Ladybugs & Yarn

I found out about the Pay it Forward exchange through Gilraen’s blog, and it was such a lovely idea I had to throw my hat into the ring. Here’s how it works, in the words of the creator of the exchange…

It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based on the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. You all know I’m already a PIF type of person. So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

So! I am therefore making the same promise to the first three people who comment and request to be a part of this exchange.

In other news… Socktoberfest! A perfect excuse to pair up those lone socks, finish those languishing WIPs, or knit that pair of socks you’ve coveted for months. There’s nothing to sign up for and no imposed deadlines–all you have to do is decide to focus on sock knitting during the month of October. If you want to set goals, go to. Mine are to finish the sekrit socks and get them mailed off, and to knit a pair of tweed socks for my father. If I get those done, then I have a lone crazy-coloured sock in self-striping wool that needs a mate, and if even that gets done, then I’ll work on the pair of barely-started Fire on the Mountain socks that were my new commuter project.

Time to put on a film and get knitting.

Pattern: What pattern?
Yarn: Fleece Artist merino in Jubilation
Needles: 2.5mm circs

Stevie wanted to help with the photo.

I knit these exclusively on the bus to and from college, save for the toe decreases on the second sock (had to take a few minutes at home to finish that up so I could get them on my feet!) I more or less used my standard sock pattern–64 stitch cast-on, 13 rows of ribbing, eye of partridge heel flap, and flat toe. I probably should have only decreased down to 10 sts on each side instead of 8, but they fit fine nonetheless. Mmm, squishy squishy FA merino.

So! On the needles now: the sekrit socks, Juliet, and a somewhat-neglected Icarus shawl. I’m doing rather well at controlling the startitis.

The leaves are turning. It always seems to happen so suddenly; you go to sleep on a warm indian-summer night and wake up to a crisp autumn morning. I love this time of year, when the leaves are red-gold, when the air has a refreshing chill in the early hours and a lovely warmth mid-afternoon.

I noticed the trees on my way to Lakeburn this afternoon. The transit buses don’t venture that far outside the city limits, but my mother’s car is here while she’s in Alberta visting her sister. I’ve only had it out twice, once being today’s drive and the other a trip to the zoo on Magnetic Hill (more on that, later).

Lakeburn, of course, is home to London-Wul. I could have just phoned them with my questions about spinning classes, but I chose to visit, instead. The studio has such a wonderful atmosphere; it feels less like a store and more like a cozy workshop. Which, I suppose, it is, since the owner does have her own lines of handspun and handpainted yarns. I took a look through Folk Style, More Sensational Knitted Socks, and a bunch of other books while I was there, and of course had to take the opportunity to squish yarns, eye up the Addi Turbo lace needles, and pet the pearly pink plastic sock DPNs. Even in the presence of all that gorgeousness, I did behave myself–almost. I found a lone skein of hand-dyed fingering-weight pure wool in a bright cherry red, and 500 yards for $8 was too good of a bargain to pass up. It’ll make a fabulous Estonian Garden scarf.

Speaking of red, I took out several yards of red corduroy from the fabric bins this evening. It’s waiting beside the sewing machine now, along with a fall jacket pattern. I think I’ll cut it out tomorrow while the cats are napping–much easier that way. They’re positively angelic where knitting is concerned, but pattern pieces pose too great a temptation for them to resist.

I spent a fantastic afternoon at the zoo on Friday. Look at this beautiful creature:

I loved all of the big cats (and the raccoons and the alpacas and the marmosets and the wolves and the otters and…), but this jaguar and her mate had me captivated. Such powerful animals, yet they roll and stretch and paw at each other like kittens in the sun.

More photos!

Oversized teddy bear.

Young stag.

A capybara, the world’s largest rodent. This one must’ve weighed about 80lbs.

Bison.

Tomar the gorgeous tiger.

Baby llama!

Aww.

Adorable raccoon.

Very curious, too. As soon as he noticed us, he decided to sit and watch us the way we watched him.

Bald eagle! Very impressive birds.

Sleepy otter. <3

Another sleepy otter, obviously protective of his toys.

Pygmy goats, looking for handouts.

Norwegian pony. A cute one, too.

Scarlet macaw, king of tropical birds.

This cockatoo was a total show-off.

Some kind of small South American tree snake.

Alpacas!

A cougar, more interested in his nap than in the humans watching him.

Itsy-bitsy marmosets. These little guys could fit in the palm of my hand.

Something tells me it would be a bad idea to turn your back on this deer.

I have loads more photos, but it’ll take some time to sort through them. Also, I think next time I go to the zoo I’ll go in the morning, as in mid-afternoon most of the animals have taken refuge from the heat.

As promised, I took some photos along Main Street. I’ll put them in another post, though, later this afternoon.

That ecstatic bliss brought on by fabulous life changes has settled down a bit now, of course, fading into a low-level buzz of contentment that hovers at the corners of my mind and occasionally makes me smile at completely random times. The courses are going so well at the moment; my average is a solid A+; we’re constantly being warned that the course is going to get much more difficult, and quickly, but I’m looking forward to the challenge. As long as I keep up the good study habits I have at the moment and don’t allow myself to procrastinate or fall behind, I’ll do well. I’m almost sure of it.

Tomorrow afternoon I’m going to the Magnetic Hill Zoo and plan to take a load of photos. I’m thinking about wandering around town after supper, too, with camera in hand, provided the weather behaves itself. It’s been gorgeous the past three days, though, so I have hope.

… I did promise knitting in the subject line, didn’t I? Yes.

I’ve been steadily knitting away on one of my own designs–a set of two pairs of pretty plum-coloured socks, one mother-sized and one daughter-sized. The pattern’s not for release here, but it’s being sent to somewhere more commercial and with a larger fanbase than this itsy blog of mine. =D I’m very excited about it. If I could knit the pairs on the bus they’d be done, but charts and buses don’t mix. I’ve been doing them, instead, in the moments I can manage at home.

As far as bus knitting goes, I’m 3/4s done a pair of socks knit with the Fleece Artist merino that the LYS’s knitting night girls gave me as a gift when I left for college. Lookie at the awesome rainbow colours:

My other commuter project is a Juliet cardigan knit in this gorgeousness. I’ve made a few simple alterations to have the pattern work with the gauge I’m knitting to, and now it’s fine for bus knitting until I get to the lace.

It’s September. Do we all know what that means? … Holiday knits! Oh, come on, I can’t be the only one to have all of my gifts planned and yarn-stashed already. Granted, it’s a small list, but I had to figure out what yarns I’d need while I still had a steady income, so the plans are all done up. All of the giftees have access to this blog, so I’ll keep the babble to a minimum–all I’ll say is that I have two pairs of socks, two hats, and a wide scarf to knit.

It’s autumn-evening chilly outside (beautiful!) so I think I’ll take a walk to the mailbox–I keep forgetting it exists and haven’t checked it in a week. Good thing it’s locked, yes?

Blueberry pancakes, anyone?

It’s been a couple of weeks now; not long, but I’m settling in quite comfortably. The courses are starting off on the right note, I love my apartment, the cats are happy, and I seem to have landed myself in a quiet part of this lovely city. I’m just a short bus ride from downtown, so I get the best of both worlds.

Based on what I’ve seen and discovered so far, there seems to be much more here that appeals to me and my interests. I’m a bit of an arts-and-culture geek at times and I’m thrilled that there’s a strong presence of both, here. I like being able to walk down Main Street and hear jazz coming from an open-air restaurant near City Hall, then turn the corner and hear maracas when I pass by the entrance of MexiCali Rosa’s. I’m thrilled that Symphony NB has six concerts at the Capitol Theatre (pic is quite large; it’s a gorgeous venue that was built as a vaudeville/opera house in the 1920s) here between October and June, and that the student price to attend is less than that of a cinema ticket. I’m amused (and pleased) that there are angora bunnies and assorted sheep wandering around that beautiful yarn shop just outside of city limits.

I like that when I step onto the curb in front of a crosswalk, the cars stop in both directions, and I like that the girl sitting beside me in class asked me about the knitting I’ve been doing during lunch breaks. I like that although the city’s seven or eight times larger than anywhere I’ve lived before, I no longer have to show my monthly pass or student ID when I board the bus because the driver remembers his regulars. And, of course, I like that there seem to be enough good things that I can ignore the few things (and people) that remind me too much of that town I’ve left behind.

Teal-coloured surgical scrubs and a lab coat just might be a better (and more comfortable!) look for me than a Tim Horton’s uniform. Actually, screw the “might be”. The word is “are”.

I’m rambling. But I’m happy. Can you tell?

I’m sprawled on the living room floor with the laptop at the moment, watching Gargoyles on DVD, waiting for my hardboiled eggs to cool. Egg salad sandwiches for lunch tomorrow, mmm.

There’s going to be lots of photospam over the next couple of weeks, as I have a whole new city to play with. There’s also going to be a shiny new look for this whole domain. Stay tuned.