What a month it has been!

since last I posted.  I had the pleasure of going on an overnight field trip to Drumheller -  a dinosaur lover’s paradise – with my daughter’s grade 4 class.  Check it out here:

http://www.tyrrellmuseum.com/  We slept under the big t-rex skeleton …. which was guaranteed to keep a few 10 year olds up past bedtime!  Upon our return, we attended my MIL’s funeral.  Even tho her death was expected, it was still a sad occasion.  Polly made us very welcome when we moved here to Lethbridge, and her garden lives on in my garden.  Finally, our old Taurus station wagon has become undriveable – we have another broken motor mount – and so this week was spent researching and purchasing a ‘new to us’ car from a friend and neighbor.  I think we have had enough for a while now!

Let me show you the wonderful things that Gaby sent for my birthday!  I absolutely love the gorgeous biscornu and scissors fob that she made – and she remembered that my favorite color is blue!!  And do you see that lovely Opal sock yarn??  That is destined to become a pair of Viper Pilot socks  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/viper-pilotshanks   – Ravelry store link.

    

Gaby crocheted catnip mice too : 

  and you can see how happy the hooligans were to be remembered!

Thanks so much Gaby for the stitching, and all the gorgeous goodies you sent along.

I finally finished my Ackworth Quaker Friendship Book – many thanks to all the ladies involved in this RR!  The linen is 28 ct Snowdrop by DMC, and the floss is Purple Haze by WDW.

     

And finally, a knitting finish too!  This is a Leaf Lace Shawl – the pattern is in Evelyn Clark’s Knitting Lace Triangles.  I used 4 skeins of Wildfoote Luxury sock yarn, and added beads to the edge to give it a bit of weight.  I love how this one turned out, and am very happy that Cheryl loved it too!  She sent me a bundle of stitching things in a trade, and agreed to have a surpise knitted item in return!

      That teeny ball of yarn is all that is left!

It’s My Birthday

and I feel no urge to cry whatsoever – LOL.  Fifty seems like a great number to me, and I would be delighted to add another few decades to that total!  After having stared at the alternative 5 years ago when I spent my 45 birthday recovering from a lumpectomy, and facing the prospect of months of chemo and more surgery, I have appreciated each birthday as it has rolled around.  Bring ‘em on!!

We spent Easter break at my mom’s house, enjoying the change in scenery and doing things with family.  My mom commented that my hands are never still – I am always doing, doing, doing something.  And you know, she is right.  I am never truly comfortable sitting and doing nothing.  So without further chatter, here are some of the things that I have been working on in the last little bit.

I sent this Halloween sewing set to Lody for her birthday exchange present:
     This is Giulia Punti Antichi’s Halloween sewing set stitched on 25 ct light cognac evenweave.  The cat scissors fob is a Blackbird Design stitched over one, and the spider on the back of the purse is a Tanya Meehan freebie.  I had fun sewing on the black bead balls along the top of the purse and the bottom of the scissors case, and I used one bead ball as a button closure for the needlecase!  Lody’s birthday was actually in January, and who ever heard of sending Halloween for a new years baby??  LOL -  Lody has much better pics here: http://lodyscreations.blogspot.com/

I love how Lavon’s Ackworth Quaker Friendship book turned out:

      The soy luster floss in teal is so vibrant!  I have now totally finished 3 of these books, and find that the pages are always slightly different in size.  This may well be due to the different tension at which we stitch.  Lavon mentioned that she thought that the size variation added to the charm of the piece, and I must say I agree with her!

I also had the chance to put together a tote for one of the Yahoo groups I belong to.  Several ladies stitched hearts – and for each heart they received an entry into a draw for the bag.  Congrats to Lisa – I hope she uses and enjoys her Heart of SNS2 tote for a long time!     As you can see, this tote will handle a BAP on qsnaps easily, and I added pockets inside for charts, highlighters, scissors and needles.

Finally, here is the ornament I stitched for March.  I am on a Crossed Wing Collection kick – this is Red Bird from the 1997 JCS ornament issue, stitched on Ruby Red Belfast linen.     

As my brother said when he called this morning, ‘it’s all good!’

It’s Spring, It’s Spring!

Can you tell I am a wee bit excited??  I spent yesterday working in the front yard, cleaning away all the debris from this very long, cold, snowy winter, and clearing away all the plants that I leave long in the fall.  There are a few crocus blooming, the daffodils are peeking up, and the Liver Leaf is about to burst into beautiful bloom!  We won’t talk about the snowdrift that is left in the back yard, or how soggy everything is back there.

We had a few visitors last month – our local neighborhood gang!

 These are the yearlings – the moms have kicked them out of the herd in preparation for the arrival of this year’s babies.  So this little herd wanders about looking for mischief!  I am happy to report that the snow on the ground is all gone! 

Are you ready for a knitting update?  I finished this lovely piece for my friend Cindy’s birthday gift

   This is the Print O’ The Wave stole pattern written by Eunny Jang – knit in Heritage Hand Dyes wool & silk laceweight blend in Aquamarine.  When Cindy was here last May I showed her this yarn and asked her to pick out a pattern.  Good choice, don’t you think?  Cindy was thrilled with her gift and actually wears it – lol – which is enough to make this knitter happy.

   I finished this Dropped Stitch Scarf as well – this is a 100% soy silk tape yarn called Phoenix – the color is Purplexed, by South West Trading Company.  The pattern is a freebie by Christine Vogel.  I love the finished product, but spent many hours unwinding the yarn so the tape was not twisted.  Many thanks to Jodi for sending the yarn!
  So who knits for the knitters in the world?  I made this stole for my SIL, who knit many beautiful baby doll and barbie outfits for my daughter.  This pattern is aptly named Lacy Shawl – another freebie, this time from Lion Brand Yarn, and the yarn is Paton’s Cotton Rich in peach.  Maureen was surprised and happy to receive her shawl too!

Finally, I finished this pair of Rivendell socks, from Janet Laidman’s ‘The Eclectic Sole: Socks for Adventurous Knitters’.  This was a fun knit – I love the patterning!  A vintage cone of Paton’s Kroy yarn in teal was used. 

It is time to get out and enjoy some of that sunshine.   Happy Spring!

Finishing Update

It was a busy start to the New Year finishing wise!  Lots of lovely pieces came in and were sent winging on their way home.  This first piece waited a bit for some attention, but look at it now:

    This is Cheryl’s Ackworth Quaker Friendship Book from an RR we were involved in during 2007 – 2008.  Cheryl chose the most unusual shade for her fabric – I just love that ruby red, and her book was gorgeous!

This fabulous stocking was stitched by Jana – I love the blues in this one.  She sent along  a blue velvet for the backing, and a lovely red for the lining.  Won’t this be a treasure?

Finally, the last piece was stitched by Lavon during a stitching retreat – the DMC highlights is so striking in this piece:

The stash diet is going well – friends have kept the mail carrier busy with trade packages, so I have not felt any withdrawal pangs!  I did rescue a bit of yarn in February – so have another $4.50 to add to my total.

On the Stash Wagon

There comes a point when the argument that the stash provides insulation for the house is no longer reasonable.  There comes a time when one realizes that there are so many wonderful projects already kitted and ready to go – stitching, knitting, weaving, painting, quilting – that it makes no sense to purchase new projects.  I have had stash beyond my life expectancy for many years now…. and so, it is with a certain amount of relief that I have decided that 2009 is the year to stop the madness!  Well, let’s not get carried away!  Maybe 2009 is the year to be a whole lot more concious of what already exists, and appreciate it.

So I have decided that I will not be making spur of the moment, take advantage of that great sale, retail therapy or the oh why not type, stash purchases this year.  It is the online allure that really kills my conscious control.  So the critical words here are online purchases - my rules say I can trade for goodies that I feel I realllllly need.  I can trade stash, time, finishing work…. you name it.  And if I cannot trade for the 2009 JCS ornament issue, that one I can buy.  Oh… and if I see some lovely rescue yarn that can be used for charity knitting…. then I might indulge.  Just to keep things interesting, I have added a widget to the right with my monthly purchase totals.  I am hoping that it will be under $100 at the end of this year.  Wish me luck!

Adrift

Actually, many many drifts – of snow!  We have had an exceptionally windy January, and all the lovely snow that was laid down in the field has ended up in our yard – front and back.  Keep in mind that our fence is 6 feet high when you see the first two pics:

  

The kids particularly enjoyed walking up the snow drifts and stepping over the gate!  I did not enjoy all the shoveling in the front yard tho – wayyyyyy toooooo much snow!

January has been an odd month for handwork.  Between shovelling snow, being sick, having a sick computer, and working on projects that I cannot post about yet, there is not much to show.   I did finish knitting another Gryffindor scarf – this one is for DD:

 and while I know one of my niece’s would dearly love a Hogwart’s scarf, it is not going to happen soon!  Way tooo much boring knitting!

My DD celebrated her 10th birthday – she is now officially in double digits!  She had a wonderful day, as she was off school, and got to go skating, help make her cupcake birthday cake, and have a friend out for sushi!    I cannot believe how quickly the time has flown!

And on a final note, I have been tagged by Pauline http://www.paruscircle.blogspot.com/

The idea here is to go to your 6th picture file and choose the 6th picture, and then tag 6 blogging friends.  Well, pickings are mightly slim in my photo files, as I had to delete all the hardware on the computer and then reload Windows.  But this is what I found:

  DS is working on a book review of Sunwing, by Kenneth Oppel…. so there have been loads of bat photos floating about the computer!  And now to tag 6 friends:

Jennifer http://lifeincossland.blogspot.com/

Rachel http://mymeditationinmotion.blogspot.com/

Debs http://debsroom-at-home.blogspot.com/

Dane http://danesnadelwelt.blogspot.com/

Patti http://www.mexstitch.blogspot.com/

and Lody http://lodyscreations.blogspot.com/

I can’t wait to see your pics and your links!

Merry Christmas to All

Wishing you all health, happiness, and the Merriest of Christmas’s with your family and friends!

Progress?

  This is the view from our backyard – you can see the fence a the bottom of the pic, then the field.  If you look a little closer, on the left side, you can see this:

    and a little closer yet:   

Yup, there are definite signs of construction.  In the past week, a berm has been raised, and you can see the digger at work.  For some, this may be a sign of progress, as a new neighbourhood is built.  For me, this is a sad indication that sooner, rather than later, the field we have enjoyed the past 9 years will soon be dug up and paved over.  While I knew this was inevitable – we expected this about 5 years ago – it makes me sad.  I will miss the alfalfa, the hawks, the song sparrows, and all the little critters that called that field home.  I will certainly miss my view of the tops of the Rocky Mountains.  Somehow, rooftops cannot compete.

 On a happier note, my DD has almost totally recovered from her tonsillectomy last week, and will be returning to school tomorrow morning.  They only go for a half day on Fridays, so that will be a good way to ease back in.  The house will be very quiet again!

I have been busy knitting and finishing!  I knit a pair of socks for a trade for my good friend Cheryl – she sent me some lovely hand dyed linens, and I sent her this pair of cozy socks knit with Patons Kroy yarn:   These were knit with size 2 mm dpns.  And since my DS rarely asks for anything knitted, I had to hurry and knit this while he was still interested – a Gryffindor scarf!

  He must like it, as he has worn it to school the past two days.  Maybe it is just too cold to be without a scarf. 

I finished this gorgeous stocking for Brenda – what a beautiful piece this is!  It is big too – almost 20 inches tall and a good 12 inches across the foot part.  I hope that whoever receives this one appreciates it!

     It really is an heirloom piece.

I have also been busy painting – each Christmas I paint wooden ornaments for my two kids, plus 3 other children we are especially close too.  This year’s edition should be called a Bling Tree, according to my DD:

  

Finally, I hope you all stay as warm and cozy as Kelsey and Charming! 

Prairie Schooler Autumn Winds

Wow – two posts in one week!  A new record!

I just want to show off the needlecase I just finished – this is my adaptation Prairie Schooler’s Autumn Winds sampler:

The leaf is a large charm that I sewed onto the needlebook.  I simply tied the cording around the leaf and the handle of the scissors.  I am itching to adapt the other 3 samplers in this series, but I think I will have to wait til the New Year, after the Christmas rush of finishing and painting and baking and ….. well, you know, everything that needs doing!

So many things….

In between Canadian Thanksgiving in October, and US Thanksgiving later this month, I have realized how many things we have to be truly thankful for. 

~  My 15 yo niece who has spent the past 6 weeks in the Children’s Hospital in Calgary with a particularly nasty case of acute pancreatitis is on her way home today or tomorrow.  She had all of us, including the doctors who treated her, quite worried those first couple of weeks.  She will miss the rest of this year at school as she recovers further at home, but that is a small price to pay for one’s health.

~ We have two new fur people in our home…. Kelsey is a 2 yo old calico and Charming is an 18 month old marmalade tom cat!  They have been with us for 10 days now and have adapted amazingly well.  Here they are:

  I had almost forgotten how soothing it is to have a cat purring in your lap.  And now, sometimes, I have two!!  The kids have enjoyed them immensely – with two cats and two kids, there is no need to take turns to play with them.

~ Thanks too to the nice person from Freecycle who chose us to receive the cat tree they had no use for -     Look at how much these two enjoy it:

~ I am also thankful that I have my stitching mojo back – I have not stitched much since early summer and have missed it, but lacked the oooomph to pick anything up.  The autumn colors outside inspired me to start this piece:   This is Autumn Winds by Prairie Schooler, stitched on 30 ct muffin glenshee linen using Crescent Colors floss.  I have laid it out to make a needlecase, and am tickled with how it turned out.

~ and, finally, I am thankful for my friends both local and afar, for my family and our good health, for our financial security in these unsettling times, and for my DH, who goes along with crazy ideas like adopting two rescue cats instead of one, and who is not only understanding but supportive of my knitting and stitching obsessions!