Silly sleep mask

A few weeks ago, I made this sleep mask for my boyfriend based on Velvet Oblivion from Knitty, modifying it a bit so that it doesn't look so girly. (The boyfriend says it looks sort of like a fruity version of the mask those guys from Halo wear.) Instead of knitting a fluffy border around one layer of sleep mask, I knit two layers and put a piece of fabric between them to maximize the light blockage. Then, I crocheted the two pieces together and knit a strap in garter stitch. The result is a much more manly sleep mask.

Anyway, a little while ago, I asked the boyfriend if he'd model it for me so I could take a picture for my blog, and he refused, so I asked him to take a picture of me wearing it. The following hilarity ensued:



Apparently I can't keep a straight face when someone is taking a picture of me blindfolded.

Skulls on the brain

I'm not the most fashion-savvy person, but I have noticed that skulls are pretty prevalent these days. Three of the knitting books I own have toques with a skull and crossbones design, and one of my crochet books has a pattern for a skull applique, in fact, the same one I used for my off-the-shoulder top. Maybe it's the revival of interest in pirates (with the Pirates of the Caribbean movies), or maybe skulls have a badass esthetic that everyone wants to get behind. At any rate, I've been seeing skulls everywhere... even on my wall...



Turns out it's just the reflection of our coffee table on the wall with a few strategically placed remote controls, but it was still pretty cool.

And for good measure, here's what happened to the skull applique from my sweater after I unravelled it (the sweater, not the applique):

New yarn and a new project

I have to start by saying that it's absolutely gorgeous outside right now. The temperature is 25 degrees Celsius and there isn't a cloud in the sky. And of course, I'm cooped up in my office working on my research project which I have to defend in two weeks! I did spend about half an hour crocheting in front of the McLennan building, but I don't feel like that was enough.

Anyway, on to the real subject of this post: yarn! I recently found out that I was getting a scholarship from NSERC for next year, and to celebrate, I bought about $70 worth of yarn on WEBS. I got nine balls of Rowan Cotton 4 ply, which has since been discontinued so it was cheap, so I could make the Icelandic Turtle Neck from the Crochet Me book. The pattern calls for wool yarn, but I thought it would be a better summer top if I made it out of cotton. I also modified the turtle neck so that it's less long. Here's the yarn:



And here's a bit of swatching, and the beginning of the collar:




I really like working with this yarn so far. There's just something about cotton... the stitches are clean and defined, and the yarn seems tough and durable, while being soft and smooth. It's a lovely colour as well. I wasn't sure that I liked it when I first got it in the mail (and it's not like I had much choice when I bought it... it was that or bright orange. Yuck!), but it's been growing on me.

My second purchase was some sock yarn: Araucania Ranco Solid in the colourway called "Midnight". From the picture on the website, it looked sort of dark grey, but when it arrived, it looked more like black and navy blue, which is also pretty. I'm planning on using that to make some socks for the boyfriend: Treads from Son of Stitch 'n' Bitch.



Yesterday, which was also a gorgeous day, I found a yarn shop in Kensington Market called Lettuce Knit. I didn't get to spend much time there because the others in my party were bored (I'm surprised they let me indulge in my yarn addiction at all), so I'll have to check it out again one of these days. It looked a little pricey for my tastes, but perhaps I'll indulge in some luxury yarn at some point...

Spring has sprung!

I think it's pretty official now (and has been for a couple of weeks). We're on the verge of the warmest day of the year so far. It's supposed to go up to 21 degrees Celsius this afternoon! I'm tempted to pull out my flip-flops, but there are also thunderstorm warnings, so that might not be such a good idea. Anyway, in order to celebrate this occasion, here are some pictures of the beautiful flowers around campus!

There were daffodils.


And things just budding (I have no idea what it is, but it's pretty!)


And here's the lovely architecture of Trinity College.


And the pretty gardens in front of Trinity College.


And finally, a pretty budding tree flower (I wish I knew what these were called as well).


Hurray for spring!

Can tab experiments

As mentioned earlier, I got inspired by The Art of Can Tabistry, and have started collecting can tabs with the hopes that I'll someday have enough to make something awesome like a corset. I got inspired the other day to test out some can weaving patterns, and here are the results.





It doesn't look so hard, though when I get around to trying this for real, I'll likely have one row of tabs facing inward and the other facing outward so that there's no scratchy surfaces.

Wheee! Twine!

My boyfriend needed to pick up some supplies at The Friendly Stranger, and I got him to buy me some extra-special Spirit Stream hemp twine!



I've got all sorts of amazing plans to make macrame necklaces and bracelets, and maybe even crochet some of it! The possibilities are endless!



Ooooh! The prettiness!

Yum yum ice cream sandwiches

This photo has been kicking around Photobucket for a couple of weeks, so I figured, since everyone loves food porn, that I'd post it.



Those are ginger and vanilla ice cream sandwiches. My man made them with these cheapo ginger cookies we bought at the convenience store and the leftover vanilla ice cream from Pi Day. They have to be left in the freezer overnight so that the cookies absorb some of the moisture from the ice cream and soften up, and then they're delish-tastic!