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!

Cloning Anenome Rib Socks

Have I  mentioned lately how much I have enjoyed the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin’ Sock Club??  Oh, only once or twice??  LOL – well, I am at it again.  The September yarn was called Tide Pooling, and here it is, all knit up into my new Cloning Anenome Rib socks!  And the knitty gritty details:  knit on 2.00 mm dpns in small size.  I can never get guage so always go down both a needle size and a sock size.

     I like how the slight pooling that occurred is around the heel and instep, and that it is a mirror image type thing.  I have no idea how that happens, but I am glad it does.  Along with the yarn and pattern, each package includes Dyer’s Notes that explain where the inspiration for the yarn comes from, and what the Dyer was hoping to achieve with that lot of yarn.  Somehow this little insight into the Dyer’s process really adds to the appeal – and as a friend of mine often says, packaging sells!

October has also been a busy month for finishing work – I love seeing all the different things stitcher’s come up with this time of year   The month began with a bundle of ornaments that Cheryl sent:

 

and then there was Emily’s N is for Needle needlecase.  Emily asked for an emery pocket – what a clever idea!   

and I just finished some goodies for Jodi that will remain confidential until after the holiday season

My October ornament is also finished – this is Star Saphire from Patricia Ann Designs in the 2006 JCS issue.  It ate up every last inch of WDW Bethleham that I had!

I am also back to knitting scarves during the kid’s activities in the evenings.  Every year my daughter’s school has a Mitten and Scarf tree – and here are September’s:

  It is a pleasure knitting scarves as the weather turns – we have had a warm fall, but there is a nip in the air most mornings, and the winds have come up. 

I have been in a real stitching slump lately as my fingers have been flying with knitting instead.  I have been thinking that what is called for is a new project….. so today I will be cutting fabric and getting started on the Prairie Schooler’s Autumn Winds.  I am going to be stitching it as a needlecase, rather than a sampler, and have to spend a few minutes planning the layout.  Now that I have mentioned it in public, there will be a wee bit of pressure to actually get started!!

A long overdue update

September has been a busy month!  I have been working in the yard, and everyone has been adjusting to a new routine with the return to school.

Early in the month I made myself a swift – when you buy yarn in hanks, the need for a swift becomes inevitable.   I used the fabulous directions provided by Webecca in her blog:  http://webeccasays.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html   Rather than use glue, I drilled the metre sticks and used a bolt and washer type assembly.  I then put the whole thing atop an Ikea Lazy Susan that was sitting unused in a cupboard, and voila!

       One ball of Creatively Dyed Ocean sock yarn ready to be knit up. Since winding balls by hand gives me nasty cramps in my fingers, I took the plunge and ordered this lovely ball winder from Woodhouse Tools in Armstrong, BC :  http://www.woolhousetools.com/  Click on the link Making and Preparing Yarns and then scroll down a bit.  I then wound a 1260 yard hank of laceweight and learned firsthand the importance of keeping the yarn taut on those pins!  Speaking of the laceweight – it is becoming the Print O’ The Wave shawl -http://www.eunnyjang.com/knit/2005/12/print_o_the_wave_stole.html  

Take a peek:   The yarn is Aquamarine from Heritage Needleworks, and is absolutely fantastic to work with.  The subtle play of colours is simply gorgeous!

I have been working on socks – of course – and have finished a bundle of little things:

  These are sample socks from Cat Bordhi’s New Pathways for Sock Knitters.  The green ones are Little Sky socks, while the red are Little Coriolis.  And these socks were all knit from the leftover yarn from my daughter’s socks

I also finished a sweater – the first one I have knit for myself in about 20 years!  This is the Chic Lace Cardi from Lanaknits Designs:    and here is the lace detail  .  The yarn is an old cotton from my stash - Fidji by Jakobsdalsgarn, and I knit with a 40 inch 4 mm circular.

Finally, just to prove I can still stitch, here is my September Ornament – Christmas Ewe by Elizabeth’s Designs, in the 2001 Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue.  It was stitched on 28 ct muffin glenshee using WDW and GAST. 

That wraps up September’s endeavours!

Heave a big sigh

summer is definately done.  The weather is cold and wet, the kids returned to school this week, and I have begun my fall gardening.  After a cool damp summer, do you think there is hope of a long warm fall?  I am certainly keeping my fingers crossed!

In between trips to Kimberley, Whitefish and area, Waterton Park, back to Kimberley, and University camps for the kids, I did not manage to get much stitching done.  The two lonely ornaments that I finished are these:
  This is Give Love (c) Handwork in the 2005 Just Cross Stitch ornament issue. It is stitched over 1 with 1 strand GAST on 28 ct muffin Glenshee linen, and it was done July 18, 2008.

And this is Christmas Tree (c) Twisted Oaks, in the 2005 JCS ornament issue. It is also stitched over one on 28 ct evenweave using GAST & NN, and was done Aug. 23, 2008

  Today I will be kitting up my ornaments for September!

My knitting needles have been busy, even tho my embroidery needle has not.  I did finish up the second Gumdrops sock, and just adore this pattern!  Have a peek:

  The first pic shows the socks inside out, and the second right side out… I love how the pooling turned out on the instep!

And these are the Regia Cotton socks that I knit for my daughter – Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Cotton Color in Java, to be precise.  I chose a simple k2p2 rib that carried on over the instep.  These were knit following Ann Budd’s basic sock recipe, which is a fantastic pattern.  Pick your yarn and corresponding needles, do a quick guage, pick your size, and voila, using the charts, you know how many stitches to cast on.  I used  size 3 mm dpns, and knit these mostly in the car as we travelled.

  

And finally, I finished this lovely piece that was stitched by Jodi and Ilse as a gift for Dane’s birthday.    Into the Ark (c) Blue Ribbon Designs.  Check out the post at the Blue Ribbon website…. click on gallery once you arrive at the site:  http://www.blueribbondesigns.com/

Blue Moon Rockin’ Sock Club July edition

When I made up my mind to enrol in the Blue Moon Fibers Rockin’ Sock Club for 2008, I decided that I was in it to stretch my personal boundaries….. and to that end, I wanted to knit the yarn sent in the pattern designed for it, whether it was what I would have initially chosen or not.  The idea was to learn whatever each pattern had to teach, the way it was written, and to enjoy each colour just as it was.  Well, let me just say that I have not yet been disappointed!  I love the feel of the yarn – nothing nicer to knit with that 100% merino sock yarn….. and while I have not always enjoyed every moment of each pattern, I have come away with a lovely pair of socks each time, and can honestly say that I have learned something and have become a better sock knitter along the way.

 

The July shipment arrived yesterday, and while I would not normally choose pastel type yarns, I will admit to being tickled by this Goody Goody yarn!  It is simply delicious, and I fell in love with the Gumdrop pattern too!  (I can just hear Gingy saying “not the gumdrop buttons”!)  So I sat down and knit… and knit some more…. and this afternoon, I turned the heel on that first sock.

The delightful thing about this one is that with the garter stitch heel and toe, you can turn your sock inside out and wear it that way.  Have a peek:

 inside out   and then right side out   

Cute huh?  For those of you who love details:

Fiber:  Socks that Rock Lightweight in Goody Goody for the 2008 RSC

Needles:  size 0 or 2 mm dpns

Size of sock:  I can never get guage, so am knitting a size small for my size 9 feets

I can’t wait to finish and wear these ones!

Edited to add – first sock done!

   right side out

    inside out

Cleopatra’s Stockings from Socks That Rock Done!

I have to admit that I struggled with the first sock of this pair, but the second was a pleasure to knit.  And the fit!  Wow – I have never worn a better fitting sock!

So here they are:

Cleopatra’s Stockings by Yarnissima  http://www.yarnissima.com/  in The Incredible Shrinking Violet 100% merino superwash wool – Lightweight – in the 2008 Socks that Rock club from Blue Moon Fiber Arts  http://www.bluemoonfiberarts.com/newmoon/  The yarn is more purple in real life – my camera wants to make it blue.  I knit these on 2 mm dpns, but still could not get the 32 st = 4 inches guage, so I made a small size which fits my size 9 foot beautifully.

     I do love how the lines slash across the front of the sock….

 and then across the back   

With the wee bits of leftovers, I made two tiny ornament socks and a very tiny ornament hat – complete with an I-cord knot!

 

And I was tickled to receive my Christmas in July ornament from Jennifer this week – she stitched a gorgeous Prairie Schooler ornament from the Cranberry Christmas leaflet.  Thanks Jennifer – I absolutely love it   You can see more of Jennifer’s lovely stitching here:  http://lifeincossland.blogspot.com/