MUCH less like, ...so hehe, I guess only that last one will go in the gift basket... Is that mean..? ;-)
#1: and #2:

Then I had that novelty yarn (probably old french brand, "st André". Thin sparkly blue-green-yellow stuff with big mohair tufts) that looked interesting, and I first planned to make some kind of curlicue scarf , but finally realised it must involve zillions of increases and knitting on real small needles, ... too long ! So I tried and swatched, that yarn alone, or together with golden-yellow Phildar Aurore (very thin mohair, alas discontinued !), small needles, big needles...and finally decided on my biggest size crochet hook (10 mm!). And this is what I got. Nothing exceptional, but I'm real glad about it because I feel I really made the most of that yarn. It's super light and soft, Yum !
Laurent said it looked like a "movie star scarf", I'm curious to see whether/how his sisters like it ..?

Then yesterday I had a little blocking party (encouraged by your comment Marie), so the greenish lacy scarf only needs a few beads and it shall be finished. Pics soon.
Got more done on the "bobbles" fancy scarf too. Maybe 7..? I guess that's about half of it done. Might be ready for Xmas, who knows ?

Oh, and finally, look at what I got in my mailbox last saturday ? This fantastic hank of Fleece Artist Merino (250g, 800 m !!) sent by stephanie as "thank-you yarn for the article"... Wow. There are just no words to tell you how I like this yarn. Those colours !! (there's actually more turquoise in the mix than it shows here, I really have to re-parameter my camera !)

Not very reasonable..

2005-12-13T16:24:00.000+01:00

So I have this Sociolinguistics oral presentation to prepare for thursday, and a Translation studies paper to write (same deadline), and yet what do I do ? crafts... Not very reasonable.
Actually, it's really hard to work with Prune around. Like I tried this afternoon, but she'll stick around me, pulling my papers and requiring more mommy attention !

On sunday night I finished the greenish lacy scarf (I mistakenly wrote blueish the other night !!) and got some nice little cristal beads to go with it. It badly needs blocking though, and I'm not sure where to do that. On the couch after prune's in bed, or on our bed during the day..?

My fancy scarf is now about 3 1/2 bobbles long, haven't touched it much since sunday. And as if that wasn't enough, I started yesterday night a pair of fliptop mittens. (I tell you I'm not reasonable !!) Used a free pattern (with mods.. didn't feel like using dpns !!!) to get the hang of it but will now frog it and start anew with further modifications and new numbers... I think they're going to be cool. Just imagine reddish apparent crochet seam to join the sides, maybe some tassel somewhere, some kind of embroidery OR relief cable (bobbles ?) on top... and maybe I'll dye them in green because this blue is ...well, very blue !

Then yesterday I made some gittle girl necklaces. One for my niece to add with the pink hat and purse, one for prune (and her doll. Here modeled by the kiki), and I even had enough beads for a third one...

.. yeah btw, prune is ready for winter. She loves her new sledge, doesn't even seem to need snow.. ;-)

Little indulgence

2005-12-11T20:38:00.000+01:00

Just bought 2 patterns I've been drooling over for ever, Kate Gilbert's Elisabeth and Annie Modesitt's silk corset. Yum !! The corset I might not make for myself, but it's just too beautiful for words. And I'm just in love with the elisabethan collar. I have to figure out which yarn to use. So many projects.

..And have to go back to my needles, am nearly done with the blueish lacy scarf, it only needs a couple last rows, finishing and a good block. If only I could find that pouch where I've stored all my beads.

I've also started on another Fancy scarf, this time with an angora-ish yarn. Got 3 "boobles" done already tonight while semi-watching "wyatt Earp". Good news from the first one btw, looks like it might sell. And sally the owner even said if I make more they'd love to carry them.. :-D

Xmas pressies : one more down !

2005-12-05T18:28:00.000+01:00

Just finished a little set for my niece who lives in Reunion island. It's summer there - and pretty much all year round- , so I had to find ideas for summer knits.. ;-)
Apparently she looooves bags so I made her an Isabeau purse (slightly modified with no button for safety, and 2 handles like the tote & handbag..), and an assorted hat which I quite like. I'll probably rework it and make it an actual pattern.. ;-) (with another lace pattern & an adult size)

But prune skipped her nap today, so she won't model them and I had to resort to a table shot...

EDIT : today (ie next morning) prune decided she'd make up for scaring the hell out of me when I saw her playing with my glasses (and thought she had broken them in 2 pieces like she did to my sunnies). So she grabbed the hat and purse to model them for me. Sometimes she's just so sweet !! And look at her half closing her eyes not to be blinded by the flash..

Oh, and today she got her first ever hair cut. Her dad eventually gave his green light ;-) so I cut all the uneven hair down her neck. I like it, she looks more like a little girl now...

A new pattern chez Plum !!

2005-12-02T15:08:00.000+01:00

That's it, at last the pattern for the Handbag and Tote is ready to go. Check it out here.

And I just finished a pair of little mittenettes with a skein of Phildar Nebuleuse. I was hoping for something approaching the very beautiful ones Marnie Mc Lean made recently.. but the boucle yarn makes them a bit weird. Well, we'll see if somebody likes them for a Christmas present (I plan to put everything in a basket and let them choose what they like).
They're just plain rectangles, with one lace pattern repeat on the top of the hands, and plain stockinette for the palm. And one row of single crochet around the thumb opening..

Oh, and thanks so much for all your congrats and comments ! I'm just not very good with replying and emails..

Tote.

2005-11-28T11:44:00.000+01:00

Right, so this time it's done. Finished. Over with. I cut the handles of the tote on sunday and reknit them, changing a wee bit their placement and adding a bit of length. I'm much happier with how it looks now !! :-D I'm now working on the pattern, which I'd like to finish by tomorrow, before my busy "Uni-days".

And it can even hold my knitting ! ;-)

It's the actually the scarf you can see inside, now about twice the size it was the other day now. Now that I got the hang of the pattern, it's really quick. Even frustrating, nearly ! ;-)
Mind you, I'm using 6 mm needles, so of course that helps. But I love how it's airy and light and yet warm. I've also found some nice pearls on saturday that should be a perfect finishing touch for it.

.. And I just can't resist showing you more pics of laurent and prune, with their snowman ! (hehe, both with hats I made them. But years and years ago for laurent. Which is the reason why he's asked for a new one...!)

Published !

2005-11-25T11:34:00.000+01:00

Yay ! My article "Knitting from the french" is now online !! Published in stephanie's super cool new magazine, Knitting fog , also featuring a fantastic lacy dress free pattern, and an interview of Julie Anderson ! In my article, you'll find a dictionnary of french to english knitting terms, and the pics link to french free pattern sources.

And look at what we got last night?!! Prune seemed to love it, she even went "exploring" into knee-deep snow (for her!). That's great, we both LOVE snow too. :-D

In other news, here's the beginning of a lacy scarf I'm making. Part of the said stashbusting operation. This yarn had tried to be the Meg Swansen scarf from the fall VK, but I was so afraid I would be short of yarn I frogged it and started again with this lace pattern which I had already been eyeing for a while. And the good surprise was, it's super easy too ! Only a small section to remember, I loooove that ! This was all knit in the train to and from Uni yesterday. :-D

Also, it doesn't show as well on that pic, but the yarn is really cool, it changes colour a bit, from yellowish to some reds mixed in the green... I think it's going to look nice. I'll probably add some picots edging for finishing, we'll see.

..And finally, last but not least, I had my first ultrasound this morning. Yess..., cause I'm 2 months and a bit pregant.. !!

I've known for a while now, but I just didn't want to tell too early. Thought this would be a good occasion.. ;-) Apparently all is fine so far, 2 arms, 2 legs, ... and only one baby ! ;-)
I was actually glad to have this opportunity to "see" the baby-in-the-making (apparently it's about 10 cm long), cause between prune and going back to school ..and not being as sick as for prune at all (which is good !!) .. sometimes I really forget I'm pregnant. Except my back is starting to ache these days.. Plus of course the boobs thing .. ;-)

Stashbusting mode

2005-11-21T17:29:00.000+01:00

So I did make a hat for laurent this week-end. A real nice combination of yarn, nice tweedy pure wool navy and super fluffy and ubersoft orange. But it's been so many years since I last knit hats that I had forgotten all my numbers. The hat ended up really too wide. Kind of a rasta hide-it-all hat. And it didn't suit him AT ALL ! So that shall be frogged, and we're trying again. But he said he's like a hat knit with smaller yarn for a change (that one was 6 mm needles, and I used to knit ALL my hats with 7 mm.. ;-) ) so now we're looking for a suitable yarn combo.

BUT, I decided on some yarn to use for prune's hat, and at least that one worked out fine ... I just finished the bottom (I call it my lazybum technique : first knit a regulat hat, then pick up the bottom stitches & knit one more row adding the earflaps with some short rows. Makes a pretty neat finish too, and they always fit real nice this way !). And yes, that's a little bit of i-cord on top of the hat... Didn't want no pompoms, but no flat top either.

And that's one stash skein down ! Not that it shall make a great difference yet.. ;-) but I've been thinking these days of all these holiday projects to make, so I'm hoping to use lots more !

I also learned to knit continental the other day, (inspired by yahaira !), but haven't practised much yet as I always think "not this one, this needs to be regularly knit".. I guess I need to make some basic stockinette little to practise knitting continental ..!! ;-) However, I feel relieved now to have found out about this technique, it feels so much more natural !!!

Oh, and our friend Rebecca called the other night and she'll be visiting soon (from B.C., Canada), it's going to be so exciting to see her !! Can't wait !

Okay, now onto the next project. Some fingerless mitts, or maybe some lacy mohairy scarf.. ? (Duh, always forget. Have to re-make the handles for the tote though. Won't take long, but have to do this before anything else!)

The whole set

2005-11-15T21:27:00.000+01:00

I'll definitively take better pics later, but that's it, I've finally finished the tote ! (so weird, this darker mark in the middle!!)

And the three together :

Only thing is I'm not so sure about the length of the handles for the tote. Maybe a wee bit longer ..? (What do you think ?)
Of course, I'll take some "action shots" on friday (wenesdays and thurdays are long busy Uni days here now) so we can judge better.

But other than that, I guess it's kind of ok. I might add some little inside seed stitch pockets too, don't know... And then type the pattern ! (but that shouldn't take long) Which reminds me I really should update a bit chezPlum, with my "new design by the end of september".. Oops. Laurent said maybe for Christmas. Oooh, it's just going to be so awesome. Patience is the key. Plus it's not like I had tons of new patterns ready each week these days.. ;-)

I also had some really cool cool cool news these days, hope it'll be confirmed. :-D

And now the question is: which project shall be next ? I've started to think about some holiday knitting, so I took my "Last minute gifts" out (Yum, how I love this book !) and will certainly make more mittens-whatever she calls them. I had good fun making those for my mum already, and loved the result. Must make a wee Isabeau purse for my niece too, and probably some scarves and/or stoles, depending on what inspires me in the stash. Ooh. And I always forget, I need to make laurent a new hat. I even know which yarn, and he likes the Manos hats in LMKG so I know the shape he wants too. Have to remember that this should be my next project !! (and prune also needs a new hat btw..)

I've also decided on a sweater I want to make for myself (I've only ever knit one, and that was like 15 years ago !!), the blue lacey cables pullover in the fall VK. , for which I may even be able to use up some stash yarn. Not exactly the purrrfect yarn but a really nice color. I started swatching, we'll see what comes out. But anyway I still want to concentrate on other things before I start on this. The mere thought of it is nice though.. ;-) I just know this will be a sweater I'll wear a lot !!

Of patience and the sewing-machine

2005-11-11T10:09:00.000+01:00

Right, trying to post at least once a week so I guess I'd better hurry before I get to "next week" ! To my surprise, I've done some good progress on the Isabeau tote: I've finished knitting the body of the bag AND nearly finished sewing the lining. (by hand, I'm too lazy to get the sewing machine out "only for such a little project". Plus this thing always drives me crazy, funny how I'm usually such a patient tranquill person, EXCEPT with a sewing-machine !)

Anyhow. So I'm hoping to finish the lining and finish off the bag (handles, buttonhole strap etc..) like within the week-end ... and see the end result soon ! Ta-da... Let's hope for next week, right ? It may not seem quite so tote-ish yet on the pic, but I swear it is both wider and higher than the handbag. But that's the thing, you can never really tell what it's gonna look like till you see it finished...

Oh, and I'm glad to have yet another tester (thanks sheryl!) working on the XL size for the shrug. Maybe we'll be lucky this time. (this being said without any bitterness ! I'm so grateful to all the ladies who are kind enough to help me out with this !!)

I got my copy of Vogue yesterday in the mail. Thanks so much stephanie ! (your Phildar is on the way) I really adore the victorian patterns, and some of the cushions are really super pretty. Also, I like the technique nicky Epstein used for her flowers... but other than that, I was a bit surprised by the patterns. Is winter so un-inspirational ?

And also.. can I say it ? I'm going to write an article for a new toronto-based online knitting magazine! .. nothing fancy, just an article about translating french patterns into english (what else ?!), but still, I'm going to be published, exciting ! :-P

Hope you'll all have a great week-end. It's a 3-day week-end over here and weather seems promising so hopefully we can have a nice hike !

The pictures

2005-11-02T17:41:00.000+01:00

The scarf was sent earlier today, so here are the promised pics.

... So, hehe, that was an FO, right?!! Wow, I'm still under shock. ;-)

I've also written 5 pages for the "6 to 8 pages book review" due for tomorrow's american civilization class. Hoho. Looks like I'll be able to have that more or less done too...? But that's thanks to laurent who took care of prune all yesterday so I could work on it. And I yet have to prepare another text as well for an oral review in another class.
Student life...

Photo coming soon !

2005-11-02T08:57:00.000+01:00

but the fancy scarf is done. I just need to add tassels at the ends (thanks for the right word BH !!), snap a quick pic, and get it mailed out asap !!!!
Hopefully I'll get that done today, and shall post a pic then.

But the actual reason I couldn't wait and HAD to post is the latest VK and its stunning victorian knits with delicate lace, and especially this one !!! So I was just thinking, if somebody wanted to do a little mag swap, I could probably send you a Phildar mag of your choice in exchange (I could even translate your fav pattern as part of the "deal" in it if need be), or another french mag... I just have one in mind that's usually worth the wait (beg. of december). Just let me know if you're interested.

"And what the heck is that ?!!" you're gonna say ..

2005-10-25T15:06:00.000+02:00

Well, this is the beginning of my "fancy scarf". And I know it doesn't exactly look like a scarf, but hey, we'll say it's a "fashion not function" scarf !!!
Actually, I meant to knit it instead of crochet, but seing my motivation for knitting lately, AND seing how late I was for this project, I actually opted for crochet : so much easier, PLUS so much more portable !!! I can just get back on it every time I got 2 minutes, and don't have to struggle with the 2 circs... Also, it's actually not bad with crochet, because it makes it much denser, which helps holding the shape better. I'm thinking of adding some kind of pompoms at the end (upholstery-style). We'll see when we get there... ;-)

I'm actually using a big "ball" of yarn that I had prepared for another project, years and years ago for a baby sweater that I didn't want to swatch for.. BIG mistake !
Just so you see the difference when the same kind of yarn arrangments are knit, here's a little hat I had made, and a bigger swatch (front or back of said sweater).

And for the most observant of you... no, you're not dreaming : Prune's shoes are indeed on the wrong feet! But that's just the doctor's instructions to help her straighten her feet when she walks. It really hurts my eyes a bit, but it's only for a couple hours a day so I'm trying not to look... And the piece of bread she grabbed from the table while I was busy taking pictures and all... These days she's always eating. Or at least trying to !!

And that's about it for today ladies. Really not much knitting action these days here... No, actually wait a minute : look at the fab package I received from my bestest friend Yahaira the other day for my birthday.

With 3 skeins of Colonia 140 from Malabrigo in this unbelievable color called "verde aqua" (a tad greener in reality than shows here). And the fall IK. Ain't I a spoiled bitch ?!!

2005-10-18T08:35:00.000+02:00

..Oh my ! not blogging much anymore, Oops ! Actually prune's been sick, diarhea and throwing up involved. Plus some potential big news here (should have it confirmed very soon)... I'm not even reading other people's blogs any more (or hardly !)
Don't knit much either, though I'm trying hard to keep up working on the tote:I've now started one of the sides. The thing is I could finish it like in an afternoon, ..if there wasn't all the rest. And yet I REALLY want to be done with it, write up the pattern.. and jump to my next (soon to be urgent)project, the Fancy scarf (She's still looking for more participants !!) !
.. And have yet to start working on the homework too..!!

2005-10-10T20:04:00.000+02:00

.. not much to add, first class last week was very exciting.. but I've got a feeling I'll need to do a LOT of personal reading to catch up on the others. But that's cool.

For now, I'm trying to knit as much as possible on the tote. In between this week-end and this afternoon (while prune was in daycare !) I got about... 60 % done ? Of course, there was some frogging-reknitting involved to get to the right size. How come you can only really see it's too high AFTER you've added the garter stitch rows and started on the seed stitch..?

But now that I saw how I like the turquoise one, I'm pretty excited to see the result, so I'm hoping to have it finished soon.

of swaps and classes

2005-10-06T09:17:00.000+02:00

Yeah !!! I was starting to think it would never arrive, but I got my package from the Crafster "my country doesn't have this" swap yesterday morning !! And look what elizabeth sent me !

The 2 skeins of the Rowan "all seasons cotton" I had asked for (this way I'll be able to check if it's actually a good substitute for my "cotonina" that I keep on using for all the Isabeau projects), PLUS the fall issue of vogue knitting!!! Hoohoo, now I have an issue of both IK and VK !! (and I've read all about "knitting in Japan" already Yahaira !! ;-) Are you going soon ? )
She also sent tons of other goodies, including cajun spice and jerky, Yum !!!

I haven't been knitting at all these days, but I went to Uni and got to choose my classes: so I'll be specialising in Linguistics ladies ! Plus I'll have beginners classes of russian, sooo excited about that !! (So far I can speak and understand basic russian, but can hardly read it or write ! Also I'll get to learn a bit of grammar, can't wait !)
But the thing is, ... classes actually started over 2 weeks ago ! So we had a big stress peak on tuesday night trying to find ways for me to go this week (=basically having prune taken care of). I guess I'll just try to attend as many classes as possible this month, untill I have prune properly settled at daycare on wesnesdays and thursdays. (plus if I can't get the diploma this year, it's no biggie either.)
First classes this afternoon !

We have a bag !

2005-10-03T16:54:00.000+02:00

... Yeah I know, it's been been over a week now. But I made the conscious decision that I wouldn't post until I had finished the Isabeau handbag at last, you know, the carrot thing...
So anyhow, I did finish it yesterday, and then Blogger was down most of the day (which gave me some extra time to make some pictures actually), ... so may I present, ladies : (for once, they're clickable)

For some reason it seems huge on those pics.. maybe it's the "knit" factor, I don't know. Or the color... ;-) But anyway, as always I was a bit anxious yesterday, wondering whether it would look as it should etc... there's always those moments of doubt. And it took me probably an hour to choose the exact right button that bag called for.. But all in all, and after pretending to use it for the mini photo shoot, I think I really like it ! It's surprisingly sturdy for a knit bag, I was really afraid of the handles being all floppy but they're not, & I like the size ...
So, despite the quite flashy color I think I'm going to keep this baby for myself .. !

During this little Blogger interlude I've also (re) started on the navy blue tote. Although somehow I'm not so sure it needs a tote anymore. But I'll just keep going, and see how it looks.

Otherwise, I really want to thank you all for your Bday wishes, that was very kind. And thanks Carrie ! Actually I try to keep my knitting budget to a minimum... which is the reason why I like swaps of all kinds.. ;-)

However, I did go to my fav. thrift store on saturday. Cheap, so no bad conscience... Here's what I found

The 3 balls of red/fushia yarn will be a second Mouchelette for Prune. And the half hidden green stuff is mohair bouclette, really nice. Plus those 2 odd balls & the light pink "Pingora" ( the softest thing and really feels like angora despite being all acrylic and whatnot), a pair of 20 mm needles (!)... Plus a pair of 3 euros Bocage shoes I couldn't resist.

I also did some crochet for Prune this week end. You see, her "Kiki" (don't know if you guys ever seen those furry monkeys, but every kid used to have one over here!) begged for a winter outfit, so he got a hat with double stranded acrylic, and a pair of bib overalls. I especially like the "pompom" on the hat, kind of tentacles crocheted on a 3 mm hook with only one strand. Plus it's more baby-proff than an actual pompom.

... And in other news, well I'm so happy for the good news given by 2 friends (christine already made hers official)!! The other one still has to remain secret for a while, but you'll all be hearing about it soon !(and that one is not baby-related.. ;-) )

And one pretty big news too, I'm going back to University ! I don't really realise yet. I guess I will soon, when I start classes and having homework. Yuck.
I got accepted to sign up for 2nd year of Master in english, (eventually want to teach english at Uni), so I hope I'll be able to that together with taking care of prune and all the rest. I guess I'll have to learn the meaning of the words "organise" and "plan".. and highly reduce my procrastination time !!! ;-)

Back home

2005-09-25T14:39:00.000+02:00

So after 12 hours in the car yesterday, crossing pretty much all of France (from the ocean to like 60 km from the swiss border - that's where we live !) we're Home again !

I had like 60 mails in my inbox yesterday..!!! AND a great package waiting for me from Winnie, who sent me all those in exchange for a pattern I translated for her.

I'm so happy ! Burgundy Manos del Uruguay, a skein of Regia sockyarn, some Lionbrand Landscape in the lovely color used for the crosshatch hat set, plus some Moda dea Cache in a cool pink/green combo. To me all of these are little treasures: just picture yourself living in a country where nobody has ever heard of all these (exept maybe in some high end stores like in Paris ?) but keep on hearing about them everywhere on the web.. Well now I DO have some Manos of my own, and will probably use the Regia to knit prune some sockies...

Anyhow, other than that we've had two grand weeks, had a very nice appartement with a view directly on the ocean (located like 50 m away)

Plus we had some fairly nice weather (especially for the season). We swam a lot, in the ocean and in the (ice cold) swimming pool. Rode our bikes only once though, in the nice smelly pine forest of the Landes. Prune had the best time, always out, she LOVED the ocean and the waves.. And of course Laurent surfed his ass off..!

Now, knitting content. The totes... Yeah, you guessed it. Still not finished! Actually they could have been, technically. But to make the long story short, I started with the handbag, in orange. Was like 97% finished, blocked and sewed the lining and then started assembling it.. and realised it was too big.
Okay, so I just rewrote all my numbers, and started again, on the tote this time, in navy blue. I kept the orange one, you know, so I'd make the tote "right". Knit it all up, front, bottom, back. Was a long one, because well, it's a tote. Then it was already like the last days, took the (blocked)orange sampler out, and looked again at my now 70% finished tote.. And decided it was too big as well ! (...especially because of the "weight" factor: I'd like it to make it the perfect size so as to keep the weight to a minimum so it doesn't put to much pressure on the handles.. See what I mean ..?)

Anyway, so I started again. This time in turquoise. And back to the handbag version. Now like 65% done but as it's much smaller that the big navy tote, it should be quicky finished once I get back onto it.

I'll put up a pic as soon as I have a good enough result.. ;-)

Oh, and just a word about chezplum. It seems we have a problem with the download system laurent installed just before we left, despite all the (successful) tests we made. Sorry again to the people who had to wait for me to email them the pattern. We'll try to have that fixed asap, but in between I'll just go back with the old system and send the pattern via email as soon as I get Paypal payment notification.

And now I'll go back to unpacking...! Talk to you soon.

Edit: Oh, and I keep on forgetting. Today was my birthday... 32 now ! :-D

Just to say Hi !

2005-09-16T11:03:00.000+02:00

I'm off

2005-09-09T21:45:00.000+02:00

or at least in a few hours... Will get some sleep first ! ;-)
Well I wanted to post a little preview pic of the tote and handbag, but really didn't get the occasion/time today, just ran around all day packing, cleaning, organising, running after prune... you get the idea.
Laurent installed a system on chez Plum so that patterns can be downloaded immediately after payment is processed. So now I can leave and not worry overly about not being connected for 2 weeks. Arghh !

I sent in my application form today for the Fancy scarf show (see former post), and apparently she needs more knitters, so go ahead and apply too ! (seems like she's keeping 40% of retail price, and remaining 60% is for you. Seems fair, no?)

Also, on Maize's blog I just found this. Love the colour scheme, and this is just quite similar to the knitting tote I want to make. Although mine will be different of course, but I mean I really like that kind of format...

Ok, ... see you guys in 2 weeks. I may be able to check my emails from time to time if I can find a web cafe, but really not sure. Will miss you...!

Might be fun

2005-09-08T09:14:00.000+02:00

Just found this on Naive knitting (which I'm adding to my links btw, the list is starting to be real long) :
"The Fancy Scarf Show - FANCY would like to invite you to participate in our 1st Scarf Show.
Fancy will showcase various scarf creations from artists around the world. Our opening reception will be held on November 11th at Fancy in Seattle, WA. For one month we will have your creations on display and will sell them either at the store or on our online website.
To join in the festivities contact curator, Kristen Rask, at kristen.rask@gmail.com with your name, website info (if any), and a few images of the kinds of work you do. Kristen will then contact you more about the show if you are selected. Please allow for a few weeks for her to do so.
This is a great way for you to get your name and work out to the public! And in perfect time for everyone to find their new perfect scarf!
We Love You and Scarves!! Fancy - 1932 2nd ave - Seattle, WA 98101 - Fancyjewels.com"

Oh, and of course you've already seen the new Knitty, right ? Once again, gorgeous stuff !

Isabeau vs Katrina

2005-09-07T20:24:00.000+02:00

I blocked the Isabeau handbag today, and will try to get the lining cut tonight (I'm thinking of using leather... That should be stiff enough ..!! ;-) )
I've also started on the tote, but with preparing for our holidays / cleaning the apartment (nothing worst than coming home to a messy place) and taking care of Prune (she's teething again, and looks like it hurts!) ... I don't think I can have both done by friday. So that might have to wait till we come back at the end of the month.

But anyhow, all this seems a bit futile. I'm really not much of a "news" person (+ being away these last days ect..), so I'm like only starting to get a grasp of the whole Katrina thing. But once again I'm blown away by this great crafting community. The Crafsters United thing, or Give a little, and also this lady who's donating the money she'll get for her beautiful Katrina rib pattern.. there's probably more, but I already find those so inspiring and positive !!
All this to say I'm so happy to be somehow part of such a fantastic community. I still don't really get how so many americans could willingly give full powers to bush (which btw sounds in french like "bouche", i.e. in regular vernacular slang "some big-mouthed person from whom you should not expect much truth"...!?!). And I really wonder whether those people still blindly trust him now.
Also, be sure to check what mon amie Christine has to say about all that. She's so much more than just an awesome designer.

Just a quickie

2005-09-03T23:18:00.000+02:00

'cause it's already late, to say I've nearly finished the knitting part of the Isabeau handbag. It will still need finishing, and some stiff lining...and hopefully I can show you a pic when we come back from Grenoble in a couple days !

Laurent is in vacation for 3 weeks, so we'll be sticking around this next week visiting friends and family and doing various errands, and then we'll head off to Lacanau (around Bordeaux on the Atlantic coast) for 2 weeks. Hopefully for some surfing, cycling, walking in the sand-dunes.. and knitting !!

Okay, so talk to you in a couple days. I really hope I can get those 2 bags done before I leave ! ..Oh and if I could get the final green light for the shrug's XL size that would be nice too. We'll see.

Mouchelette

2005-08-30T09:54:00.000+02:00

I finished the Mouchelette yesterday night. And Prune's wearing it today of course !!! ... I know, at first sight it looks exaclty the same at the first "prototype" but Nah.. scroll down to the aug. 11th post. See the difference ? The sleeves were too narrow, the top of the chest area was way too wide, etc...

I'll try to take better pics later, especially of the little motifs along the bottom, but she doesn't make it easy. Also I need to add the 2 last buttons. I thought I'd like it this way, but it jut stays wide open in the back, and that ain't too good.
The top is actually more fitted at the top, and then there are increases to make it flare a bit. (come on, if you really look hard you can kind-of-see-it in the lat pic..) I really like short sleeve tops for her, I find it more versatile. Otherwise with regular long-sleeve cardis she often gets too hot inside, or gets her hands all tangled-up in the sleeves ect... But I may knit her also a long-sleeve version.
And of course, this top can also be used as a regular cardi. Kind of a "two in one"... ;-)

I'll be writing up a pattern for it soon, and size it up and down, but I think I'm going to try and make the Isabeau handbag and tote first. And I'll be off to get more yarn for those in a minute as soon as prune wakes up from her nap ! Still not sure of the colors I'll choose though...

Tote-size

2005-08-29T08:23:00.000+02:00

Yesterday we went on a little hike in the Aravis, the part of the Alps that sits just beside Annecy. So we went to the "confins" near the ski resort of "La clusaz". Was super pretty, wide bowls (?) and sharp mountains, pine forest and dry grey rock. Plus the unexpected bonus of finding lots of strawberries on the way.. And lots of cows for Prune to see..!

Don't be fooled by the pics though, Laurent carried her most of the time... And on all the steep slippery muddy parts of the hike too ! He thought it would be a quick easy walk, but we ended walking like 3 hours and then could only think of sleeping when we got back. Was it the altitude ? Or have we just become blobs ..?

I really haven't been knitting much lately, with having Prune all the time here (daycare is closed in august) and all. Third take on "Mouchelette" should be finished soon. Only a few rows left, then try it on Prune, and if it's right do the sleeves and finishing.

Prune's been wearing her mini-shrug a lot lately, I really like how it looks on her and can't resist showing it again...
I'm not sure what to do with this kind-of-variation-on-the-pattern though. A fully written bonus on the adult pattern? Just a few notes on the numbers used ? Would anybody even want it in the first place ?

I also have another project on the grill now. I had been thinking of upsizing the Isabeau purse, as most people (including me!) use larger size handbags... And now there's two people asking for it, so I'll take that as a good enough excuse. ;-) I've already decided on what I'll do pretty much, now I have to try and knit it and see how it works. Hopefully I can do that this week.

Oh, and Laurent started working on the future design & navigation for chez Plum this week end. I can't wait till we can put it up, even though it probably shall take another month or two. (for now, it's just one of the Wordpress free templates). Can I just say I LOVE it..?

Can't even think of a title now...

2005-08-25T21:21:00.000+02:00

So we've had troubles with the computer and connection for a while now. But all this was nothing. Today all my "knitting" files disapeared. Yes, ALL.
I mean, ok there was my huge collection of patterns, either free patterns collected all around the internet, or just scans stored there.. But I just found an old backup from back in march, plus a few things stored here and there (hopefully I still have all those that were sent to me in Outlook express..) so it shouldn't be THAT bad. Maybe I'll get back like 80% or so..

But then, there's all the rest. ALL my pictures of FOs and projects, all my designs so far, ALL my patterns..including at least one that I have NO copy anywhere. And that was ALL after the march backup. But for the things stored in photobucket, it's all gone. Thank God I have copies of the shrug and purse pattern via sent emails and in the site.
Boo.
And you know the worst ? It's about the ONLY big thing missing in the disk after the major failure we had this morning. Mind you, I should have known and made back ups after all the warnings we had. But I just couldn't believe this could ever happen.

Will be back later.. I'll do a backup of all the pics of Prune now.I guess it IS more important that those didn't get "swallowed" at least.

I didn't take a pic..

2005-08-22T09:51:00.000+02:00

but I finished my second take on "Mouchelette". Wasn't perfect yet (but I'm not sure I'll get it "perfect" anyway..) plus there was too many knots right in the middle (was knit directly from #1) so I frogged it straight away. It's such a small piece. I guess I'd have it done in a day or two but for Prune.. We had a crappy weather all week end, drizzling endlessly, so it was a full time job trying to keep her somehow entertained indoors.

I installed a counter/referer thing. If you don't have one already, check out www.statcounter.com , their free service is awesome. So I'm spending hours checking out my traffic, seeing what part of the world people came from (2 from switzerland, one from belgium, and several from france : Hi neighbours !!!). It's fun.

I'm getting a bit worried about my "paypal buy now" button. Anyone have an idea wether the problem comes from me or them ..? I've just emailed them to ask, but I'm not sure how long it will take them to reply.
WHOOHOO !!Laurent just helped me fix my paypal button to buy the Isabeau shrug pattern, it should work now !!!! But one thing is for sure, I don't think I could have done it without him... :-D

I think I may also try and get my entry done for the Crafster "no yarn allowed" craft challenge. As usual, I'm getting into gear just before deadline.. (although I did get my "materials" several weeks ago).
So okay, let's get started on it. Will keep you posted.

Nautique

2005-08-20T13:26:00.000+02:00

So I received a package. I thought it was from a swap or something.. But no : I actually WON something !!! Yeah, there was this competition-thingy in a french mag where you had to send pics of something you designed yourself and could win a Phildar yarn kit or a subcription to their mag. So here's what I got :

Keep your greetings though.. Last time I looked, it seemed like there was more prizes than entries.. ;-)

However, it's always good to get free yarn, right ?!!

Now, I don't like the color, and don't really see myself using it in a while. Would anyone be interested in a swap or something ..?
It's 10 skeins of Phildar "nautique", colour "fidji", brand new in their packaging. 50% cotton, 50% acrylic, 50g=152 yards, recom. gauge is 25 st/35 rows on 2.5 - 3mm needles (US 3-5). And the colour is a tad lighter (and "greener") than it shows on pic..

Oh, and I just made my first ever "Paypal buy now" button for the Isabeau shrug... :-D Hoohoo!! It's over at chez Plum of course...

EDIT: However, the said paypal button keeps leading me to a "temporary paypal" thing, "try again later". Did I do something wrong with my button ?!!!
(also, I'm starting to get spam comments. Is it going to happen often when I start having more traffic ?... :-/ )

My "rouet"

2005-08-19T22:18:00.000+02:00

Huh Huh Huh !! See that ? I have no idea what you'd call it in english, but in french it's apparently called a "rouet".

It's been sitting in the family cabin for ever, and this afternoon my grandparents said they're giving it to me. Yes, ME !! Ha, I still really can't believe it. I hope I'm not wrong thinking it was used for spinning.. I REALLY want to learn to spin someday.

Isabeau purse

2005-08-17T13:41:00.000+02:00

Okey dokey, so the free pattern for the Isabeau purse pictured below is here. I've added the link in the sidebar as well..

Laurent has also installed Wordpress as an in-between for me to "play" (that's his words) until we put up the real thing. :-D
So if you're really bored, you can see the premices of chez Plum ..!

And finally, for those of you who DO knit the purse, I really want to add a gallery of your knits: I'd love to see your pics..!

Connection issues

2005-08-16T10:29:00.000+02:00

Well it sucks. We're having connection problems, so the connection goes on and off randomly. And it's not even our ACTUAL internet connection, just our internal network connection. Like the other computer will work fine (the Linux one..) but not the one I have all my stuff on. So I keep on starting on something, then the connection will be off suddenly without warning, and there's nothing to do but wait, or maybe turn off the thing, wait a bit, and start all over again. Stinks.
Laurent has already removed a (pretty vicious)Trojan the other day, but he says we might have to buy a new network card for the laptop.. :-/

Anyway. Hopefully I can post this before it goes off again..
We've been away on an extended week-end and went around Grenoble where all our firends and family live. Lots of awesome mountains there too, so we rode our bikes, saw friends, Prune did some swimming with her cousin and lots of walking with her granny. All good. But of course I didn't touch my knitting, although I DID bring it along.

Anyway, I still have some knitting news: The Isabeau purse (matching the shrug), which I had kept secret because I had submitted it to a mag. However, deadline is long over now, so I'm guessing no news is no.
It's a quick little project, a purse just big enough for a wallet and cell-phone. I hadn't lined the first (beige) one as I finished it just in time to hop in the car and go to Rachel's Bday ;-) but I did line the second (mint) one. It looks neater, and looks nicer when empty BUT it doesn't stretch as much anymore...

The free pattern should be accessible hopefully later today. I just need Laurent to help me with hosting it somewhere, ... until I start at last on the real thing , my "chez Plum". I'd like to start with a minimum service site, until we work on it during Laurent's 3 weeks holiday in september. (He didn't want to touch a single computer during his holiday but he said he's make me a special favor... He's a nice guy..!!)

The shrug is also ready except for the XL size which is still in the testing phase. If anyone was interested in having it in advance but only in the smaller sizes (S & M-L )just let me know (with maybe a little discount on the final $4.50). My email is in the sidebar.

And finally, here's the uncropped photo of Rachel with both Bday presents... ;-)

Okay, let's upload this already and see if it still works..

Edit: Lookee what I just found. And Yeah, it IS odly accurate. (except maybe for the secret-ive part..?)

You are nurturing, kind, and lucky.
Like mother nature, you want to help everyone.
You are good at keeping secrets and tend to be secretive.

A seeker of harmony, you are a natural peacemaker.
You are good natured and people enjoy your company.
You put people at ease and make them feel at home with you.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Ready for Round 2

2005-08-11T14:22:00.000+02:00

Round 1 is over, I finished the first prototype.
Looks promising, but lots of things to fix. I'm frogging it and trying again. One good point is that my 3-and-a-bit skeins are going to be plenty, so I don't have to worry about that. :-)

And I've been tagged by Christine. Like I said before I don't listen to a lot of music these days, so it shall pretty quick ;-)
5 CDs in your Player: well, no actual CD player but just the laptop directly hooked onto the amplifier. Most CDs are stored directly in MP3 format. However I just happened to play one a couple days ago: some kind of a "top of the pops" we got in Russia. Pure russian junk pop, but I love it. Reminds me lots of
good memories. Other Cds left near the computer are "Zemfira" ( russian band), "chants de l'extase" from Hildegarde von Binger, and Steve Earle and the del McCoury band. (more memories, peeling cedar logs in B.C.)
5 Movies You've watched Recently: Another hard question. Not many movies lately. "Cookies fortune" & "Ressources humaines" I know. Oh, that was a while ago, but there was "Bride an prejudice" too; I love Bollywood.. And can I say books for the 2 last ones..? I'm finishing a book by Lucie Aubrac, about her time in the french "resistance", and just before I read that book about Auschwitz. Very interesting.
5 Nice Things That Happened To You Lately: uh, lately..?
1)this lady agreed to sponsor me for a couple skeins of yarn for one of my projects. Although I'm still waiting for her confirmation, that was a big high..!
2)..It's not "directly" concerning me, but Prune's first steps is a really nice thing.
3) Having lots of dear friends (and relatives too) visiting these past 2 weeks
4) Some kind of a maybe-project with Christine
5)The handmade present for Prune a kiwi friend sent that I received this morning
5 MP3s on your playlist: The ones I listen too most often..? Bjork, Shakira (NZ memories), Anne Sylvestre (kiddy songs), Olivia Ruiz, soundtrack of "Monsoon wedding"

Okay, going back to the "Mouchelette"...

Mouchelette

2005-08-10T11:04:00.000+02:00

So I've started on a new project : a little raglan top for Prune. I'm using the Mission falls cotton Yahaira sent me and it's fun so far.

If the final result looks like I want it to, I'll probably call the thing "mouchelette", after one of my favorite songs as a kid ("mouche-mouchelette, moucheronette-moucheron, demain c'est ta fête, toutes les mouches danseront..")

Okay, Prune calling. Looks like she's finished her nap. I'll be right back...

..Hi again. She's making good progress on her walking btw (and "talking on the phone" too). I had never been too much into babies before, but I'm amazed at how quickly her neurons must be connecting these days..!!!!

The chokers haven't progressed yet as I'm waiting for news about the yarn I want to use for them. It will be a quick knit anyway. ..and btw I showed it (among several little other designs) to a friend the other night, and she said she LOVED the choker.. :-D
Anyway, as soon as I have finished with the little lichen top (including time for the routine 1 or 2 frog/reknits) I might start on a little lacy cardi for me, more or less in the same spirit as the shrug.
I'm also trying to make some airy curtains to have a bit more privacy in the kitchen/living-room. The old ones were very long, so Prune pulled them down... :-/ Those I plan on making way shorter so they're out of reach for her. I've already started on one, in orange "cotonina" (I told you I like orange !) with 10mm needles, but I'm not sure it will look fine. We'll see...

And finally, to all those who like the Glampyre mini-sweater (I've been meaning to make one forever), have a look at the one Karen made !

First steps !!!!

2005-08-04T21:07:00.000+02:00

Yesterday Prune made her first steps ! Woohoo !! We both were so loudly happy and proud (yeah, she even did it while her daddy was home) she got scared and nearly cried...
Anyhow, she kept on walking today, little cautious steps, but still she walked, so I'm like WOW, entering a whole new world now !!!

I haven' made any good pics of her walking yet, so instead I'll show her with her other (& just as new) passion : answering the "phone" (in this case it's her dad's electric shaver ..!) and trying to say "allo, oui..."

In knitting news, some super duper exciting news might be in the works. Let's cross fingers.

And in the "real world", lots of friends and family visiting these days, sooo cool!

Oh, ... and did you see Laurent just helped me with the fancy font issue for the title? Now we have a Wendy medium title, ladies...

Edit: Can you tap-dance AND knit at the same time ...? I mean, I can be quite passionnate about knitting and crochet, but not that much .. ;-) Fun read though.

See ? Orange IS cool ...

2005-08-02T14:03:00.000+02:00

I got this in the mail today: the awesome needlecase Melissa sent me, along with an assorted v. cool stitch marker.

And speaking of stitch markers, I just started using one of these little guys yesterday, and I think I'm addicted ! Not that I NEED it - I've just cast on for a nb 2 shrug, mostly because I needed a close-up pic of the lace ;-) - but it just makes knitting even more enjoyable : less thinking, more "touching". Plus I LOVE to have it dangling on the needles..

In other news, I've got another pattern ready, but it has to remain secret for now. So I did get some knitting done, but can't show any pics.. Boo.
The shrug pattern testing process should be in its final phase soon.
And I really should finish the "Felicie" choker, which needs yet another frog-reknit. Will probably be like the tenth time, between finding the right dimensions with the yarn I finally decided on, then right finishing etc... Then the other choker variation ("Felicie aussi") shouldn't take long, and I'll have another pattern to add to the list...

I really should start working on the template for the pattern page now !

.. and also before I forget. I found this awesome book at the library the other day. Title would probably translate as "Stories of a portable utopia. The case of the handbag" or something like that.. And there's all these fabulous ancient purses from all civilisations inside... Oo-Hoo!!! Inspiration.

Orange is cool ..

2005-07-29T10:38:00.000+02:00

But plum and lime is even better ! So I've finally just rearranged the colors of this blog "à ma sauce". Now that looks a bit more like me. However, I still need to fix some stuff with Laurent later today as I know not everybody will have the "Wendy medium" font, so I'll need to photoshop that bit for the title.
But I just couldn't wait, so I'm putting it online right away.

Still can't make up my mind though on whether or not to change the name of that blog (like into some kind of -"chez Plum" blogs- or something), or stick to "Pelotes ect.." I have to admit I'm starting to like "Pelotes" again with these new colors...

2005-07-28T15:22:00.000+02:00

Just a few words to say that I've been able to find new homes to quite a bit of my stash lately so I've just added more again. This time, more single skeins, but not only. It's here.

Oh, and also this morning I made my very first stitch markers. They'll probably get more even when I do more, but still, I like them !

More new yarn...!

2005-07-27T17:28:00.000+02:00

Woohoo, I got Yahaira's package this morning, so that's more yarn that I can use for future designs or projects ! (lovely lichen color Mission falls cotton+ camel GGH "Aspen")

... plus look at the AWESOME suprise she added: 600yds of the most beautiful bamboo, especially hand dyed by her for "chez Plum". Isn't this the sweetest thing ?
And here's a closeup so you can see why I'm in love :
Thanks again Yahaira !!

I also just got back from my little crafty shoppipng, got some beads and basic jewelery stuff (would like to try some stitch markers), fabric for my swap partner, ... and what do you think I got that I couldn't resist..? Knitting stuff ?
Nope.

This "moiré" fabric (have no idea what you'd call that) that I'm dreaming of either turning into a skirt, or little totes.. Plum + Lime = Yum !!! (again)
Hum, only thing is... that means I'll have to get my sewing machine out? I just have no patience for sewing.

Garter stitch is beautiful

2005-07-27T10:37:00.000+02:00

I found this top in a french mag yesterday and thought that was super pretty. Real easy design, and all in garter stitch, but on oversized needles. Somehow I'd be tempted to make one for myself, like in a real dark color (black / navy blue), but would I wear it (I tend to wear only a few things from my wardrobe), and would it still look nice without the ribbon (too girly for me)... plus do I have time to spare for this NOW ?

I also want to make a second shrug, for myself this time. But haven't decided on the color yet: Same muted pink as my IK rib shrug? Navy blue ?(could look nice in a darker color)... or beige just like my friend ? I'd hate to have exactly the same one as her though. I might end up choosing the dark blue. ...Have to go and get the yarn.
My other problem being I misplaced some of my larger size needles. I kind of made do with the ones I have and a coarse piece of dowel for the first shrug. And of course they'll show up as if by magic if I buy new ones.. (!) Well, at least I could sand that dowel this time ! ;-)

Ok, enough questionning for today ! This afternoon is my "day off": Prune goes to daycare. Will do some crafty shopping for a swap, .. and maybe I'll find some good stuff for myself too ! Plus hopefully I may be able to squeeze in some pattern typing or knitting time.

Rachel

2005-07-25T09:50:00.000+02:00

So here is my friend Rachel modelling her new shrug...

I also knitted her something else, but Shh! it's a secret.

We had a cool week-end, went to a BBQ, chatted about NZ with a german gal(!), then met with some cousins on sunday. Prune had a great time playing with a toy kitchen(for a change, she was allowed to get all the pots and pans out !!)but she's still a bit young to play with the other kids. She loved swimming with her daddy though!

New yarn

2005-07-23T20:33:00.000+02:00

So the shrug pattern is coming along nicely (mostly thanks to my awesome proofreaders!). Can't wait to see wether the larger sizes "work" too.

Also, this already dates back to a few days (but I was too busy with the shrug to post anything), look what I found the other day when I went shopping for my swap partner. I had the (bad?) idea of walking in the Phildar store, and I ended up buying stuff for myself instead !!

I'm particularly in love with the "Licorne" cotton (plum & lemon). I'd love to turn it into that "besace" knitting bag I'm thinking of. But it's really thin, so I'm not sure it's the right yarn for the job despite those aaaawesome colors !
The other ("steppe") skein was on sale, and is the same quality/color my sister in law made herself a sweater with. It's really lovely, plus it's Oh-so-soft...!
So I'm starting buying yarn from actual yarnstores...? Oh Ho, I'd better stop quick before I get used to it...!!! ;-) (I'd usually get it all from thrift stores)

Just in case I ever feel like taking myself seriously...

2005-07-19T13:49:00.000+02:00

I'll show my most ridiculous (hopefully ever though !) FO : My new "Kenny" remote control...!!!
I really needed to "baby-proof" the remote as one of Prune's favorite game is to throw it on the ground (then batteries out = not very cool for a baby). So I had grand plans for a really chic cozy with a nice pompom and all...
And look what happened ! Somehow I couldn't find the right yarn in my stash (ie beautiful, bright colored, and yet not THAT beautiful that I could sacrifice it for a remote cozy..), and then couldn't get it to look right, and didn't want to work on it forever..
Anyway, I might try again later, at least it should be functional. Plus now I won't loose it so often any more... ;-)

Maybe I should start a new thread in Crafster, "show your most ridiculous FO"...?!

2005-07-19T08:47:00.000+02:00

Okay, so I've been kinda tagged by Christine,.. that'll be an occasion to reveal a bit more about me.

10 years ago: Man, I was slowly recovering from the huuumongous surprise of Laurent (my partner) finally falling for me after running after him for over 2 years in vain. Hmm, at the time I was still like 20 pounds heavier, short hair, leftover acnea, and had the best time hanging out with my gang (all guys, laurent being one of them) doing crazy stuff like canyonning and 13 m jumps into ponds, snowboarding like hell, food battles ... ten years later we're still all very close.
5 years ago: Another turning point. We were homeless, having left our awesome little place in a ski resort above Grenoble, got rid of most of our stuff and furniture, and were only waiting for a fucking russian visa to leave for our Sidetour trip on a russian sidecar (I really need to do some major updating on that english version btw). At the time we said we'd leave for a year but we knew it would be longer, eventually took us 3 years...
Enf of july, hoo... we were like in the starting blocks! (we finaly left on august 4th), ready for the big leap into the unknown, go to Russia to get our sidecar at the factory ... It was fun. Scary, but fun.
1 year ago: well, we were back for about 9 months, new town, new job for laurent, and Prune was only a few weeks old. Really cozy feeling to have a baby nested in your arms.
Yesterday: I had to reorganise everything in our little appartment after coming home from our mini-vacation, plus I finished typing the instructions for the shrug and sent my first pattern to be proofread/tested. So I was kind of high, bit all my nails that had miraculously been long for several weeks, and of course had insomnia.
Today: I really need to getup from the computer and have a shower before it's the end of Prune's nap. Then need to do some groceries, prepare some lunch somehow, and get some knitting / pattern typing done. Oh, and I need to whip up 2 birthday presents for 5 year old twins before saturday. Must think hard.
Tomorrow: Hum, pretty much the same as today. Nothing exciting.
5 snacks I enjoy: those little cheap chippies (they're probably full of really bad for you stuff, but we just can't stop eating them), anchovy-stuffed olives (I'd die for them), ... what else, anything real salty like "saucisson" (kind of like salami, but way better) or "st Agur" blue cheese, and raw carrots/celery/brocoli dipped in good sauce...
5 bands/singers that I know the lyrics of MOST of their songs: Well I hardly listen to music at all these days except for online radios sometimes, so I'll say bruce Springsteen, french stuff like jacques Brel, laurent Voulzy, Olivia Ruiz, ... and say Ali Farka Touré. But I'm really more of a browser when it comes to music.
Things I would do with $100,000,000: First buy a van, like a Mercedes and drive around Europe with all the gear on the roof. Then Laurent would probably jump on the occasion to stop working like a dog and do his own stuff.
Huh, and well that sounds like a sum, so I'd say buy a place and put the rest in the bank till I know better.
5 locations I'd like to run away to:Probably places I'd return to/see more... Only 5? Okay so I'd say Reunion island, western australia, Alaska, Irkutsk/the Altay in Siberia, and the west coast of the US. Oh, plus I'd really like to see a bit of northern Europe, like Denmark/Finland... I know, that makes 6.
5 bad habits I have: well I tend to be a real lazybum, I watch too much tv (although it's really not that bad any more), and just don't push myself to do things in general. And I usually bite my nails because I can't stand to have them long.
5 things I like doing: being creative (so that includes knitting and designing stuff), spending some good time with our friends and people I love, looking for awesome stuff in thrift stores, camping and being outside (which is one of the reasons why I love the place we just went to, we're like outside 99% of the time), and well...going for hikes or read a good book ?
5 things I would never wear: a thong, a mini-skirt, sex-and-the-city type shoes, ...oh and a trench-coat !(the mere thought of it makes me laugh !). What else...? I know: any top without a bra underneath. Just because that'd be gore.
5 TV shows I like: Right, so we don't have the same TV show obviously, but I really loved the canadian "changing room" type of shows (not sure of the name any more, that's where they revamp a room with a team of carpenter/decorator..). I love watching the "Arte" channel, it's a french-german channel and they have sometimes awesome programs (like there was this whole evening about the Dalai-lama the other night), and sometimes stuff you'd never see anywhere else (like ballet or post-modern dance shows that I really don't understand..)
And then I'm pretty conventional, I used to absolutely adore the first seasons of Ally Mc Beal, .. but quite often I watch pretty random stuff while knitting or doing something else.
5 movies I like: In my very top favorites that I'd bring along on a desert island would be "Chamane" by Bartabas, "Smoke signals", "Magnolia" , ... maybe throw in a little "Whale rider" for diversity and mark Strong's "Pride and prejudice" for the feel-good factor
5 biggest joys at the moment: being ever so lucky to have found my soul mate and having him at my side for the last 12 years;seing Prune nearly ready to go for her first steps and so proud of her progress!;having such a good life when others have terrible families/environment/unsolvable problems; having a home sweet home to come back to after a 5 days mini-vacation; and last but not least, this whole crafster/knitting/blogging/designing/meeting great people stuff. I've been saying it for years, but I love the internet.
5 favorite toys: my bamboo needles and huge stash; my push-bike; that computer ! ; my telemark skis (although haven't used them lots lately) ; and well let's say my car because that's how I get to pay visits to friends and family in Grenoble...

Shrug !

2005-07-18T09:09:00.000+02:00

...Well I really suck, I did it again !! This time comments were allowed, but only to members of my blog (ie, me!). Thanks Yahaira, once again...

Right. We came back yesterday night, after 5 days training for our next life as lizards, relaxing in the warm shade of the trees, listening to the "crrr-crrr" of the cigales (would you translate that as crickets? It just doesn't sound "provençal" enough). We didn't even make it to the beach (Prune decided to catch a cold that day), so I don't even have nice pics to show... instead I'll show you miss Prune ;-)

And among all the action (we didn't even use our bikes!) I managed to finish the shrug (see ? I'm knitting !)

And now may I present the not-yet-decided-on-its-final-name shrug :

It's funny how you don't see the picots along the back on that pic though... Maybe I'll have to take more pics. I'm also going to ask my friend Rachel (this is going to be her 2-months due birthday present) to model it for me. Plus she's iranian and a really beautiful girl..!

So now I have to finish typing the instructions, have it proofread, and tested (I'm trying to add larger sizes), and hope for the best.

smells like holiday...

2005-07-12T17:31:00.000+02:00

Well there's one good news, and one bad news. Good news is I'm leaving in a couple hours for 5 days on the Riviera (actually inland, but still real close to St Tropez...Isn't that flash ?!!) So that'll be 5 days of siesta, swimming pool, beach, bike rides, bbq and petanque... Cool!
But bad news is I'm so close to having finished the shrug and sending the pattern to my dear proofreaders ( Hi ! ;-) ) that it's damn frustrating !!

Oh well, I guess I'll have to survive...

2005-07-11T15:44:00.000+02:00

So the results for the Stitch Diva contest should be published sometime today, but I already know my choker came 6th. HOWEVER the great news was that jenifer Hansen offered to publish my design in a pamphlet she's preparing. Of course I had to say no as I can't afford to lose any of the few designs I've got right now (I bought my domain name yesterday for "chez Plum"!), but I was awed : Imagine, my first ever offer of money for some of my knitting !!!!!

In knitting news, I'll soon be done with the shrug, Whoohoo! And I so loooove the result so far !
I planned to give it to my friend Rachel as I owe her a birthday present (bad me!!), but seeing the result, I guess I'll be knitting number two very soon for myself !

I'm also doing yet another swap: Melissa is going to send me one of her lovely needle-cases, and I'm sending her some of the bulkiest yarn in my stash (hope she likes it).
The needle-case should more or less match my bedside lamp (true vintage, I snatched it from my parents !), that will be fun.. Plus it should be a nice way to keep all my knitting needles out of the way from Prune !

2005-07-08T14:07:00.000+02:00

Hey, I'm back! Spent a couple days with my grandma who is slowly recovering from an operation (well, she's ONLY 86 !) We had crappy weather, so no bike rides, and to think this is july !!

So the voting time for the Stitch Diva thing closes tonight. So far my choker got only 7.2% of the votes, which means 5th place. Not too bad, but no prize. Maybe some other time...

...Of course I didn't get as much knitting done as I hoped. But I still nearly finished another choker. (lots of frogging/reknitting though..) I really have to get moving, I should set myself deadlines.. ;-)
Well see you a bit later guys, I really need a shower badly!!!!!

2005-07-04T10:50:00.000+02:00

Hi, hope you all had a good week-end ? I'll be away pretty much all week (no computer and no internet, arghh !!), so hopefully when I come back I'll have some stuff done! Like I really want to do this lacy shrug in my size, and also another choker project that I have in mind and already swatched. Then that will make three patterns (incl. a crochet one I've never shown yet), kind of enough for a start I guess.

With your feedback, I've finally decided on "chez Plum", and we've started working on a design (did I mention my partner is a web-designer?)! It's getting really exciting, .. no wonder I have insomnia ! I can't wait to have it all settled up!

Oh, and btw (this blog is looking more and more like a classified board!), would somebody be interested in being some kind of a "language consultant" for me ? Like somebody who'd proofread my patterns/website (obviously a native english speaker, and preferably knitter and crocheter). In return, that person would have all my patterns for free of course, plus I'd occasionaly send a few goodies (yarn?). Or whatever arrangement we can find.

Okay, and now on to a couple pics: first a preview of my choker, new version (will be named "Felicie", and shall be paired with another choker design : "Felicie aussi". Sorry, french pun..)It's really cozy on your neck, I'm sure I'll wear it a lot this winter rather than the usual scarves.

And a little Buttafly. This is most probably not the final version, but I just thought I'd show it. I'm pretty happy with the construction I came up with (during one of my insomnias !).

In other news, I've just signed up for a Crafster swap, called the "my country doesn't have that swap" (!). It will only be a small swap (2 or 3 items), but they kind of needed non-US/canada residents, plus it could be a good way to try the Rowan "all seasons cotton" which seems a perfect substitute for my local Cotonina. (Debbie Bliss "Cashmerino aran" also seems pretty close but with a different material content).

Happy Fourth of July to all Americans! ..And this time I'll try not to check the "no comments allowed" box..! ;-)

a baby shrug

2005-06-30T17:20:00.000+02:00

... I so can't resist showing it hot off the needles !! A mini shrug, sized for my baby girl. Next on the list is the same one, adult size !

Also this morning I got the package from Maria in my mailbox : Yum, I love the LionBouclé, it's so soft, I can't wait to start on it... The Fun Fur will be a bit harder to use in an interesting project though. That still needs some thinking.

And Yeah, did you see she sent some Koolaid too ? Now I can play like everybody else.. (the only problem being whenever I smell it, I want to eat/drink it !) Thanks again Maria, I loved doing that swap with you !

..scratching my head

2005-06-27T11:17:00.000+02:00

Okay, so I'm really trying to think hard for a name now.

So far, the only one I kinda really liked was "chez Plum", which had a soft rounded feeling I really liked. But my partner objected that my little daughter Prune (=plum in english) might not like that when she grows older, and that her name should remain only HERS. ...Hum, unfortunately he's probably right.
Then on sunday in the car (coming back from Grenoble where we had a little party for Prune's first birthday, YAY ! She's one year old now..) I thought how about "chez Purl" then ...?
What do you think ? It is too obvious/common ? Would it sound kind of okay ? Would it be easy enough to type/remember ? And yet "personal" enough for people to associate it with a person ..?
I tried googling it, it doesn't look like there'd already be one named like that, although obviously there are already tons of "purl" names. Not that I wanted something including any knitting terms actually, I just really liked the sonority of it.

Or else, I've just had this sudden inspiration maybe I could use some flower name (I tried fruits, but Cerise doesn't quite sound nice enough..). Like "Amarante designs" (the dotcom is no longer available though) or maybe "Capucine" or something.. ?

Again, I'd love your feedback.

Also, I've just added more stuff in my "yarn for swap corner". Mostly yarn, and maybe a few patterns (like I've cut this Phildar cardi pattern from a weekly mag before trashing it). Yeah, that's a lot, but you should see the size of my stash, all the yarn I've been accumulating over the years.
Anyhow, I'm so happy of the swap I made with maria (still haven't received her package though, maybe tomorow ?) I'd like to make more swaps: Ideally, swap some of my stash for labeled (or named, if you're sure of the name/brand that's enough)yarn that can easily bought off the internet, maybe brands such as Rowan, Cascade, Lion Brand, Debbie Bliss, Noro.. you get the idea.

Oh, and Yahaira, thanks for your support !! I see you're kind of in the same process too (of choosing a name)... ;-)

Time to vote !

2005-06-24T09:32:00.000+02:00

That's it, the Stitch diva flower competition entries are online now so it's time to vote ! (also you'll get a 10% discount on your next order)
I was a bit dissapointed by the number of entries, I thought there'd be more. However, there are still a couple real cool ones.. And btw, I'm not the only one who thought of chokers..!

I'm quite happy because Maria's parcel made it alright. Guess I should receive her parcel with the Lionbrand stuff sometime soon. ...Yet more stuff to design !!! That's a lot of fun.

I'm working on several projects right now, got some pretty nice Plassard yarn the other day. I also swatched a new lacy pattern the other day (I guess you never really create anything, just re-discover something sbdy did before..). It should look good on the project I'm planning it for.
I also have to work again on my maryjanes pattern, as Tada !.. with 4 other gals we're now working on our own "rejected projects pdf book". We might not win a fortune, but that should be a lot of fun really..!
Which takes me to the name issue: I'm struggling to find a name for my soon-to-be website: "Pelotes" means skeins in french, but as I'm now mostly targeting an english-speaking audience, I'd like to find another name that would maybe include some french & english, and yet be pretty short and easy to remember. If you have any suggestions, I'd love that !

Oh, and the other day I forgot to add that I also found another goodie : That Anne Geddes picture...

I'd seen before but thought it was too pricey.. and then this time it was only 1 euro !! So now Prune can have some "yarn" of her own.. ;-)