Going Domestic

sticky situation

One year ago, as I madly tried to prepare for our overseas move, I wasn't really thinking, "Gee, I ought to take some craft supplies with me." With the exception of my knitting stuff and scrapbooking tote, everything was packaged up for storage. Who knows when I'll see that again ...

Over the last nine or ten months, I have driven myself a little crazy trying to source out where to find something crafty for myself or for my preschooler. Sometimes you find stuff, like embroidery floss, and sometimes you don't (apparently, construction paper does not exist here). Right now, Mod Podge is the object of my obsession. I'd like to decoupage the frame around a mirror for my kid.

I doubt I'll find Mod Podge. I had a big tub of it that I bought in St. John's, and why I tossed it into the garbage bin there, I will never understand. Did I seriously think a 375 ml container was too big to take back to Calgary and beyond?

Anyway, it's my fault and now I have to deal. Quick googling makes me believe that I can probably fake mod podge with diluted permanent white glue, and I am optimistic. Pretty sure that I can find permanent white glue here at a department store stationary department. Wish me luck.

what a fine excuse reading is

  clapotis five drops in ... 
  Originally uploaded by goingdomestic

This is my latest knitting project. I took this photo about a month ago, and I can't say that I've made much progress since then. I've read about five books, though!

2008 isn't shaping up to be good year in terms of commitment to my knitting hobby. I have had all of the parts of a cotton tank completed for at least a month, and I haven't been able to motivate myself to spend the required then minutes to do the little bit of sewing to finish it up. It's ridiculous, isn't it?

Maybe reading is my best pastime, and knitting is just a diversion. If I'm honest, I've been knitting for about eighteen months, and I've been reading books with chapters for twenty-six years.

My Top Five Books that are Better than Knitting:
1. Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl
2. Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
3. Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner
4. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
5. Fried Eggs with Chopsticks by Polly Evans

greenish

  Julie's Gauntlets 
  Originally uploaded by goingdomestic

Today I was originally going to type out a huge rant about how much I hate Blogger because they keep changing the layout of their commenting form and it's all in Thai for me, but then I realized that I've had a knitting project complete for two weeks without mentioning it!  The horror!

These are fingerless gloves, knit from a pattern my sister saw at River City Yarn. I really ought not to have knit them already as I already had a project on the go, but the yarn was so pretty and tempting. It was a nice break from Madeline's knitted tank, actually. The pattern is a simple 2x2 rib, and they knit up very quickly. I was a little worried as I saw another pair of these knit in the same yarn (different colourway), and the colour variation on each glove is so different that it looks like they were knit with two different colour ways! Luckily, both of these gloves complement each other. I hope that Julie likes them ...

I'm very close to finishing Madeline's tank - the body is finished, and I am two rounds away from completing the ruffle for the top. My next step after that is tacking a three-needle bind-off to attach the two pieces (going to be interesting as I've knit everything in the round and don't have three needles in the same size), and then, when my parents arrive in a few weeks with my Harmony DPNs, I can start the i-cord for the straps.

wound up

  A very tidy ball! 
  Originally uploaded by goingdomestic

I have to confess that I can't remember whether my yarn baller was a birthday gift or a Mother's Day gift, but I do know that I've had it for months and only tried it out a few days ago. Obviously, I am crazy, because if I was sane I would have started using it right away instead of trying to ball my yarn manually. I can't believe how quick it is, and I don't even own a swift to help the process out!  Now, I'll just be crazy about my yarn baller.

yay for perpetual summer

I frogged the tank that I was knitting for Madeline two days ago. The proportions just weren't right. A little too wide, and the bodice detail that I knit wasn't postioned properly, either.

I'm not worried about this set-back, though. No matter when I finish this project, it will be warm enough outside for Madeline to wear it!

america's next top yarn model

  Knitty's Spring 2007 Monica, all glammed up 
  Originally uploaded by goingdomestic

So, I'm three weeks into an adult education photography class.  I registered in the hopes of better understanding how to take good candid photos of my kiddo with my new camera, not so that I could take a photo of yarn under studio lighting ... but that's what I did on Thursday night! Has anyone ever seen a better-looking work-in-progress from me?

I'm enjoying this project. It's my first knitting since finishing up a slew of hats back in May, before we moved to BKK, and my first project on my set of Options needles, which I really like. The flexibility of the cable is amazing (I must try magic loop with the Options needles, no?)! I started the Monica tank because I had about nine balls of Shine Worsted in my stash. They were meant for a shrug, but that idea turned out to be a bad idea, but something like this tanks seemed to a good match for the drape of the yarn.

Back to the photography, this shot was taken in a light box that my instructor and I fashioned. We used holes in a curtain to get the highlights on the stitch markers (a birthday present from my sister, from zero markers) and the yarn, and pieces of coconut husk to create the shadows. Really crazy!

knitting in a rainy paradise

It's been awhile since I posted, hasn't it? This past Tuesday was a holiday here in Thailand - I can't for the life of me remember it's official name, but it commemorates the abolishment of slavery - and Chris and Madeline were off of work and school Friday through Tuesday. We took the break as an opportunity to visit our third Thailand resort destination, Koh Samui.

We flew on Bangkok Air, which was just lovely. Nice departure lounges, small snacks, a meal service (and Madeline got a cool set of Hiroshima-themed colorforms on-board to play with). I hope that Westjet grows up to be more like Bangkok Airlines in a few years; I already have noticed a few similarities.

I can't really decide how much I liked about Koh Samui as it rained nearly constantly while we were there, and that's probably not fair evaluation conditions. What I do know is that we still had a really good time. We stayed at the Tongsai Bay resort in a decent-sized cottage, and when it was pouring outside, Madeline watched DVDs, Chris read the newspaper, and I knitted. We didn't really mind at all. It was still relaxing to be out of Bangkok. We'd pick up our umbrellas and wander down to the beach-side bar for a pizza snack, or try to teach Madeline how to play eight-ball in the games room off of the lobby. We kept busy, and I nearly went through two balls of Shine Worsted for Madeline's Monica. It certainly wasn't a waste of a long weekend ...

now i need something to sew

Because I saw this beautiful fabric on the internet! I came across the superbuzzy site this evening, and have spent the last ten minutes peeking through the pages and pages of delightful fabric. A far cry from Fabricland, my go-to shop in Calgary and St. John's.

Best of all - they'll ship internationally for $11 :)

filling up the suitcases

Apron Model
Originally uploaded by goingdomestic

I found myself in downtown Edmonton yesterday afternoon, mainly to get my hair trimmed, but also to help my sister out at the farmers' market. It wasn't the busiest day there, maybe because the weather was hit-or-miss and it's the Canada Day long weekend, so many people head out of town. Julie came back from her lunch break with this cute little apron for Madeline. It was from the market vendor with the "Miss Fit" product line. I walked by their booth myself later, and saw a lot of handmade textile goods for little people. The fabrics were really delightful, and the apron, while a simple construction, is well-made. And it was affordable! Madeline really likes it. I guess that I'll have to whip up a batch of muffins with her now :)

Leaving for BKK a week from today. The thought of leaving Canada is really weird, but I'm also looking forward to not living out out a suitcase much longer ...

Hatopia

  Hatopia 
  Originally uploaded by goingdomestic

Since packing up in St. John's, all of my knitting time has been spent on quick low-commitment projects. Hats, really. I've finished four in the last two months. These are the most recent three, and I wish that I'd picked more challenging patterns for them, but I guess that I can say that I've had lots of practice with increasing and decreasing. I think that the berry hat is the most successful of the three, but hopefully each of them gets some use!

I'd still love to knit the circular shrug, but I haven't any wool for it yet, and with moving from Calgary next week, I can't say it's in my future, either. The current knitted object of my affection is a lacey shawl from No Sheep, actually.  The pattern was originally worked in Handmaiden sea silk, which goes for something like $45/hank at my LYS. Currently, the thought that my expenditures on yarn should be proportional to my knitting skill level is what's keeping me from blowing all notions of a yarn budget ...