Iced, Iced Baby!

Or, to be truly accurate, Iced, Iced, Iced Baby!

And no, I’m not talking about a certain rapper-turned-contractor. I’m talking about my first sweater-in-progress, Carol Feller's Iced cardigan. And two of its many cousins, which I met last night at my first North Van knit night at urban yarns.


Here they all are, hanging out together at the end of the evening. Apologies for the craptastic shot. Left to right: mine, T(h)eresa’s and Betty’s.

Betty had cast off just a few minutes before; all that’s left for hers to graduate from WIP to FO is a button or two. Here’s a closer look:


That's Mmmmmalabrigo Rasta, piglets! It's gorgeously soft and wonderful, and I think I might need to cast on a second Iced as soon as I finish the first, either in Rasta or possibly the gorgeously soft and chunky Fleece Artist (Big Blue, I think?) that T(h)eresa (totally forgot to ask for the spelling -- apologies!) is using.

You might have noticed that my Iced looks a little...well, flimsy compared to its cousins. That's because I'm knitting it at a thinner gauge, using Cascade Eco+ and 7.0 mm needles. I chose to do this after knitting (and washing and drying, I'll have you know!) the Swatch that Ate North Vancouver...


...using some of the teal Eco+ leftover from the Super-Secret-BirthdayWedding-Prezzie-Made-of-Lace™.

I got gauge using the Eco+ double-stranded. But I didn't like how thick and sturdy the fabric was. So I went with the lighter fabric of the first section of the swatch. Fortunately, no tricky math was involved: by using my preferred gauge and knitting the 3X size as written, I should end up with the 1X size, which is the one I want.

Although having seen the heavier gauge knitted up, I really like it, and think it would make a great spring jacket, rather than a layering cardigan. So I might actually need a second Iced. :o)

Here's a better pic of mine, several inches of body ago:

Super-smooth sailing, almost all of it done on the bus. Piggy likey.

Tickle Trunk Times Two

In the comments for yesterday’s post, Rae asks, “...what exactly is your nieces’ tickle trunk?”

Sometimes I forget that Canadian popular culture is generally not so pervasive as that of our neighbours – or should I say neighbors – to the south. And, in the relatively rare instances when Canadians do rise to global prominence, too often – to Piggy’s mind, at least – these figures are not entirely worthy of such attention. I’m looking at you, Justin Bieber.

Ahem. Back to Rae’s question.

As pretty much all Canadians who haven’t spent their lives under a rock can tell you, a tickle trunk is a large trunk filled with clothes for dressing up in. Or, to be more accurate, the Tickle Trunk is a big red trunk decorated with painted flowers where Mr. Dressup keeps all his costumes.

Tickle Trunk sighting at 38 seconds:



Mr. Dressup -- along with his puppet friends Casey and Finnegan -- was appointment tv for the under-six set five days a week for 38 years on the good old CBC. It was a gentle, low-tech show that entertained while educating through stories, crafts and games.

Everyone watched Mr. Dressup. He was a huge part of the childhood of practically all Canadian children during his time on the air -- and beyond. I remember crying like a five-year-old when he died; it was just a week after 9/11, and his death was one of the few non-9/11-related items to make the national news that night.

I carry my own tickle trunk with me just about everywhere. Really, it's known as the tickle trunk among my local yarnies. Mine's not full of costumes, though...





I might have to send some Mr. Dressup DVDs to my nieces in England, along with the rainbow shawlette. They may live in England, but they're still Canadian girls. :o)