All the things!!

I can't help myself. I want to knit all of the things. We were away on vacation. We took Max to Prince Edward Island for a week long hockey camp. While Max was at camp I had quite a bit of downtime which I used to do a little painting and a little reading and a little knitting.  Overall it was a wonderful time. And I got to spend ample time with my oldest grandson. We went tuna fishing and zip lining and we visited a wax museum and a  Ripleys believe it or not museum. WE went to amusement parks and water parks. And we even spent the day at Parlee Beach in Shediac, New Brunswick. My grandson Max hamming it up. It's getting harder and harder to get a decent photo of him 

I managed to do a little yarn shopping. Downtown Charlottetown has a lot of unique shops. I was overwhelmed when I walked in to what I thought was a little boutique selling handknits. It's called Northern Watters Knitwear - and it's so much more than selling knitwear. At the back of the store is a full fledged knit factory going on. There are huge knitting machines cranking out the most glorious hand knit sweaters I've ever seen. And there are handknits sweaters ready for purchase in just about every style, colour and size you can imagine. They also sell woven fabric, pottery, and souvenirs. But for me, the big attraction was the wall of locally dyed/milled yarns. Loads of Fleece Artist and Hand Maiden but others too that I hadn't heard of. They are definitely worth checking out.  I bought two separate Fleece Artist mitten kits.  One called the "Favorite Soft Mitts" which basically involves holding a strand of brushed mohair with a regular spun BFL DK yarn. The resulting fabric is amazing and soft and cushy and warm. Of course I've started already.

This pic doesn't really do it justice but I'll be sure to take a better pic once their finished. I'll write about the other things/kit I bought as I knit them. 

I finished a pair of socks while traveling. These are my standard after thought heel socks 

I love them. The yarn is from Turtlepurl girl or at least I think that's her name. She is a Canadian dyer currently based out of Moncton. She does these fabulous kits called turtle toes and they are wound into individual cakes for each foot. That way both socks should match perfectly.  As you can see mine are a little off. It started right from the cast on. Oh well. If I wanted perfect socks I wouldn't be knitting them right?

I've done a little travelling

Last month  Kevin and I went to St John's. Kev had a doctors appointment. All was well. After the appointment we decided to go to my hometown for a visit. My mom turned 70 last year and I couldn't get out there to see her. This year everything worked out perfectly.  We spent almost an entire week on the island visiting with my family and Kevs. 

I had started knitting a hat that I wanted to donated to an organization called 25000 toques. Their goal to present each Syrian refugee that comes into Canada with a hand knit hat to let them know that they are welcome and cared about here in Canada. 

As a supporter of Canada opening its doors to refugees this was a charity that really spoke to me. Sadly, the hat I was knitting really spoke to my mother. She claimed it as soon as it was off the needles. I didn't tell her that I had decided to give the hat to a worthy cause because she likely would have not taken it. But I'm glad she did because it really suits her. 

 

And I bought lots of pretty yarn at the nicest LYS in all of St John's to make more hats. See the green and grey in the centre of the pic? That's already on the needles - destined to be one of the 25000 toques! 

 

And if you ever doubt that I grew up in one of the most beautiful spots on the planet - well, here are a couple of photos to let you know that Trinity Bay North is indeed Gods country - even in the dead of winter. 

 
 

Happy 70th Birthday to my dad

I feel very fortunate that I grew up in a small town in outport Newfoundland. We had so much freedom and the best 'playgrounds'. Of course I'm talking about the many beaches, coves, wharves, gulches, ponds, woods etc that our parents allowed us to explore and play. THE BEST!!

I also had the best parents ( still do, luckily). Mom was hands on. I often tell people that we had the best Haloween costumes, the best decorated Valentines boxes, and the best painted Easter eggs. Our mom even made furnature for our Barbie dolls. 

Dad took us camping - every summer.  Those are some of my best memories. My brother and sister and I along with mom and dad travelling from park to park all over the island. Sometimes if we were lucky our cousins would be camping nearby. Sometimes it would be my parents' friends with kids our age. But often, it was just us and always we were encouraged to go out and make friends. Looking back on those years it amazes me at how open we were and how easy it was to make friends. If there was a kid our age camping in the same park, chances are that kid was our friend within a day of arriving. 

Our parents taught us by example to be respectful of others, of the environment and of ourselves.  They taught us that family is everything and that laughter is indeed the best medicine. 

They also taught us the importance of service and giving back to the community.  Mom was in Brownies with us. This is where I learned to knit. I'm not sure to this day if it was her or my aunt Marie who taught me. Likely, it was a combination of the two. My dad was in the Navy League (which was like junior sea cadets) with us. 

When I look back on growing up in outport Newfoundland there are so many positive, fun memories.  When I went back home to celebrate dad's birthday we were reminiscing about something that happened on a camping trip years ago when we were small children. Dad was surprised that I'd remembered.  Those are the things that stick with you - forever

Now I have new memories. We took mom and dad to St Mary's bay. Dad had never been there. We wanted to see the bird sanctuary that everyone talks about. In typical Newfoundland fashion the fog was as thick as pea soup and we couldn't see a hand in front of our faces. While we couldn't see the birds we sure could hear them. 

Only the gannets were left. By this time of year the other sea birds go out to sea. Murrs and kittywakes that normally nest on the cliffs in the spring are gone by the fall. 

It was kind of fitting that gannets were left. Mom always compared us to gannets.  Like them we always seemed be hungry. And we were always loud. 

Here I am with my mom and dad. We had just finished a 5km walk around the Salmoneer Line nature park. My dad is 70 and my mom will be 70 very soon. We are so lucky that they are well enough to do these things. 

This is a photo of my dad and some of his siblings. Sadly Aunt Elsie is in a long term care facility so she couldn't make the birthday party. Aunt Diane was there but didn't get in on this photo - there are others that she did sit in on. Being one of the youngest of 13, I guess it stands to reason that many of my aunts and uncles have passed already. But it's still sad. I look back on pictures of dad's 40th birthday and they were all there. They had such a fun time that night. And we had a fun time this night too. 

My sister and I. She is an amazing cook. She did all of the cooking for dad's party. She is awesome! Here we are making fun  (of course that's what sisters do best) of her daughter Jenna) We were actually missing Jenna who couldn't get to the party because she had to work. Jenna takes lots of 'selfies' so we are trying to mimic her. 

My handsome and talented nephew Jordan. I'm always grateful for any time I get to spend with him. He was actually home from university as part of his education course - job shadowing at Discovery Collegiate. My nephew is going to be a teacher. And I think he will be an excellent teacher. 

This photo is of my mom and my youngest nephew Riley. You can't tell from this photo how tall he is. This kid is after growing so much since I've seen him last. He has the most gorgeous curly red hair. And he is SO. FRIGGING. SMART!! He is amazing. 

He is amazing and he is totally knit worthy. So guess what? He got these. As soon as they came off the needles he put them right on his feet. And he loved them and appreciated them.

So of course I had to start a pair for his brother because he is knit worthy too. And I can't have him being jealous of his brother. 

Time lapse

Totally purloining the yarn harlot here. She recently did three blog posts showing photos of an in progress sock during a couple of trips she made. Well,here is my time lapse sock since I too am travelling. Kev and I are enroute to Newfoundland through Quebec and the maritimes. 

This last one looks mangled but I assure you it's all good. Doing an afterthought heel sock courtesy of Laura Linneman. Here we are are the ferry terminal in Godbout Quebec. Kind of exciting because I can see whales here from the shore. 

Another from the ferry. Sock is done and teo needs grafting but I've left the tapestry needle below deck. And visiting your vehicle while transversing the St Lawrence River is forbidden. Yikes. Should I do a three needle bindoff and go back and Kitchener it later?

So I did the three needle bindoff and am now knitting the afterthought heel  - which is essentially the exact same thing as a toe! Who knew. Perhaps I'll have one sock finished by the time this ferry docks.  

I Can't Believe.....

I can't believe that I haven't blogged yet this month. Its been an incredibly busy, productive month. I went to visit Amy!!! She had her final graduation recital and she rocked it! She was beautiful and amazing and everything that a I knew she would be. I was beyond proud! My daughter is so talented, I have no words. We had a really great time - lots of great food and some great shopping in Sherbrooke and Montreal. Of course I went to a yarn shop. I went to Mouline this time around. I bought a sweater's worth of Madenline Tosh chunky! I can't wait to try it out. I'm debating on which sweater it will actually become, but time will tell. Here are a few photos of some of the things that I've made recently....mostly knit while travelling. First up....a hat made from 100% yak fiber. The pattern is Anne Hanson's of Knitspot. I'm a member of her Bare Naked club and I love it so much. Yarn in its natural colour. This yak is divine. So soft!

And then I made a sock ... and a half. The pattern is Cat Bordhi's and its from the book 'The Knitter's Book of Socks'. This sock is knit toe up and has a really interesting arch expansion construction. And its extremely comfortable to wear. Here's hoping that I don't come down with second sock syndrome and can manage to knit the second one...well, there is more travelling in my future so I'm sure that it'll get done...eventually. Lol. The yarn is from esty seller lollypop yarns...and I love the self striping. I love this sellers stuff, but getting some of her yarn has proven near on impossible. I have to stalk her website like a crazed lunatic and even then you end up getting cart jacked. I've almost knit up the two balls I have and well, I neeeeeed more... I think I have a problem. Yes, I do...this girls shop and Loop. I'm not even linking the shops here just in case I have a reader that might be interested...lol...selfish much?

And finally, the best thing that I've ever made....the project that I'm most proud of....my magnus opus if you will.

Isn't she beautiful??? I just love her so much!

Another Spinning Post!

I've been bitten by the spinning bug lately. Its all I want to do. Usually when these sort of whims hit me, I just go with it.

I just purchased some teeswater fiber off of etsy seller beesybee fibers Teeswater sheep are the guys that look like they have dreadlocks. The prepared top had a very long staple length and it was very interesting to spin.

I did predraft quite a bit. Just look at how fluffy it became with a little predrafting.

It was almost like I imagine spinning human hair would be like. The fibers were so long and silky. My goal was to spin this into a heavy worsted weight to make some mittens.

Once again, its a two ply and the weight is just what I aimed for. I am happy with it, but I'm not sure that the resulting mittens won't be itchy. This yarn has quite a bit of halo going on, and I'm pretty sure that the micron count for this fiber is quite a bit higher than merino. Maybe I'll knit the cuffs up in a different fiber. God knows I have plenty of it.

And, I'm going to Halifax tomorrow!! So excited! I'm going to see Amy perform in the Phoenix Rising show. I haven't seen Amy since August, so I'm really, really looking forward to spending some time with her. I'm also hoping to get to Loop Cafe! I hope they have something interesting for sale!

The Time of My Life

I'm just back from a weekend of spinning and dyeing at Full Tilt Creative Center in McIvers, Newfoundland! I always promised myself that if I ever got the opportunity to attend such a workshop, then I would take advantage of it. I'm so glad that I did. I was very vilifying to see other spinners (especially the instructor, Robyn Love) and realize that I'm doing things right! Most - well, all of my spinning knowledge has been gleaned from books and youtube videos. I have always felt somewhat isolated as a spinner. I learned a lot of things from this workshop, including a better way to wash fleece. My Big Project will definitely improve with the knowledge gained from this weekend.

This is Blanchard House. This is where I stayed the entire weekend. It has a beautiful view of the 'Bay of Islands". There is a small island with a tern colony just off the beach. The terns didn't stop screeching all night long. Surprisingly this was quite soothing.

Here Robyn demonstrates how to properly scour fleece. I hadn't been adding enough soap to my washings. I'm hoping this will help with my very greasy Saskatchewan fleece.

This is Jen sorting through some fiber that came from our indigo dye pot. Aren't the colours amazing?

Martina (my roommate) looks at all the dyed fleece drying in the sun. Again, the colours are spectacular!

These are my two yarns from this weekend. I used all the colours from the natural dye pots to make both of these yarns. I carded up the fibers (both on hand cards and the drum carder) for a little blending and I threw in bits of novelty yarns to attempt art yarn. I was going for a thick and thin single, which I think I succeeded.

This young lady was one of Colette's workers. (Colette is the owner of Full Tilt) She was interested in spindle spinning, so I gave her one of the spindles that Kev and I made. She is spinning with some fibre that took a quick dip in the indigo dye bath. I love that light blue!

On Hiatus

I hope I've spelled hiatus right. Well, it seems that I'm on a knitting hiatus. I've come down with some sort of inflammation in my elbow. Its what I imagine tennis elbow to feel like - except I don't play tennis. And weirdly, its in my left elbow. I'm thinking its due to knitting, but I'm a little perplexed about the whole deal since I mostly use my right arm when knitting and I sort of just prop my left arm on a cushion or arm of the sofa and use it to more or less balance my knitting.

Kev and I just got back from a 5 day trip to Montreal/Sherbrooke, Quebec. My friend thinks my elbow problem may be due to shopping, as I sometimes grasp things in the crook of my arm when I'm picking things up. Entirely possible. Shopper's elbow. There you go.

So, right now, I'm on my 5th day of self imposed knitting hiatus - just to see if it helps with the pain. So far, not a lot better. I am wearing a brace and rubbing anti inflammatory cream on it. This seems to help some, but as soon as I take the brace off, it (ie pain) comes back.

This hiatus has done wonders for my knitting fantasy life - as I'm prowling Ravelry all the time now. I've bought SO.MANY knitting magazines and two new knitting books. I've also bought a lot of yarn. I believe that I'm somehow trying to 'scratch an itch' or something. I can't get my fiber fix by actually doing, so I've got to get it this way. This is entirely self defeating, of course, since I've already speculated that shopping is making it worse. Oh well, live and learn I guess. No more shopping....wait, I can online shop still. Woo hoo.

On this trip to Montreal I was thrilled to discover a new yarn shop had opened up. Its called Espace Tricot. They have only been open since July and they seem to be doing well. They are trying to stock yarn brands that the other stores in Montreal don't have. I looked them up online before going and I was so happy to see that they carried Koigu!! I bought two skeins. I have no idea what to make with this, but it was just too pretty to resist.

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Here is the rest of my haul from this store. Take notice of the Steven West book Westknits Two! I had been debating buying this book online and downloading a copy, but seeing it in the flesh, just about sent me over the edge. Like I said, my knitting fantasy life has now taken on a life of its own. I swear I want to knit every single pattern in this book. As soon as my arm is better, I'm casting on for all of them...at once. Really, I am.

I also got some Addi Lace needles, that I've been wanting to try, and some Hiya hiya DPNs, a super cute wooden button, some charms and some free Soak samples.

And finally, here is a photo of the reason for our travels. My beautiful daughter. She was performing in a recital. She was amazing. It was the first time hearing her sing classical, and (as her friend Shaun pointed out) it was also the first time I ever heard her sing as a soprano. All throughout school Amy sang alto. When she went to high school she even sang tenor with the boys. When she gets to Bishop's university, her voice coach tells her that she is actually a soprano. Crazy or what? Isn't she stunning??

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