Creampuff Revolution

Creampuff Thinks You Do-Gooders Should Apply for this Free Yarn

I LOVE to knit but I am so sloooow at it that, when I do finish a project a year after starting it, I generally have a recipient in mind and they'd better be grateful or Katr will add them to her shitlist of people I'm not longer allowed to knit for.

But I know that there are many of you knitters out there who are both fast AND community-minded and you like to donate your time and yarn to a cause. And for you, there's an opportunity to snag (haha) some free yarn for your next charity project!

The good people at Yarn Canada (whom, you may recall, sent me some lovely Bernat yarn to review last year and I knit a giant snuggly baby blanket) are offering a chance to win some FREE YARN to you awesome knitters who knit for charitable causes.

If you like to knit hats for preemies in the NICU or scarves for folks who've found themselves homeless or if you're part of a knitting cabal who knit or crochet items to benefit others, this is for you!

I don't know if knitting sweaters for penguins counts but it's worth a shot.

Want to get your do-gooding mitts on some free yarn? Fill out the application by December 31, 2019.

As for me, I recently finished the ONE THING I knit this year but it's a holiday gift, so photos at this time. I know, it's disappointing, but you'll live. And maybe by the time I post those photos, I'll have finished a WHOLE OTHER THING! Shut up, it could happen!

 

Creampuff Reviews Bernat Baby Blanket Stripes Yarn

Back in the summer, the good folks at YarnCanada.ca asked me if I'd like to review their new Bernat Baby Blanket Stripes Yarn.

The yarn comes in eight different colourways, including some lovely gender neutral options. They included a free pattern that looked very doable for a slow-ass knitter like myself.

I had just discovered that my friend Kajo was with child and since she is also a knitter, I thought that I would like to knit something for her new bairn, since I totally missed out on knitting for the first one.

Free yarn? Easy pattern? Baby to knit for?

SIGN ME UP.

I chose the "Sunshine" colourway, because I knew knitting this thing would take me into the winter and the kid would probably be depressed by all the rain by then. Yarn Canada mailed me three delicious cakes of soft, cuddly yarn and I was good to go.

The Kiddie Korners Knit Blankie pattern was perfectly set up to use all three cakes of squooshy yarn. But here's the thing. I have a paucity of needles and the pattern called for 8mm needles.

The yarn is very bulky and I'm a tight knitter (or a TOIGHT knitter, as Jake Peralta would say), so I figured it would be okay to use my 10mm needles instead. And it WAS okay, except for that I went through the yarn more quickly because that's how bigger needles work, so I ran out of yarn before I finished the blanket and had to buy a fourth cake. Of course, I ordered it from Yarn Canada whom, in case you haven't noticed, I heartily endorse.

After I finished the blanket, it turned out...pretty big. I put a penny on it, for scale.

See if you can spot it.

You could probably get more than one baby in this thing, if you wanted, just sayin'. Or a plus size lesbian.

I really enjoyed this knit that took me a long time in the heat of summer. The colours were fun and the joy of self-striping yarn is that, when you are getting bored with an easy pattern, you have a new colour to look forward too.

This is really the perfect time of year to enjoy this fuzzy, snuggly yarn. I probably wouldn't have bought it for myself but having knit with it, I would certainly get it again for a fun, chunky knit that is also machine washable and dryable, in case your baby spits up or you spill guacamole on it. 

Kajo - I know we haven't talked since April but congratulations on your new baby! I knit him this blanket! Let's get together before he goes to college.

Creampuff is the World's Slowest Knitter

I think this might be my worst knitting year to date. I only knit two things. And one of them I don't want to post about yet because I STILL haven't given it to the intended recipient, even though I believe the baby I knit it for is now shaving.

Anyway, here is one thing I knit this year. It's a cowl. And the picture is shitty because the lens on my iPhone was kind of crudded up.

This is the Wolkig cowl in Sundara Yarn and it was super fun to knit. It was VERY easy to memorize, great for TV knitting. The only downside is that it called for fingering (heh heh) weight yarn, so it took FOREVER. It felt like it was, like, one inch long for weeks and then suddenly, I was done!

I didn't know who I was knitting this for when I started - I just wanted to knit it. But when I suddenly noticed, several inches after the fact, that I had somehow dropped, like 10 stitches, I had to make a decision. Rip back untold hours of work to fix it and give it to a friend? Or just cleverly patch the hole and keep it for myself?

I think I've knit two things for myself since I started knitting 13 years ago, so I felt like it was okay to keep the cowl. Also, ripping this pattern back would have been a nightmare. So here's me in my cowl I made for me!

It's not a flattering photo but I'm over 40 now and am out of fucks about my appearance. Although you can really see in this one how my eyebrows have just totally left my face.

Anyway, today I decided it was time to get my knit on again but I knew that if I wanted to actually sustain some knitting activity, I would have to choose a fairly easy pattern with fat yarn. And then I remembered the yarn I mentioned in my LAST post about knitting! Because I still haven't touched it! Well, I'm touching it today, motherfuckers! Wish me luck.

Creampuff Only Knit One Other Thing This Year

I only got my shit together to write two posts this year before NaBloPoMo - one about how it kept fucking snowing and one about my knitting.

Well, I'm embarrassed to say that it's been six months and I have knit ONE THING THAT WHOLE TIME.

Here it is.

This is Saroyan. I've wanted to knit this for YEARS, because it looked easy (it was), yet cool and also, it was named after Dr. Camille Saroyan from the show BONES, which was a great show to knit to because they talk a lot and you can look at your knitting when the corpse falls apart disgustingly.

The yarn is aran silky merino in the Fading Leaves in Fog colourway, by my favourite yarn purveyor, Sundara Yarn. I used almost two full skeins for this project, which is great, because now I have room for the two new skeins of Sundara that I ordered this week! HA ha!

Now, I rarely post photos of my shitty knitting before the intended recipient has received their gift, but in this case, the intended recipient is on vacation in Mexico and FOR SURE won't read this before she gets home to find Saroyan waiting for her, because she's drunk and in the ocean, as she should be.

Up next...I am making more fingerless mitts for Kate! And this is the Iceland Lagoon chunky merino that I ordered from Sundara, so get ready for something fluffy as fuck in 2022.

Oh Hai

Welp, it's fucking May.

It's been awhile, so let's warm some shit up with some photos of my crappy knitting.

Macr's Scarf

I've wanted to knit a scarf for my BFF Padu's BF Macr for a loooong time, because he's a lovely human being and I want him to like me. Plus, I hear he makes my favourite food stuff - jam - and they have a beautiful new kitchen, so I'm hoping this will get me on the jam distribution list this summer. NO PRESSURE, MACR.

First, I had to consult with Padu about what colour Macr would like (manly blue) and then I had to wait for Sundara Yarn to dye a suitable colour (because Mama doesn't go to the yarn store - the yarn comes to Mama). Then I had to find a pattern that looked easy enough that I could knit it while watching Buffy but not SO easy that I'd get bored as hell, because Macr is about 25 feet tall and unless I was going to knit him a jaunty cravat, I knew I'd be plugging away on this thing for awhile.

It took me a year. 

The pattern I chose was the Tilting Rib Scarf. There are much better photos of it at the link, my photos are the WORST. I really couldn't capture the cool texture of this scarf AT ALL. But you have to look at it anyway.

And here it is ON THE RECIPIENT!! This was definitely a mistake, because when a recipient returns of photo of themselves wearing my knitting, THEY MAY BE KNIT FOR AGAIN.

Looking good, Macr!

Geha's Hat

I started knitting this baby hat for Chezza's daughter Geha on the night of the U.S. elections. I thought it would be cool to tell Chezza that I started knitting this hat for her daughter, the future of America, the night the very first female president was elected in the United States. But instead, I started knitting it on the night The Handmaid's Tale became a real possibility. 

Fortunately, it KINDA looked like a pussy hat, so in the end, little Geha was ALL SET TO RESIST. 

UNfortunately, despite her attempts to shield her baby from the horror, it looks like Geha found out about Trump.

In related news, I laughed so hard about this tweet today that I almost blacked out. 

Trump's nuts are 2 for a dollar at my grocery store. pic.twitter.com/5mlamP9fkh

— amber ruffin (@ambermruffin) May 2, 2017

 

I feel like I need to make a list of things I've been meaning to blog about so that I don't wait another five months to use my blog, WHICH I PAY MONEY TO HAVE. Here's a start:

• How our vet suggested our dog go on a vegan diet
• How I got my scalp biopsied (nothing life threatening)
• How Katr put out a literal fire I started
• The "new" Anne series
• The new Handmaid's Tale series
• Awesome books I have read this year
• Anachrony

 

Tiny Babies in Knitted Hats are Comforting

Like some of you, me and my current 2/3 American-born household were fervently and optimistically hoping for a different outcome in yesterday's election.

As shit started to get super real last night, we all decided to go to bed before the final tallying was done, in the hopes that somehow there would be a miracle in the night.

Woke up to the official news about President Elect Trump on the radio this morning and I thought "I'm pretty sure this is how The Handmaid's Tale starts."

HAHAHAHAHAHA shitballs.

Fortunately, we had our emotional support shar pei nearby through the night. She was pretty jazzed to get up on the big bed. 

And while we will probably spend today crying over Hillary's concession speech and eating our feelings, one must remember that life goes on and people are good and there are adorable babies. Why, here's one now! He's sleeping off the election.

I knitted this hat for the sweet bebe of some lovely nearby friends who have TOTALLY BETRAYED US by announcing recently that they are moving back to New York in January. WHAT?? COME ON!! This note from tiny Hath Chevan's mom did, however, soften the blow:

Roro!  Thank you for your knitted hat!  It looks really good on Hath, I love it.  He must like it too because he cries when we try to put other hats on him but he doesn't with yours :)  

Hahahahahahahaha, well played, Cach. WELL PLAYED. If you decide to stay put in Vancouver, that'd be cool too, just sayin'.

My lovely friend Wenders and her wife welcomed a tiny bebe last winter, for whom I also knit a tiny hat and I'm JUST NOW getting around to posting a picture. This kid starts college in the fall.

I've never met Wenders in person but she's a long time internet friend and she lives in America. She was out canvassing  yesterday, trying to get out the vote for Hillary - but she also posted this on her FB page, which I loved:

Because she is delightful, Wenders is working on a project to collect 1 million stories about small acts of kindness. You can share your own stories on Twitter or Instagram by using the tag #microkindness and definitely follow the MicroKindness project on Instagram and Twitter Because couldn't we all use a little more booze kindness today and going forward? INDEED.

Creampuff Hasn't Watched the Gilmore Girls Trailer Yet

I found an entry in my Jane-a-Day 5 Year Journal from this time last year that read "Started watching Gilmore Girls. Katr's verdict: too yelly. My verdict: Super yappy,  perfect for knitting."

I don't know why I had my head up my ass when the Gilmore Girls was actually on the air - I remember several people told me that I should watch it, because they felt the rapid fire dialogue and frequent pop culture references would appeal to me and I was all FUCK YOU, YOU DON'T KNOW ME.

Of course, as it turns out, they DID know me and I DO like it, just several years later. And I came into the fandom just as the announcement about the new Netflix special was coming out and suddenly EVERYONE is talking about this great new show I've found! NO SPOILERS, I'm not quite finished Season 7. Which is why I haven't watched the trailer yet.

Because people are good at marketing and I, as noted in my Tuesday post, am a whore for advertising, I've participated in two lead-up-to-the-Netflix-special Gilmore Girls nerd activities.

Pop Up Luke's Diner. My friend Boka and I thought it would be fun to go to this and also, we thought, it doesn't start 'til 9 a.m. and it's Vancouver, so for sure no one will be there. HAHAAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAH Boka got there at 8:30ish and the line was already around the block and into the alley. Vancouver is full of GG nerdz!!!!! Who knew??? We waited in line for two hours to get our free coffee and take a photo with the Luke's sign. And because we were in line with a bunch of other nerdz on a beautiful fall morning, it was ridiculous and fun. I...still have my cup.

Knitting: Gilmore Girls is the best ever show for knitting, because they talk non-stop and almost sweet fuck all happens visually, so you rarely have to look up. So when my favourite purveyor of yarn, Sundara, announced that she was going to do a four-colour Gilmore Girls collection (now closed, sorry, hahahaha but she makes beautiful yarn so check it out), Katr said to me "Whatever you want to do, I support you." 

That's what love sounds like.

This colour is called "Stars Hollow" and it is one of two colours that were purchased by me. It's inspired by autumn. I can't wait 'til it gets here so I can knit something autumnal with it. That shit is going to look so seasonal!

As I said, I haven't finished the series yet but I still have a lot of (mostly existential) questions and thoughts. 

• That theme song was the WORST.
  
  
• Why did Laine marry that wastoid?
  
  
• What was the appeal of pre"published author" Jess?
  
  
• Why wouldn't fucking Jackson get a vasectomy like an adult?
  
  
• How is Suki SO CUTE OMG?
  
  
• Where in France is Michel supposed to be from?
  
  
• Where is the good Rory/Paris slash fiction?
  
  
• Lorelei and Christopher got MARRIED WTF NOOOOOOOOO
  
  
• What happened to Dean?
  
  
• Did you all hate Logan? I immediately loved him, but that's because I loved him from The Good Wife, which I watched first.
  
  
• Did you know that Danny Strong "liked" one of my tweets???????????????? It was unrelated to the Gilmore Girls but I took a screen shot.

Please feel free to share your nerd thoughts on these and any other Gilmore Girls topics but NO SPOILERS. I gotta finish the series before November 25!! And I must also plan the right combo of snax and cocktails. 

via GIPHY

Creampuff Gets Knitting In Just Under the Wire

According to etiquette guru Emily Post (I *think*, I don't know, I can't be arsed to look it up) you have one year from the date of someone's wedding to give them a gift.

One year ago yesterday, I attended the wedding of my lovely lovely friends Erga and Paga in Tofino, B.C. and juuuuuust a couple of weeks ago, I finally got them their wedding present! Spoiler alert: it was some of my lumpy knitting. So, TOTALLY worth the wait.

First, a word about this wedding. The ceremony was sweet and moving. The bride and groom's families and friends were warm and welcoming. The newlyweds' brand new baby was SO CUTE OMG. The dinner was delicious. 

My beloved Katr could not attend because of work, so I went solo and got REALLY loaded with my old friend Hildy and her gentlemanly swain Se(no last name) and the groom Paga's "Angels", a trio of his long-time gal pals who were a non-stop party. There was an open bar and the "out of town" guest baskets included TWO bottles of wine and cheesies. So...it's not ALL on me.

There are a lot of photos of the group of us being loaded but I think these two are the most illustrative:

Exhibit A: Me with Charlotte, my wine baby

Exhibit B: Me, sweating drunkenly, with the very patient, non-drunk bride Erga (who gave birth to a baby 8 weeks before her wedding!!!!) and Hildy, killing herself, laughing drunkly.

I don't know how we ended up alone on the dance floor, lip synching "Finally" by Cece Peniston, drinking SCOTCH (actually, I blame that on Hildy's date Se, who made sure no one's glass was ever empty for long) but the next thing I knew, I was sharing a beer on the chilly beach with 5 other drunken souls and I'm sure the conversation was SUPER SUPER deep and we talked about our LIVES. I got sand in places, including my mouth. The stars were close enough to touch. It was magical.

The first time - and only time - I ever got drunk enough to barf was in 2001. Interesting sidenote: both Erga and Hildy were present on that historic night. Erga's wedding was ALMOST the second time...I woke up at 4 a.m. and spent several dicey moments on the bathroom floor before crawling back to bed and bringing the recycle bin with me, just in case. Then I DREAMED that I ralphed and felt great when I woke up.

Anyway, Erga and Paga's delightful wedding was a year ago and I think of it often. Because I've had a bit of a RSI and it took me the whole year to knit their gifts. And then I mailed them in the hottest part of the summer. YOU'RE WELCOME, NEWLYWEDS.

Groom's Socks

I got this manly manly colour from Sundara Yarn a few years ago (it has a dumb name, like "The Beautiful Side of Why" or something but I love the colour) and never had the right manly project. I don't know if this was the right project either, because it's sure hard to see the stitch pattern. These are Undulating Rib Socks by Ann Budd. Paga, I hope they fit! I was guesstimating your foot size!

Manly yarn makes pattern hard to see.

Even close up - still caaaaan't really see it.

 
Bride's Socks

Lady socks! For a special lady ;) This colour is also by Sundara Yarn - it's called Winter Twilight (i.e. the appropriate time to put on handmade socks). The pattern is Waving Lace Socks by Evelyn A. Clark. I was worried the yarn might be too variegated for the pattern to show up, but I think they turned out pretty cute. Erga, I hope they're not too big! I got all excited to stretch the lace out and they might be a little loose. On the leg, I mean, not sexually.

These might be knee socks, Erga. 

Baby's Beret

I wanted something kicky for baby Evga, because she seems to have a lot of personality and flair, even for one so young. So I chose the Sock Yarn Beret by Corinne Fourcade. The beret is a combo of the groom's yarn and the bride's yarn, much in the way that Evga is a combo of...okay, I see by your face that you get it. I'm notoriously bad at knowing how large children are at various ages, mainly because I avoid them assiduously, but I figured an 18-month size hat would be the perfect size for this winter.

Fortunately, Erga and Paga aren't weirdos who would get update about a blue hat for a female baby. Just another reason why they're awesome!

My blocking skills are best described as "inept".

 

Giraffe is doing a bang-up job of modelling here.

 

So that's all I have to show for a year of knitting. But a lot of love went into these! I've started a new project that's also a gift, so get ready to fawn all over it in 6-8 months.

Creampuff Still Knitting

I know what you've been thinking.

A) Good thing you didn't promise to blog weekly this year, YOU LAZY FUCK

B) So...are you still knitting?

Wedding Socks for Lovely Aunts

I took a bit of a break from knitting between February 2013 and December 2013, when I frantically finished these two pairs of socks for my not-so-recently gay-married aunts. Seriously...we were on the ferry on the way to the Island and I was grafting the toes together.

This pattern is called "Tadpoles" and I highly recommend it. The yarn on the left is called "The Life Aquatic" and the yarn on the right is "Waterlily", both by Sundara Yarn. The water theme came together organically - by which I mean I noticed it when I was writing out the card and it BLEW MY MIND!!!!

Here is the happy couple, enjoying their socks at their favourite vacation spot. Squeee.

Boka's Cowl

I'd been meaning to knit something for Boka for ages; she's always gifting us AMAZING ART, plus she needed a big cozy cowl to balance her resplendent hair.

So I made her Cowl "Diamonds" - the colourway is Rose Mallow, also from Sundara, where all my yarn comes from. I also highly recommend this pattern; it's a very satisfying knit, particularly when watching Sherlock and eating bonbons.

Susu's Scarf

Two years ago, Susu was having a milestone birthday and I asked her fella, Dase, what kinds of colours she liked so that I could knit her a scarf! Aaaaaand two years later, I actually finished it. The pattern is called "Candle Flame Scarf" and it too is an awesome knit. The yarn is Toasted Orange Over Pistachio sport silk and it's greener than the picture shows...also from Sundara.

Oooo, let's get a closer look.

The whole reason I wanted to post about my knitting is that I *just* finished a new project but then I realized that it's a gift that won't be opened by the blog-reading recipient for several months, so I guess I'll just have to sit on it. 

My commitment to significantly reducing my stash before bringing any new yarn in is going well if you don't count the fact that I've ordered a lot of new yarn in the past few months but it won't be DELIVERED for awhile, so I still have time, shut up.

You Can Exhale - Here's More of My Knitting

I haven't posted about knitting since my knitting round-up last year - probably because I took a fairly longish break from knitting for the first half of 2012.

I don't know why - I just wasn't FEELING it. And I discovered that I couldn't watch Dexter and knit at the same time because I had to pay attention to all the murder-y nuances.

But then I had to get back on the horse again quick, 'cause - BABIES!! People keep having them.

Note: I want you all to know that I did actually ask all of the moms before I posted pictures of their babies on my blog. Because I am RESPECTFUL. 

Neve's Sweater

First up was Neve, a local baby birthed by our hilarious friend Macl. Macl is an avid crafter who sometimes hosts Knit Nights and I knew that she would appreciate some fine, lumpy fun for her newborn.

This pattern is called Korrigan (Ravelry link) and the yarn is Waterlily in the sock base by Sundara Yarn.

Such sweet little cables! Let's see the close-up. But let's ignore the photo up top where I'd clearly not woven in the ends in or sewed the buttons on.

I love little Neve's expression here, as if she's saying "What the FUCK?" Also, those buttons...waaaay too big. Why is it so hard to find effing wooden buttons?

Taro's Sweater

My brother and I have clearly each failed to produce offspring...so the carrying on of the family name fell to my awesome cousin and his wife, who recently produced my dad's side of the family's first official grandbaby! I looked at a lot of other patterns before casting on for this sweater for baby Taro, but none of them were as cute as Korrigan. So I made it again - this time, in Sugarplum sock, also by Sundara Yarn.

These buttons were a little more in proportion, but I made the button holes too small somehow, so I bet that's annoying for poor Taro's mom. HA ha! Baby sweater!!

Teeny cables are teeny.

Best. Sweater Pic. EVER. The sugarplum pink really brings out Taro's gums.

Bonus!

Baby Chwa in the sweater I knit her last year! It finally fits. Clearly, I don't understand what size "babies" are. Extra points to Chwa's mom for the excellent photo bomb.

Not all my knitting was for babies last year - I also knit for adults! Okay, only three things, but still.

Katr's Gloves

If these gloves look familiar, it's because they are! They're Luciana's fingerless mitts - I knit a pair of these for Katr a couple of years ago, but I was in a hurry and they were a little too short. I made these ones twice as long (but still not long enough - third time may be the charm with these).

The yarn is Sundara's Aran Silky Merino in Grand Canal of Venice. Very snuggly!

Chezza's Cowl

Chezza is very stylish and lives in NYC and I've been meaning to knit her this cowl for a year. This year, I did it! HA ha! It's a modified version of the Burberry Inspired Cowl and it was super cozy for fall knitting - I was loathe to let it go.

Behold its subtle cabling and not-so-subtle Kitchener stitch seam on the right. MAGIC.

Bonus - me, my crazy eye, my fuzzy hair and my GIANT FOREHEAD wearing the cowl in an attempt to demonstrate its coziness.

Anro's Shawlette

I've been meaning to knit my (step)grandma Anro (of pot brownie fame) something for ages and I finally got my shit together and made my very first shawl. It is purple. The pattern is Xenia and the yarn is Fingering Silky Merino in Monet's Basilica (by...you guessed it...SUNDARA).

After blocking it, I was suddenly gripped with fear that Anro HATES purple, she HATES it. Or does she? FUCK. Well, I sent it off anyway and I hope she didn't immediately set it on fire when it got to her. She's a classy lady, so if she does hate it, I trust her to lie and spare my feelings. It took me three months of Buffy to make.

Ooo, let's see a close-up:

I totally forgot to tell Anro that she can only wear this shawlette if she has this expression on her face:

 
but I'm sure she'll figure it out. 

Next up - mostly secret knitting that I can't talk about. Plus, more babies!! So many babies...