Cynthia's Place of Knitting

Autumn has arrived in British Columbia, Canada

2011-10-29T17:37:00.001-07:00

My granddaughter is all decked out in warm clothing for Autumn. I'd knitted the sweater to fit her when she was about 18 months old, however she is now 14 months old, and I think the sleeves need to be made longer. Length of the sweater is fine, but I may have to fix the sleeves so she can wear it a bit longer.

We've had more time with both of our grandchildren lately and watching our granddaughter learn to talk, walk, and of course try to grab the dogs' tails is just the most wonderful feeling in the world.

Maggie is 7 months old now, and she's injured her left hind knee. The Vet told us she needed surgery, but we checked out information online, and we kept her as quiet as we could for 5 days and then slowly allowed her to be free in the house and to go on walks with a leash on. She has no pain now and wants to run, plus she is walking without any limp. It is time to reconsider finding a new Vet.

I seem to be in the start project mode again. Have several on needles that I just had to start but finishing at this point, isn't happening as quickly as I'd hope. I did injure my right shoulder when Maggie pulled me down several weeks ago and now my rotator cuff is inflamed. Still have pain with it but I do try to get some knitting done as I have Christmas gifts to make.

Decided to make a dress for my granddaughter and while it is slow going, I'm making myself do several long rows each day. Did make three pairs of clogs and now just need a day to felt them. Working on a cowl for my daughter for Christmas, and I was going along happily and then checked and I had one twist in it. I thought about making it a moebius but later decided to frog it and start over. Now there is no twist, and it is the seed stitch so it is pretty mindless knitting for me.

I keep wanting more yarn. I did use up Cascade 220 from my stash to make the clogs and used up leftovers and felt good about it. Yet, when I saw that Mission Falls Wool was on sale at Elann online, I just caved and bought some to make a sweater for my grandson or maybe my granddaughter. Bought some cocoa colour and also some teal and pink.

I keep looking at new yarns and wanting to try them, but I now have to consider that my stash is huge and working from it is important. I will find yarns that I think I need, and then I consider the cost and the fact that I have enough yarn to make at least 10 sweaters and that gets me centred again.

Yarn Harvest was a lot of fun again this year. Three other guild members rode in the car with me and thankfully at least one of them had a better sense of direction than I did. My GPS is a portable one and not totally up to date. However, it was a great day and I got to know two members a lot better.

My granddaughter is fearless around the dogs. While we do have to keep an eye on them and her, the dogs are very gentle with her, while she isn't always that gentle with them. My grandson can't tell them apart anymore as Maggie is getting so big, and he prefers Millie to Maggie because Millie isn't always trying to jump up on the couch to be next to him.

You'd think that as a grandmother I'd be wanting to knit lots of items for my grandchildren. I asked my grandson if he wanted me to make him some felted slippers. He politely declined. He prefers me to buy him toys and Pokemon cards that he's totally into right now. And to me, grandmothers do what their grandchildren ask if at all possible. He turned 5 years old yesterday and we do enjoy playing games on my I-phone when he is visiting. We also play lego, read stories and I try to get him to show me how well he reads and to put puzzles together as we used to do. He is more interested in lego and stories and of course TV and games on my I-phone.

I plan to make him a vest as his mum wants one but it will have to wait until I've finished some of my unfinished projects. Plan is to finish a sweater, the dress for my granddaughter, the cowl, felt the clogs and make several pairs of fingerless gloves out of leftover yarn before Christmas. Now to get them either finished or started is the order of business.

The Dog Days of Summer

2011-08-13T16:35:00.000-07:00

I've been very lax in writing here for several months now. We got another Golden Retriever at the end of May and Maggie is now best friends with our 3 year old Golden, Millie. Maggie is 4 months old as of this writing and she is so different than Millie. Where Millie is submissive towards other dogs unless she knows them, Maggie just approaches any dog and wants to know them. She's played with other puppies at a dog park and could care less where I am during her play time.

But at 4 months old she can sit and stay for 45 seconds, lie down and stay for the same amount of time and also can roll over on command and shake both paws. She has learned what 'leave it' means and also 'drop it'. She is now in puppy training at Pet Smart, but she's the most advanced dog there. I have to keep her entertained with sitting and lying down and giving her treats while the trainer is talking and talking about stuff that I already know. But it is good for Maggie to learn to deal with distractions like all the other young puppies that she wants to play with and she's not allowed to do so during class.

My life has gotten very busy with dogs it seems. Millie still goes to day care 2-3 days a week, and Maggie and I walk or go to a safe dog park, but it's getting to the point where I'd just rather have both dogs with me and all the walking I do is great exercise for me.

My knitting just isn't happening. I'm working on one project which is a secret gift for someone in the Fraser Valley Knitting Guild and I must finish it by the end of September. I did sort through my huge stash or 'epic' stash as one of my knitting buddies called it, and she is taking some yarn from me for 50% off of what I paid for it. It still doesn't leave a big dent in my craft room but it is a beginning. Plus, I organized again and got inspired to make some more sweaters. I have enough yarn to make a huge blanket that would probably cover our house, but of course I'm not doing that.

My granddaughter is one now and she is walking so the dogs have to be outside when she comes to visit or they'll knock her over. My grandson does walk with me and the dogs and he loves Millie and she is easier for him to handle.

When your life begins to revolve around dogs, it is time to refocus and get yarn out and spend time making a sweater for someone for Fall. I did make the Contented Cardigan for myself and I'm very pleased with it. Madeline tosh yarn is just delightful to knit with and I do have more to make a couple more sweaters. I've made a few Christmas gifts, but just can't seem to get in the knitting mood lately.

I've been here before so I know this will pass, but for now I'll keep working on selling some stash and knitting up larger amounts in sweaters.

Yarn Harvest is coming up and a knitting buddy suggested that I literally go through my stash and I won't be tempted to spend more money on yarn. I will do that, but if I find some Madeline tosh in a different colour or some Sweet Georgia worsted in enough quantities to make a sweater, I'll just have to purchase it.

Maggie did see my yarn on the floor last night as I was sorting some good yarn and she quickly took a ball and left the room. I thought she was just coming to check where I was, but no. She was stealing some St. Denis yarn that I'd bought awhile ago to make mittens. It was stuck on the staircase, around the dog bowls, out the patio door and up some steps to the upper level and filled with grass and of course in a tangled mess. I couldn't find the tag so I wasn't sure which yarn it was, but this morning she presented the tag to my daughter who had spent the night. I spent over 2 hours detangling it but Maggie didn't get yelled at. I just laughed at my very silly puppy.

The King's Speech and Knitting in the Dark

2011-03-12T21:58:00.000-08:00

As those who live in British Columbia, Canada know, it rains a lot here. My husband and I have been wanting to see The King's Speech on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, but only if it was a rainy day. It seems that we'd have rain forecast for a weekend and then it would be sunny or only cloudy. So of course we wanted to be outside either walking Millie or just being outside.

As it rained this morning, a Saturday, cleared up a bit and then when I was out walking Millie, it started to drizzle, we decided that today was the day to see the film.

My favourite yarn shop,88 Stitches had their annual customer appreciation day today, and of course I didn't need more yarn, but I did want to see if there was some Sweet Fiber Yarns that I could purchase in a light grey for a dear friend in California, or find some teal coloured fingering weight yarn for another shawl. Now my stash is huge, and if you find me or know me on Ravelry as CynthiaW, you will know what I mean.

I couldn't find the right grey for my friend as she wanted 2 skeins of it, and it is a new colour for Spring. However, I did find some teal that had some black in it in Sweet Sock yarn, and I just had to purchase it. I also picked up another skein of Sweet Sock yarn in pinks and purples. When I returned home, I realized that I already had one skein of the teal/black in Sweet Sock yarn and one in pink /purple. The pink/purple that I already had is much lighter than the one I did buy, so that worked out perfectly. As I like shorter shawls, I will finish a pair of socks that have been sitting on the needles for so long that I swear the needles are attached to the yarn. And the Sweet Sock yarn would be beautiful for a pair of socks for someone for Christmas.

Not wanting to spill my drink or get buttery popcorn on my new yarn, I left it in the car. Thankfully my husband's car is one that is very difficult to break into. And I did check to make sure all the doors were really locked. I'm sure there must be some yarn thieves out there, but I can't picture any of the knitters that I know who would do that.

The theatre was dark and we sat at the very top. We had about 20 minutes before the film began, so I pulled out a scarf in the round that I'm making for my daughter in the green colours that she looks so amazing in. As it is knit one round and purl one round at this point, I figured that I could manage it in the dark. I did all right and don't think I dropped any stitches but I still haven't checked to be sure.

However, once the film began, I stopped knitting at times so that I wouldn't miss anything. Then I'd pick it up and was able to knit by feel. I've only been seriously knitting for about 8 years now so I was feeling very proud of myself.

The film was wonderful and the only thing or rather actor who disappointed me was the actor who played Winston Churchill. I'm very, very distantly related to that Churchill family and the actor didn't look like how I'd like to look when I'm even older than I am right now. I'm older than dirt as it is, but I certainly don't look like this actor. Of course it was all in fun for me. Whether my family is really related to the Winston Churchill family was proven by me when I was into genealogy. However one of my cousins has also done genealogy and he thinks that we're related to another Churchill family. Doesn't really matter of course and I don't drink or smoke cigars, so maybe my cousin is right.

I have noticed that knitting in the dark isn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Also, I do find even with mindless knitting, I miss a lot of information on the television when I'm knitting. Most television can be skimmed, but occasionally I really want to see and listen to become more informed and with some of my favourite crime shows, I can't remember what happened in the end of a repeated show because I was busy doing lace work, intarsia, or fair isle and not totally paying attention.

I'm sure that I will continue to knit in the theatre. But some films are to be savored and enjoyed and The King's Speech was one that I know I will want to see again. I may have missed some important things that I'll be able to see when it comes out on DVD.

I'm working on a teddy bear hat for my granddaughter to fit her at Christmas. I'm making the teddy bears a bit bigger than what the pattern says, but then I'm using sport weight yarn rather than the worsted that the pattern calls for. I'm also working on a sweater for my granddaughter which I hope will fit her in the Fall. At this point, it seems big enough to be worn as a dress for this 7 month old darling little girl.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all the people in Japan right now. My dear daughter-in-law and my two precious grandchildren are in Okayama right now. I did get an email from my daughter-in-law and although I knew they were south of Toyko, I still wanted to make sure they were fine and that her family was fine. One of her relatives did lose their home, but they are safe. I've had several old friends, current friends and relatives contact me about my daughter-in-law's family. Most of them didn't know that my daughter-in-law and my two grandchildren were in Japan.

A man years ago worked through his studdering, and Japan will rebuild itself as it did after WW11. With a bit of help from the world, it will return to being the safe and beautiful country that it is.

Grief is exhausting

2011-01-27T22:36:00.000-08:00

My dear mother-in-law died on January 18th. Then I got a letter from a friend from my childhood telling me that her mom had died on January 7th. I just sat on the stairs and had a good cry. Three deaths of significant women in my life all within one month was just too much for me to bear. However, I have good friends who are very supportive, and also children who not only are grieving for their grandmother, but are also understanding of my grief. My husband of course is grieving the loss of his mom, so I'm trying to do whatever I can to support him.

Her belongings were moved from her apartment in independent living to our home last Saturday and now we're in the process of bagging up things that can be donated and separating things that I think my sister-in-law would want.

I never realized just how exhausting grieving could be. I know all the stages of it, have grieved before, but this is the hardest grief that I've ever experienced in my life. I sleep in, take naps, and just doing simple daily activities is becoming a chore.

I did finish the sweater that I'd been working on for my 4 year old grandson and even got him to wear it. He said it was a little bit itchy around the neck. It is a tad long for him, but as our Winter seems to be heading to Spring faster than was expected, it will fit him next Winter.

Since I can't seem to focus long enough to work on a shawl that I'd planned to finish in the next month or so, I'm working on the scarf in memory of Gayle, another mindless scarf, and now the Eternity Scarf. I'm using Madelinetosh DK in the colour logwood for the Eternity Scarf, and working with this yarn is delightful.

I'm now taking Millie to doggy day care at Bark 'N Lounge three times a week, so she can play with her buddies, get exercise, and I can rest or try to do things around the house without having to plan for her daily walks. Today we did go to a dog park and she had fun running and playing with a beagle and also was more tolerant to a beautiful German Shepherd who seems to have taken a shine to Millie. He definitely became alpha dog around her and seemed to want to protect her from other dogs that ran up to her. It was quite cute to see as previously she's been quite timid around Roco, but today she walked with him as his owner and I walked around the dog park to get our exercise and let them enjoy a day without rain. They both did get a bit muddy, but it is easy to wipe it off of Millie when we get home and then brush it later.

I sold some yarn the other day and need to sort my huge stash and decide what I want to part with. It is just a matter of getting motivated to sit and label yarn and then find the best evening to take it to the knitting guild to sell it to members. I could sell more on Ravelry, but again it seems like a lot of work for me to do right now.

This too shall pass. I just want it to pass quicker than it is doing. Time heals. All the usual sayings are so true, but living in grief isn't easy. I did get to play with my grandchildren the other day and for awhile, I was happy. Then I realized that my 5 month old granddaughter will never know her great-grandmother. My mother-in-law was a beautiful lady. She was proper, she was kind, and she listened to me when I talked to her about everything. She never judged anyone, and was always willing to spend time with others. She is greatly missed.

A Sad Ending to 2010

2010-12-31T18:37:00.000-08:00

As I sit here on New Year's Eve, my heart isn't into a new year. As I try to live one day at a time, there is no need for me to make resolutions or make amends as a year ends. I try to live my life in such a way that I make amends to those that I've hurt in any way as soon as I'm aware that I may have hurt someone. With resolutions, if I make them, I usually don't follow through past the first few weeks in January.

Just over a week ago, I received a phone call from a friend telling me that a dear friend of mine had liver Cancer that had spread to her lungs. Gayle, my friend had only found out this possible diagnosis a few weeks before I got this phone call. They were unable to do a biopsy due to all the fluid that was already on her abdomen. As my mother-in-law was in hospital for heart failure and kidney failure, I had to go to the hospital anyway on Tuesday, December 21, and since I'd found out from Gayle's husband that she was to have a biopsy that day, I went searching for my dear friend. I'd worked at that hospital as a registered nurse for several years, so it was easy for me to find her. She was surprised to see me, but I could see how ill she really was.

We hugged and I gave her a special plaque that we'd been sharing with each other over the years. It was her turn to have it, and I told her that I expected her to give it back to me in April. She said she would. We both knew that she wouldn't be on earth to do that, but it was our way of showing hope. As the elevator was taking us down and I had to stop on the 2nd floor to visit my Mum, I hugged her again and she said, 'I love you'. I said, 'I love you.' As the elevator doors closed, I started to cry.

However, I had to be strong for my mother-in-law, so I wiped my tears and went to visit Mum. I did tell her about Gayle, but as my mother-in-law is 92 and is of sound mind, but now has a body that is dying on her, I can no longer use my mother-in-law as a Mum and dump all my worries and concerns onto her.

I've had a rough couple of weeks. I did see Gayle again when she was admitted to hospital in a private room, but she was basically unconscious due to all the pain medications that they were giving her. I read to her, talked to her, and she held my hand tightly. She'd opened her eyes once and she looked scared, unsure of where she was, so I told her to go back to sleep. Then I said 'Good bye'.

She died on December 28th at around 3am in the morning, and I'd seen her for the last time on Boxing Day, December 26th. I'd spent time talking to her husband and of course I've been praying for him, their two adult sons and her own Mum who is 97. Gayle has left a big hole in a lot of people's lives.

Her funeral is January 4th at the Anglican Church in Langley, BC, that she'd take her mum to each Sunday. I've had some peaceful days, but mostly I feel numb. I've had some weepy days and I'd even asked God to give me a spiritual awakening and then I said don't bother. I've had more than my share of them. Later that day, while putting groceries in the trunk of my car, I found a loonie. I immediately picked it up and thanked Gayle for it. When my mom died, I found pennies for months. When my dad died, I found dimes for months. Gayle left me a loonie which has a lot of significance to me.

And while at a meeting today, a friend called me to look at what was found where I'd been sitting. Where my chair had been was a penny. I believe that they are pennies from heaven and while I'd love more loonies, I know that finding pennies, dimes, or loonies are all from those 3 people that I've loved and lost.

I've had other losses in my life of course. But losing Gayle who was my friend, my counsellor in life, a spinner and knitter, and someone who had a sense of humour that could get me out of a bad mood in a second, is a loss that will stay with me for a long time. One thing that she'd always say to me whether I was sharing something upsetting or something joyful was 'This Too Shall Pass'. And when I didn't know what to do next, she'd say, 'Do the next right thing'.

These two phrases will always stay with me. Today I went to my local yarn store to look around as I don't really need more yarn, but I told the owner about my loss and I was just looking for something to comfort me. She handed me some beautiful Alpaca that she'd just got in, and the softness of it just melted my heart. I purchased 3 skeins of a beautiful royal blue. Then I saw the new Rios by Malabrigo and saw 3 skeins of a mixed purple colour. I knew I had to purchase these also to make a triangle scarf just for myself. The pattern that I use is very simple and it is mindless once I've done the bottom and a couple of the triangles. It is a perfect project for me to be working on right now, so I can just knit and also remember all the beautiful times together Gayle and I had. I can also allow myself to grieve.

I wanted to buy some green yarn as Gayle had the most amazing green eyes and when she wore green, she was just stunning. But I realized that I could no longer make anything for her to wear. However, I can make something to charish out of both of these yarns for myself in memory of Gayle.

While I won't be making any particular resolutions for 2011, I will continue to keep my inventory of my yarn, books, magazines, and needles up to date. And I will label yarn in my huge stash to sell at a guild meeting or just give some of it away to those who have less than me but do want to knit.

Mum isn't doing well, and we will be in the process of moving her from independent living to assisted living once she is medical stable for such a move. This is a difficult time for my husband and for Mum. It is also a difficult time for my three grown children and my daughter-in-law as it is unlikely that Mum will live to 2012. However, she has surprised all of us in the past. So for now, I'm just being there for her, helping her with nursing care and communicating with the doctor to do the best for Mum. And she told me not to grieve long for her. I can grieve a little bit for her. I love my mother-in-law very much. She has been a Mum to me ever since my own mother died in 2002. And I'm so grateful to have had such wonderful women in my life to support me on my journey.

My many projects in knitting are mostly just sitting there. In January, I will decide what I really want to make and what can be ripped out. I realize that I don't have time to spend making many projects and I don't do just one project at a time, but I will finish a sweater for my grandson, a sweater for my granddaughter, and possibly a vest for my grandson and a winter hat for my granddaughter.

Right now, I'm lucky if I can knit for a few minutes without feeling overwelmed with sadness and loss. But as Gayle would say to me, 'This too shall pass.'

A Beginning Designer

2010-11-15T15:12:00.000-08:00

I finally decided to learn how to write out a pattern from my own design. Although I've changed many patterns ,or even used the basics of two patterns and added my own parts, and have even taken a stitch from a stitch dictionary and used it to create something, writing up my own pattern was more work than I expected it to be. I had two dear friends who test knitted my first attempts at writing out a pattern, and their insight into not only what to put into the pattern, but how to change it were amazing.

I learned how to make a pdf and even add pictures and resize them. I'm not a computer geek even though I'd love to be one, but learning the few things that I did were a source of great joy for me.

The above picture is one of the cowls that I made out of Handmaiden Cashmere 4 ply. My test knitters made the same pattern out of Malabrigo Silky Merino and I also made one out of the same yarn plus one out of Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk. The Alpaca Silk one did stretch a lot due to the alpaca in it, but it is a perfect size for my daughter-in-law and it is brown, which she loves.

I'm now working on a pair of fingerless gloves with the same lace pattern so I can offer both the cowl and fingerless gloves together. I've put them for sale on Ravelry,however I am quite willing to send this pattern to anyone who wishes to have it. If you are on Ravelry, just send me a message with your email and I will gladly send the cowl pattern. My Ravelry name is CynthiaW.

My life has been very busy with not only designing, but trying to finish up some of the knitting projects that I hope to have finished by Christmas. Between trying to knit, spend 5-6 hours with my grandson just playing at least every other week or so, and make sure my 92 year old mother-in-law is doing well and spending time with her, and even getting the laundry and housework done, plus of course taking my wonderful dog, Millie, out each day for a good run, I tend to focus on mindless knitting in the evenings. That will have to change if I expect to finish the things that I want to finish before Christmas.

My life as the President of the Fraser Valley Knitting Guild has become a bit more demanding than I expected. I now limit the amount of time that I tend to guild business so that I can better inform the person who takes over for me in two years of what she/he has in store for them. We are a new guild, being only 2 1/2 years old, and for the first time we have a strong executive. We are now focusing on the programs and less on business and more on the teaching aspect of what a guild does. It isn't a knit and chat by any means, but we're trying to make it fun and also to encourage members to teach others of all the knitting techniques that some of our more advanced knitters know how to do without having a book open in front of them. I tend to be a knitter who has to have a book or notes available to me when I'm tackling something that is either different, or something that I've done before but need a quick reminder.
My day so far has been filled with attending a meeting, tromping through the power easement with Millie so she could run and have fun chasing a ball and of course getting muddy and wet in the process. Then it was onto some guild business and writing emails and of course updating my blog.

I'm totally into NCIS right now. I found seasons 1 & 2 hidden in our cabinet of DVD's and videos that one of my adult children had bought me at least two years ago. So, I'm totally into Gibbs and the gang. While I remember bits and pieces of each episode, I usually am knitting and not totally paying attention to any TV that I watch. Now I'm paying attention and enjoying the special features that these DVD's have.

I am a very addictive type of person and once I get into something, whether it be NCIS, yarn, books or even music, I tend to over do it until I can again find my balance. I'm slowly getting some balance with NCIS but I do want Season 5 & 6 and may have to wait until Christmas for them.

This journey of life has many bumps in the road and there are may times when I just want to give up and curl in a ball, knit and enjoy my grandchildren or adult children and of course spend time with Millie, and not interact with anyone outside of my small circle of family. However, I am a people person and I do enjoy learning and listening to what others have to say. I will forever be a student, and right now I feel that I'm a student in life. I'm learning when to let things go, and when to become passionate about something and just do it. Finding the balance is important for me.

Fall has Arrived, and I'm lazy about blogging

2010-10-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

I wish I could say that I've been so busy since July that I haven't had time to write anything here. The truth is that I'm just lazy. Besides, I have no great knitting wisdom to share, no fantastic designs that I've created, nor have I even really cleaned my house for months. It is surface clean just so you shouldn't be worried that I'm a candidate for the Hoarder's show.

Our second grandchild and first granddaughter was born on August 11, 2010. She is gorgeous of course. That's what all grandmother's feel about their grandchildren, I think, or at least I think my two grandchildren are the most beautiful children in the world. I'm a tad prejudiced of course.

I was elected as President of the FVKG (Fraser Valley Knitting Guild), so now I only have one role rather than the four that I had for the past two years. Our executive is very strong this year and we had three amazing members who organized a Yarn Harvest Crawl, which I had to go on and of course spend far too much money on yarn that just called my name.

I haven't been weaving since I ended my classes. I do have yarn to weave and I just need to take the time to set up my loom and actually do it. The small TV is in my craft room now so I have no excuse except for laziness or the desire to either knit or have my face in a book.

I read a lot this summer and now that Fall arrived, I'm still reading a lot. Millie and I walk each day that she isn't at doggy day care, and I do take a book to the dog park and try to sit on a bench and just read, but she has to be walked around the park first and stop and sniff everything, maybe play with another dog if she feels like it, and so my book is usually just something else that I have to carry.

As our knitting guild is getting so organized, I finally figured out how to add a picture and a short note about our day at the Cranberry Festival to our guild's blog. The Cranberry Festival was today, and driving through Fort Langley was a nightmare and my GPS wouldn't help me until I managed to go around in circles for awhile. Finally it gave me the right directions to where I was suppose to be. With a very poor sense of direction, I did know that I had to go in one direction but getting there wasn't easy with Glover Road blocked off and people stopping in the middle of the streets and look around. However, as I had Millie in the car, I was quite patient.

Millie had a walk this morning and a short one with me when I could leave our table. Then our secretary's brother came and he walked Millie for about 2 miles. Needless to say, I was grateful and Millie is very tired this evening. That is a good thing because she needs lots of exercise.

I have designed a cowl but now I need to finish it, make sure that my directions can be followed by anyone and I've lined up one test knitter. So I guess I've done something different lately. I'm knitting purple hats for the Shaking Baby Syndrome Project and I have purple yarn to make about 3 more. I'm currently knitting a pumpkin hat for my granddaughter, a sweater for her, a sweater for my grandson, and I just finished a mask for Millie to wear to doggy day care as her halloween costume. She's going as a superhero angel. She doesn't like her wings nor does she like her tiera and I'm sure she isn't going to be thrilled to have a white mask tied around her head.

It started raining very hard on my way back home and I was so glad to walk into a vacuumed house. My husband had done it and he's the one with the sore back now. We're having the family over tomorrow for Canadian Thanksgiving but I decided I wasn't going to get up early and stuff a bird. That can wait until Christmas. So I bought a ham and hopefully won't over cook it like I usually do. Store bought pies, ice cream, and lots of vegetables and potatoes and salad ought to keep everyone fed and content.

It's back to knitting the Pumpkin hat for me right now. I'll try to write more, but really is it that important in the scheme of life?

Serendipity

2010-07-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

It has been very hot here in British Columbia. We didn't really have a Spring, so now it feels like August has hit us suddenly even though it is only the beginning of July. Even with an air conditioned house, for which I'm extremely grateful for, an air conditioned car, and lots of ice cream in the freezer, I'm still suffering from the heat. It is generally when I have to go out for something and of course I do have to walk my dog.

Yesterday I walked her in the power easement near our home, and there is a small stream there, and she was happy to step into it and roll around in freshly mowed grass, but I couldn't handle the heat. So later in the day I put her into the car and we went to a dog park in White Rock. I'd taken her there before about a year ago, but felt that it was too far to go more often. I'm so glad that I decided to take Millie there yesterday.

There is a pond or at least a small body of water and she went running into it with all the other dogs. It isn't deep enough for her to really swim, but she got cooled off and I found that the dogs at this park were well behaved and not overly excited. Millie is quite submissive and has learned to protect herself by lying down and surrendering. This works well for her but highly excited dogs aren't her favourite type of dogs to be around. She is very good with smaller dogs even if they are barking at her.

There are trails at the park and they are well shaded with lots of old and tall trees. So she got to romp around the trails and always came to find me. She's becoming very good at checking to see where I am finally.

I found a bench next to a grove of trees and there was a nice breeze. I'd taken my knitting bag with the two baby hats that I'm making for my to be born granddaughter in August, but didn't do any knitting. A very nice lady was sitting on the bench and she was a knitter. We talked about knitting, Ravelry, and quilting and doing crafts. It was like meeting a kindred spirit while at a dog park.

She found me on Ravelry and I got to see some of her wonderful projects. I now feel encouraged to finish up the baby things as quickly as possible and get to work on my many unfinished projects.

In the evenings I'm working on the baby crib sized blanket.

I'm about half done now and hopefully will be finished with it before this baby is born. I call it my neopolitan mint baby crib blanket because of all the colours that I've used for this blanket. The yarn had a knot in it that I missed in one section of the creme colour and I didn't notice it until I'd knitted away in the pink and started the brown. It was the kind of knot that was hidden and I thought maybe it was just some fluff around the yarn. No such luck. It was a very small knot. I untied it and tried to figure out how I could keep the blanket together but nothing I came up with would work. The ends were too short to really keep them together with a short piece of yarn that I could weave in. So I just knotted it again and hopefully it won't show as much to my daughter-in-law as it shows to me.

Besides, I'm not perfect and anything I make shouldn't be perfect. Hopefully with blocking it, I can make it not so noticeable even though my husband can't see it.

Once this blanket is finished, I can then finish up two shawls that I want to make. I also have a Spring sweater to make out of some Mission Falls cotton that I've had for a few years. I couldn't make up my mind what to make out of it, so I finally found a cardigan that is simple, nice looking and a top down one that makes it easier for me.

We're going on holidays to Vancouver Island soon and of course I want to visit some yarn shops over there. Not that I need more yarn of course as my stash is huge, but if I can find some handdyed yarn that is the same colour of some that I have already, it makes it possible to make more sweaters than shawls. I seem to be wanting to make more sweaters lately. Maybe I just want it to cool off and be Fall. Or maybe I want to see what my unborn granddaughter looks like. I've made her a couple of sweaters, leggings, a smaller blanket and booties. It is so nice to be able to knit with pink and my stash has recently increased in the colour pink.

A Little of This, A Little of That

2010-06-05T20:37:00.000-07:00

Now that my yarn stash is up on Ravelry, I've had the opportunity to sell some of it at 30% off. And two knitting friends kindly took some Fleece Artist and Handmaiden, and not only did I get to have nice visits with them, I also didn't have to deal with shipping. I still need to go through my stash and move more of it to the Sale/Trade page, however I've made a note on my stash page that if someone sees something that they'd like to buy, and I don't have a particular project written down, they can ask me if I'm willing to part with it. That's how I sold some yarn recently.

I finished the baby blanket and then started the baby crib sized blanket. I'm using four different colours in stripes for it, but as it is pretty boring, I only work on it when my brain needs a rest. Same goes with the leggings that I'm making to go with a baby sweater.

I do have until the middle of August to finish these projects and the new granddaughter won't need to sweater and leggings until the Fall anyway. There are so many baby items that I want to make for this first granddaughter, and several that my daughter-in-law wants me to make, but I'm planning on making them to fit the baby for Winter.

I have three shawls to finish and last night I just sat and knitted on my second Calais shawl. It is an easy pattern for me to work on, plus the yarn is pink and blue and made by Yarn Candy, Sweet Fiber and it is so nice to work with.

My mother-in-law was in hospital for a week and now has a pacemaker. Hopefully this will help her ailing heart to keep working for quite awhile. At 92, she is still knitting and finished a baby blanket for this new great-granddaughter plus a toy.

My days have been very busy with visiting her in hospital, taking Millie out for walks or even driving her to her doggy day care and then facing the horrible traffic to pick her up. But she loves it there, has lots of dog friends that she plays with and is very tired at the end of her six hours there.

The weather finally cleared up today, and she and I went to a dog park and walked around it three times and she is tired now. She'd also had a good long walk this morning with my husband. He is quite good about walking her on the weekends, and as the weather improves, we'll probably do what we did last summer, which is to walk her after dinner. That way she gets a lot of exercise, we get exercise, and if I could figure out a way to knit and walk her, I'd do it.

She is a tad overweight, but my vet wasn't concerned about it as he was giving her treats. I do take her swimming during the summer, and even though she is a retriever, she'll only retrieve a ball in the house or in the water.

Our knitting guild is going to meet in Cloverdale on June 13th for WWKIP day. I plan to go to 88 Stitches on the 12th, as I've been going there for the past two years and it is a lot of fun to sit and knit and chat.

I made a lace bag and designed it myself. I used the cast on that we were taught at one guild meeting, and then did the gull lace pattern around the bag. I'd used some stash yarn and I amazed myself at how cute it turned out. I'd love to be able to design my own lace shawl, but at this point, it is easier to use patterns that others have designed and that are written well.

I still spend far too much time wandering around Ravelry. Finding new patterns that I just have to have, and then printing them out and of course my next major project will be to weed through all my notebooks of patterns and possibly do an inventory of what I have. That is a major job for me, but I tend to see a pattern, save it to my computer and then print it out. Many times I've printed out the same pattern several times.

Hopefully this nice weather will last more than just one day. I have a lot of gardening to do, but as I'm going pretty fast on the Calais shawl, I do want to finish it so I can actually wear it this Summer.

With Father's Day, my husband's birthday, our youngest heading back East for more schooling at the end of June, it would be nice to have a new Summer shawlette to wear.

Organizing my stash

2010-05-02T20:22:00.000-07:00

I basically spent the last week in a major fibromyalgia flare. Lots of pain that just wouldn't go away. The weather kept shifting and that affects me a lot. However, one thing that I found I could concentrate on and do was to take pictures of my stash and finally get more of it posted on Ravelry.

A couple of friends thought I'd won the lottery as I'd finally gotten around to taking pictures of Fleece Artist and Handmaiden yarn that is made here in Canada. No lottery winnings for me, but I did have a good laugh about it all. Today I hauled out my big container of Noro yarn and proceeded to add them to my stash on Ravelry. Even though I have an inventory of all my yarn, plus where at least 90% of it is located in my craft room, actually seeing it and wondering why I'd bought it all in the first place got me to thinking.

I obviously had plans for particular projects at one time, and of course some of them are written on my inventory, but I keep changing my mind and of course find different yarns that I prefer to knit with.

So now I'm going to see if I can sell some of it on Ravelry for less than the cost I paid, but the shipping is the hard part. While watching Hoarding, Buried Alive this evening, I decided that I should just decide which yarns I can live without and sell them from home. Of course with our garage half filled with a lot of stuff, it would make sense to have a garage sell. However that is far too much work.

I'm going to see if some of my knitting buddies that live near me want to buy some of my yarn for a reduced price and then I don't have to deal with the shipping.

Organizing my yarn is a full time job. And of course when I see a new pattern that I want to make, I do go through my inventory for the yarn I want to use, but then I'll go into my Local Yarn Shop,88 Stitches, and just have to have something else.

I don't consider myself a hoarder as I'm very organized, and I do go through my clothing and small items to give away for others to use on a regular basis. It is just seeing how much yarn I actually have and not remembering why I bought it, but will I have time to use it that is key to me right now.

I have one more weaving class to take and I've missed three classes. I've learned a lot that I can apply to my new loom, but I've also discovered that I love the warping process and the actual weaving is a bit boring for me. It is like doing a sweater in garter stitch and feeling that I'm never going to be finished.

At least I'm learning more about my likes and dislikes. I still love Fleece Artist and Handmaiden yarns, but lately I've been purchasing yarn to make baby clothing and blankets as our second grandchild is due the middle of August, and she is a girl. Thus, I had little pink yarn that was suitable for a baby and of course had to buy a lot.

Also, I've been introduced to about three independent yarn dyers and their yarn is beautiful, soft and what I want to be on my needles now.

I'm trying to finish a shawl that has an edging on it and the edging is now very boring for me, but I did learn how to add an edging without a lot of mistakes.

Now to get myself organized so I can either donate some yarn or make a small amount of money back from some of my past purchases.

My New Toy

2010-02-05T13:23:00.000-08:00

After dropping off Millie at Bark'n Lounge, I drove into Vancouver to pick up a weaving loom from
Birkeland Bros.Wool,. Thankfully my GPS was working, or I would have gotten totally lost and would still be wandering down the streets of Vancouver. It is amazing how a trip into Vancouver can take so long to get there, but the drive home was quick and easy.

I immediately set to work assembling this 20" weaving loom. I had to rearrange my working table in my craft room to have enough room. But it is now set up and the next thing on my agenda, after I do some writing that I do with my eldest son, I plan to play around with my new toy.

Since my eldest son, daughter-in-law, and grandson moved out two weeks ago, I have become more positive and have been busy setting up my craft room again, plus moving all my knitting books back into the den on the bookshelves. I've left my scrapbooking supplies in the closet in the den for now as the craft room is too filled with yarn. I'm hoping to pick up another shelving unit so I can store my stash in that rather in containers that tend to pile up and of course I have no idea what yarn is where.

I'm slowly taking pictures of my stash and am selling some of it on Ravelry. I discovered today that I can use up my sock yarn to weave scarves. Once I figure out how to weave, that is. The pictures in the book that came with my Ashford Loom are very straight forward, but I tend to complicate things.

I'm also in a book reading group at Ravelry on the 88 Stitches group. We're reading Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier, so my actual knitting time is really being pushed aside. I did get my knitting mojo back and have been working on my grandson's James the Train hat.

My new toy is calling my name, but I must do a couple of articles before I get to play. That must mean that I'm finally a grown up.

Dreary January

2010-01-20T17:13:00.000-08:00

The dreary, wet, and depression weather here in the lower mainland of British Columbia is doing a number on my mental outlook. Last Friday my dear friend, Karen and I went to our favourite yarn shop, 88 Stitches and she tried to get me to be more positive. I was mostly whining and complaining. Finally the rain stopped and I actually saw some blue sky. After eating lunch and seeing more blue sky, and having fun at a big Loonie store, I ended up laughing and could feel my negative mood was lifting.

Granted it didn't totally go away as the dreary weather has continued, but at least it has been fairly dry so I could get Millie to the dog park. We now have a regular routine for dog park days. She gets muddy, I put her into the car, she waits at the entrance in the house until I tell her to head upstairs and she will now on most days jump into the bathtub. With the handheld shower, I'm able to hose her off with warm water. Then it is towel time for drying. She is a very patient dog or maybe she doesn't like all the mud on her.

My knitting mojo flew out the window after Christmas, and isn't really coming back. I keep casting on projects that I think will help, but I do a few rows and call it quits. On the other hand, I've been cleaning my house more and have been doing some reading.

On Ravelry I've joined the 2010 Shawls in 2010 group and am working on the Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West out of two skeins of Verdes Malabrigo that I had in my stash. I'm trying to reduce my stash by searching it first before going out to buy more yarn that I don't really need. Team Cindy on Ravelry is another group that I'm involved in and I've signed up to finish three WIP during the Olympics. I may have to change it to two, as one is a shawl, one a scarf that isn't mindless, and a Baby Surprise Jacket for my second grandbaby that will be born in August.

Trying to keep my sanity with this dreary and dark weather has become my main focus lately. I'd prefer snow and sunshine or even just snow instead of this mild weather, no sunlight and of course a very muddy dog most days. Millie now goes to doggy day care at Bark 'n Lounge one or two times a week and she has a lot of fun there, I get a break, and she doesn't get muddy.

I didn't make any resolutions for this year, except to try to live one day at a time, which I've been trying to do for years now. Also, spending time with positive friends helps me now as I've never felt this down in January. It could also be that my eldest son, daughter-in-law and grandson have found a place to live and since they've been here for almost one and a half years, I don't have space and as much time to myself as I was used to. I'm grateful that they will still be close by, but they need their own place and I need my home back plus I'll be busy sorting all my crafty stuff back in my old craft room.

Focusing on the positives helps me to cope with this weather. And this weather isn't very good for the Olympics that will be here soon.

I plan to work hard to finish at least two WIP during that time.

Fall has Arrived

2009-10-03T15:33:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. We did have some much needed rain, but I'm grateful that it is beginning to feel and look like our usual Fall's. Fall is my favourite season. I love to see the colours of the leaves change, feel the crispness in the air, and of course it makes me want to just sit all warm and cosy and knit.

My problem right now is that Millie needs to be walked or taken to the dog park each day. I usually just take her to the dog park in the afternoons so she can play with other dogs, run, and get rid of excess energy. We now are walking her on her leash each evening right after dinner. Soon it will be too dark to do that, and I'll be back to walking her around 4 or 5pm.

My knitting time seems to be more limited these days. I may get a bit done in the mornings, but I don't find time to knit during the afternoons much these days. Mostly because Millie needs to be out playing and having fun with her doggy friends. However, I did rip back the Lavalette shawl as I'd cast off too tightly. I have no idea what I did as I do know how to do two different methods of casting off loosely. But I fixed it and now it drapes very well.

Millie is now 18 months old and she and Heagen play very well together. They of course are still supervised.

I did a KAL with the Scary Lace group on Ravelry and used some yarn that I had in my stash from a trip to California last summer. I made The Travelling Woman.

I've started the KAL for October, Saskia, and between trying to do a few rows each evening on a lace shawl for my daughter-in-law's mom out of silky malabrigo, redoing the back of Thomas the Train, working on Charlotte's Web, and doing a few rows on the Saskia shawl, and ignoring all my other UFO's for now, I don't really feel a sense of accomplishment. Once I get going on one of these projects, I know I'll do what I always do. I'm totally focus on one of them until it is finished.
I do work on the Einstein coat when I'm out and need something totally mindless, so that may be finished by next Fall.

Our knitting guild, The Fraser Valley Knitting Guild seems to be going much better now that we've elected some people for major positions. I'm the treasurer/membership person and we opened up a bank account, which was a major accomplishment. With my husband doing all the graphic work for free for now, I can easily give him the information to be printed out and he does it.
My pain levels have increased with the shifting of weather, but so far I'm managing to do the main things that need to be done. Like taking Millie out, playing with Heagen, a couple of meals per week, and of course wanting to buy more yarn that I really don't need.

Too many hobbies

2009-07-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

My den room is definitely too small for all of my hobbies. Shelves are filled with yarn, the closet is overflowing with yarn, scrapbooking supplies and other things that just need a place to be for now.

My daughter-in-law and I decided to do scrapbooking today since it is too hot outside to do much of anything. After I found all my printed pictures from 2006, I couldn't find the notebook where I'd written down all the places we'd visited while in Japan for Cherry Blossom Season during that year. I couldn't find any pictures for the beginning of 2006 except for one of my youngest son wearing a scarf that I'd knitted for him. It wasn't ready in time for Christmas so he got it in January. At least it kept his neck warm during the winter months while he was finishing a degree at University.

After spreading out all my papers, tools, glue that was so old it wouldn't stick, and finding new glue and acid-free sticky's and some birthday paper and some other birthday things, I proceeded to just sit on the floor and paste the birthday photos from Mum's 88th birthday and half of the pictures from my daughter's 27th birthday on pages, and then my back hurt, I was tired and felt like it was too much work to do in a totally disarrayed room.
My daughter-in-law and youngest son had moved a bookshelf into the den which now houses many containers of yarn that I haven't noted on my inventory list as to which container they are in. While my yarn inventory is kept up-to-date, finding the yarn that I want is still a bit difficult for me since I had to move all my yarn, scrapbooking, and quilting supplies into this small den and the basement and under our bed.

The thought of finishing 2006 seems like a lot of work. I still haven't printed out all the pictures from our trip to Japan, but I do have enough to fill a big scrapbook. Sometimes I wish I'd hadn't started doing this hobby or had just done books of birthdays, Christmas, holidays, and special events rather than trying to do it year by year. I still haven't totally redone my grown children's baby pictures, and many of them were damaged due to acid getting into them. At least I'd removed them from their old albums.

If I get the wild idea to finish two quilts, the scrapbooking stuff will again be back in the closet so I can use the table.

I think that's why I prefer knitting. It is portable, it is waiting for me next to my spot on the couch in the family room, and if I'm bored with one project, I can pick up another UFO and work on it. Quilting and scrapbooking take time, lots of equipment and of course an uninterrupted hour or two.

Millie turned 16 months old on the 25th, and she had a very exciting experience out in the lightning and thunderstorm last night. We'd gotten ready to take her out when the rain began and as we heard thunder, we decided not to go to the power easement. We walked her down to a big park with a pond, trying to gauge which way the storm was moving. It was moving with us. My husband got some pictures of the lightning and the skies but he was frustrated as he only had his small camera.

When the storm was coming right over us, I decided that we'd be safe on the stage that is covered and at the park. Along with some skateboarding teens, we sat and watched the storm, watched the downpour of rain and Millie wasn't frightened of the thunder. It was a good test for her as she is going to be a therapy dog, visiting people in hospital and eventually visiting children at Children's hospital.

Once the storm was past us, we walked very fast in the opposite direction to get home, get dry, and feel safe. Our daughter had towels out to dry off Millie, for which I was very grateful.

I needed a picture of Millie since she is now 16 months old, but she wasn't interested in sitting still. She was more interested in what 'her dad' was doing. He'd cleaned the barbecue so our youngest son could barbecue hamburgers on it tonite. Millie wanted to be with 'her dad' and he was trying to get her to sit quietly but she wanted to play.

He finally got her to sit with him, and they both seemed to be smiling. I think.

Of course the first picture of my messy den has Millie lying in her favourite spot while I'm on the computer.

I'm really enjoying working on the Lavalette shawl with Yarn Candy, Sweet Fiber silk and cashmere. The pattern is simple to memorize and although I should be finishing the Thomas the Train cardigan for my grandson, I keep returning to this shawl. I did do a few rows on the cardigan last night and plan to do a few more this evening. Doing intarsia isn't my favourite thing to do, but the fronts are looking much better than the back. After I finish the front left that I'm now doing, I will do the sleeves. Then if I have yarn left over, I may redo the back. Now that is something that I'm not looking forward to doing, but I do like my projects to look finished and well knitted.
My BSJ is finished except for buttons. Either I'll just put the buttons on and give it to my sister-in-law when she's out her visiting in August to take home with her to give her daughter, my niece who is expecting in September, or I'll wait until the baby is born and put the buttons on the correct side. I wonder who decided which was the right side to add buttons, but I'm sure I could google it and the answer would be there.

Holiday's on Vancouver Island

2009-07-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

With my car loaded to capacity, my husband and I left home for Vancouver Island with our dog, Millie on July 2. It was Millie's first long trip, first ferry ride, and many firsts for her during our week on the Island.

The picture above is of the waterfalls in Campbell River where we stayed with my brother-in-law for three days. Our queen-sized air mattress which had only been used once in 2007 during a visit of my high school friends, was filled and quickly deflated. So I chose to sleep on a small couch, while my husband managed to keep filling up the air mattress and eventually fell asleep on the floor. On our second night, I turned the air mattress over to discover about 3 rips. It probably occurred when it had been put back in the bag. A trip to get duct tape was in order.

With the duct tape, it had a slow leak. I chose the couch again. After two difficult nights of sleep, my husband went to Canadian Tire and bought a new queen sized air mattress, which worked beautifully.

We spent three days in Campbell River, visiting with my b-i-l (my husband's older brother), walking Millie around the town, down to the water, and through a great park where other people were walking their dogs or riding bikes or just taking a pleasant evening stroll. I of course found the local yarn shop called, Needle Arts Centre, which I found some yarn that I just had to have.

From there we headed to Port Alberni and the weather shifted from sunny days to rain. We found a hotel that took dogs, and the staff were wonderful to Millie.

We spent one day in Tofino wandering around and took Millie on a walk that led to the ocean. She found a friend to play with there, much like she'd found a friend while walking around the park area in Campbell River as can be seen in the picture below.

At Tofino, Millie had so much fun playing in the ocean and it really wore her out. She slept well every night, but then she went everywhere with us and was walking a lot or running free when we felt that she would be safe.

After two days in Port Alberni, we headed for Nanaimo and found another hotel, a Best Western, that allowed dogs. They even had a bed for Millie plus they'd leave out treats for her like she was a prized guest.

We found a small dog park at Beban Park and Millie again found friends to play with.

Millie did very well on her first holiday. She didn't mind the ferry ride and neither did we. Instead of leaving our car and going upstairs as we usually do, we stayed in the car, walked Millie and even sat for a short time in the small dog areas that they do have on ferries. The first one was air conditioned and too cold for us, however the second one wasn't air conditioned and the door was cracked open a bit and it wasn't very comfortable. The car and just walking Millie around the cars and to the back of the ferry seemed to work well for all of us.

I did find another yarn store in Nanaimo called, Mad About Ewe and was able to find some yarns that I usually have to travel into Vancouver to obtain.

All in all, I found this week away from home very relaxing. I read two and 1/2 books and highly recommend The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. I quickly read two fairly current knitting novels which entertained me, but they were books that I'd call light summer reading.

I only worked on one project the entire time. I managed to get quite a bit done of the wrap that has been on my needles for months now. As I have two projects that I need to finish by September, I'm going to finish this wrap, which will be great in the Fall, and finish the BSJ for my niece whose baby is due in September and my grandson's Thomas the Train.

Life just keeps happening

2009-06-16T11:44:00.000-07:00

The house is chaotic again with noise from a 2 1/2 year old, questions from the adult children, whining from the dog, and meowing from the ancient cat.

My wip's are piling up and I can't seem to stay focused long enough on any one project to finish it.

The cardigan for my grandson has 1/2 of the back done, which has been a long and tangled mess. Doing fair isle/intarsia to create Thomas the Train on the back has finally paid off. I'm going quicker now and only have to work with green and white for awhile and then on to shaping the armholes in blue for the sky. I'm dreading the two fronts and have considered knitting them plain, but I want to make my grandson happy and he loves Thomas the Train and friends.

I've woven in some of the ends, but it will take me hours to totally finish the back of this cardigan, but my grandson is thrilled each time I show him how Thomas is actually being created. I have told him that when he is about 5 I'll teach him to knit. He now can handle his child chop sticks very well, and since he can manage those, I don't think needles should be too much more work for him to learn.

I have three shawls on needles and have been trying to do a few rows each evening, but between trying to concentrate, being interrupted, losing my spot on the chart and having Millie wanting to go for a walk, means that my knitting time is hard to come by on certain occasions. I did take some knitting with me to the dog park yesterday and managed to get one row done before it was time to leave.

Millie loves to run and play with her buddies at the dog park and we had to stop going there for over a week because she developed kennel cough. She is well now and of course back to requiring three walks/day or at least two and one long play time at the dog park.

Millie is almost 15months old and is definitely my best buddy and the delight of my life. She lies quietly at my feet as I'm knitting and has never gotten into my yarn or projects. She doesn't like it when the yarn happens to lie on her head, so I move it, give her a pet and she just lies down again in comfort.

Yarn change rather than a yarn mistake

2009-05-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

Today I was sitting and watching The Dog Whisperer with Millie at my feet. She'd had a good walk and run earlier so it was the perfect time to work on the Storm Cloud Shawlette. I did wonder why it seemed like I had more than 205 yards of yarn and that what I thought was Lorna's Lace in an aran weight was a fingering weight, but I just kept knitting and dropping YO's on the even rows and doing the increase rows without really thinking very hard.

After deciding that I should do some much needed housework, like clean the master suite bathroom and change the sheets on our bed plus put clean ones on our eldest son's and daughter-in-law's bed for when they return next week, I was tired of housework. Besides our air conditioning isn't working properly and it was warmer inside than out. With my husband, we took Millie to the dog park as she'd tried to help me make the beds and was getting under my feet for real.

It was a nice day outside and she sniffed, played, and milled about which is what she is good at doing at the dog park when she doesn't see any of her regular playmates. It is the Victoria Day long weekend and a lot of people are out of town or at the rodeo, which is in our small town.

When we returned, my youngest son was actually fixing dinner! I of course let him continue and sat down to work on the shawlette. Then I looked at the second ball of yarn that had been wound at the same time as the one I was using and realized that I was actually using Handmaiden 2 ply cashmere/silk for this shawlette. Since it was a 300meter ball, I was definitely going to have some leftover.

I wasn't about to frog all my work, so I decided quickly that I'd probably have enough leftover to make a lacey cowl. I had to laugh at myself. At my age, it's the best thing to do. Also my husband and I are trying to be positive about everything in life these days. If I'd gotten frustrated and frogged the entire project, I'm sure that I wouldn't have made this shawlette at all.

Killing Time

2009-05-02T21:18:00.000-07:00

I could be working on the Shetland Triangle shawl that I decided I wanted to work on this evening, but I had to restart it and I'm now back where I was. At row 7. Not going very fast with this shawl and even though it is a very easy chart to follow, the malabrigo yarn that I'm using is delightful, I just couldn't sit still.

We're waiting to pick up our youngest son from Mexico at midnight. He did change his flight so they aren't going to have a 2 hour stop over in the airport in Mexico City, but he still will need to wear a mask. His sister has to stay with friends for a week as she does work in an independent living facility and if she stayed at home, she wouldn't be able to work for a week.

Our son will be wearing a mask at home and his boss phoned on Friday and said he can work from home for a couple of days. He and his friends are all fine, so all of this is just a precaution.

I did finish the Newsboy Cap today and I'm very delighted with how it fits my head like a baseball cap and that is how I wanted it to look. I changed the number of increases and that helped it to fit my head as I wanted it to. Of course my daughter loved it, so I'm sure I'll be making one for her.

I may be used to staying up until 11:30, but the thought of having to go into Vancouver and then driving home again isn't sitting well with me. I'm learning that being a parent doesn't end when children become adults. Some aspects do end, but since they are all living at home again, we are very involved in their lives. Well, as much as they are willing to tell us.

I'm going to sit and knit or maybe read for awhile.

Spring is finally here

2009-04-30T20:48:00.000-07:00

Even though Spring actually began on March 20th, it felt like our Spring was just more of our Winter. Then it felt like we went from Winter directly into Summer. The last week has been more Spring like weather, yet it felt quite hot outside today. Hotter than I remember it being on the last day of April.

My days have been very busy with little things. Walking Millie at least twice a day takes up some time, and I usually try to get her to a dog park in Langley so she can play with dogs that she knows. I'm still waiting for the dog park in the Clayton area which was begun in 2007 to finally be finished. I don't understand how difficult it is to lay down grass, put up a fence, and actually have it finished when it has been two years. I guess I'm just tired of spending money on gas so Millie can play with her friends. Yet, I find so much pleasure in watching her run up to a dog that she knows and the both of them just greet each other and begin to wrestle. Her current best friend is Shilo. He's about 9 months old to Millie's 13 months of age, but he's a border collie and they are about the same size.

My knitting has been very slow lately. I've finished a couple of projects, but like a true obsessive/compulsive knitter, I'm constantly casting on new projects. Currently my favourite project is the Newsboy cap. I'm venturing out of my comfort zone and am using Taiyo yarn, cotton, wool, and nylon and am making it smaller than the pattern so that hopefully it will fit my small head. So far it seems to be fitting me. I'm going to do 4 repeats of the cables and then I begin the decreases. I definitely needed my calculator for this pattern. However, I did get gauge and I did do a proper swatch.

The BSJ that I made for one of my niece's unborn baby is finished except for buttons. I'm also making a simple cap to match. Now my other niece is pregnant with her third baby so I need to make another BSJ. I do wish they'd find out the sex of their babies because it would make it so much easier for me to decide on a colour.

I do find it overwhelming at times to have so many UFO's but then I can pick up and knit whatever I feel like knitting in the evenings. The Thomas the Train cardigan for my grandson is going very, very slowly. It is basically fair isle knitting at this point with some intarsia for the background, but I'm constantly unwinding the smaller balls of yarn. My good friend, Karen suggested that I put them all in sandwich bags and shut the bags and leave a small opening for the yarn. That helps, but it is a project that I definitely need to focus on.

I still prefer mindless knitting for when I'm out and about and actually got some knitting done while waiting in traffic the other day. And my love for lace knitting just keeps growing and now I have two shawls on needles.

The house is so quiet with my eldest son working on Vancouver Island and my daughter-in-law and grandson in Japan until the end of May. Youngest son is in Mexico right now and he's trying to change his flight home so he doesn't have to sit in the airport in Mexico City for two hours. I did get a proper mask for him to wear but hopefully they will give him and his friends masks before we pick them up.

It's time to stop rambling and sit and watch some TV and work on the cap that I want to wear this summer.

Not very focused these days

2009-02-04T21:07:00.000-08:00

My days seem all the same so I decided to make some changes. Instead of taking Millie to the dog park 4 days a week, hosing her off afterwards as she gets all muddy when she's playing with other dogs, drying her with the hair blower, doing a load of doggy towels and being exhausted, I decided that she is social enough. Three or even two days at the dog park are enough for both of us. She walked very well with me yesterday and we ventured out further than we usually go.
The Dog Whisperer says that dogs get bored with the same walking route, so I took him at his word, and Millie got to see different things and also walk along a busy road. She did fine and she wasn't muddy and didn't have to endure a cold hosing off.
My daughter-in-law and grandson were out visiting other Japanese women who've married Canadian men and also have two year olds, so they had a good day. And I got a break from my grandson. I love him dearly, but trying to keep him from either falling down the stairs, crashing into doors, or breaking something that he shouldn't is a full time job. His parents are good at watching him, but they also need a break.
I can't seem to stay focused on one knitting project these days. However, I'm making myself do at least 4 rows of my husband's sweater each evening. Doing both sleeves at one time makes it seem longer, but they will both be done together.
I keep going on Ravelry to see what I can make out of my stash yarn, printing out new patterns and then forgetting all about them.
I have several UFO's and do try to work on at least 3 of them each day. I just can't get into the mood to stay focused for long enough to make much of a dent into these projects.
I joined the Cindy Swap at Ravelry and am excited about finding small things or a special yarn to send to my secret person.
The knitting guild that I basically began is beginning to grow and come together. I've taken the role of graphic person as my husband can do all the fliers, name tags, etc for free for us and he does a very professional job as he is a graphic designer.
I switched to taking Mum out on Tuesdays but I decided to return to Thursdays again. Millie can have a good walk before her dog obedience class and I will have Tuesdays free to do what I want. It is about the only day I have where I don't have to be somewhere.

I did finish the spiral fingerless gloves that I made out of brown Debbie Bliss Cashmerino and of course as soon as I'd worn them once, I found my pink cashmere ones. At least I now have a pair to wear out walking Millie and I don't have to worry about mucking up the cashmere ones.

2009

2009-01-14T16:42:00.000-08:00

2009 is here and I'm so behind with posting anything on this blog that I wonder if it is even worth my while to continue doing it. But I don't give up easily, so even though I may only write every few months or so, it is a good outlet for me to keep writing.

I don't have the time, energy or patience to try to figure out how to add pictures within the text so they will just be spread either at the bottom or at the top. Guess all my previous years of doing HTML have been deleted from my brain.

Christmas was simple but nice. We didn't spend as much money as we've done in the past and yet everyone got gifts, there was plenty of food, chocolates and snacks. My grandson, Heagen loved Christmas morning. Of course, he got the most presents, but it is hard to resist buying a 2 year old a gift.

My den which was my room for quilting and storing some knitting yarn and supplies has now been taken over by a jungle gym, trains, balls, and Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore. Gifts that my dear mother-in-law had crocheted for Heagen since he was born. I've tripped over the trains as they are at the entrance of the room but it is easier to deal with that then try to navigate around the jungle gym. I have suggested to my eldest son that he sell his pool table in the rec room and then his own son would have more space, but obviously that isn't happening right now. At least my son found a job and is in training right now so we don't know how much longer they will be living with us.

As much as I'd like my space back again, I know that I'm going to miss seeing my grandson every day and spending time with him. His English is coming along great and his mum works on his Japanese and he knows to speak English to us. He is definitely bilingual and hopefully it will continue.

He is very good with our Golden retriever now. Today we went to the dog park and Heagen kept calling Millie to come to him. Millie was playing with another dog and having a lot of fun so she ignored Heagen. But when she stopped playing for a bit, she'd come running to Heagen. Heagen loves to tell her to come to him, sit and give her a treat. It is nice to see that he isn't afraid of most dogs at the dog park. The bigger ones do scare him a bit, but his mum is there to pick him up and he just says, "Big dog."

I'm finally finished knitting the front and back of my husbands sweater and have started the sleeves. I told my daughter-in-law today that I will never make a sweater out of grey with 4mm needles again. I taught her to knit and she took to it like a fish takes to water. She catches her mistakes and comes to find me before it gets too messy for either of us to deal with. She's making a ribbed scarf out of some brown Classic Elite yarn that I'd purchased years ago and hadn't used it to make a sweater. Now she can go through my stash and see if there is something she wants to learn to work with. Except for some yarn that I do have specific plans for.

Speaking of that, I find that I keep changing my mind about projects and what I want to make out of a particular yarn. I can spend hours looking up one of my yarns on Ravelry and seeing what others have done with it.

I still have several UFO's that I'm determined to finish but I keep adding smaller projects to work on when I'm bored with my husband's sweater. I did make the instant gratification scarf because I had some of the yarn and needed something that was pretty mindless. It is blocking now.

I've finally begun a Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman and hopefully it will be the right size for my niece's baby that is due in the Spring.

My days are filled with playing with Heagen, taking Millie to the dog park or walking her, cleaning her after she rolls around in mud, doing laundry and trying to keep the bathrooms fairly clean. My daughter-in-law does the vacumming which is a big help as with fibromyalgia and a bad back, I was told not to do it. And she does a wonderful job. I only have to cook on Monday nights and do try to make something simple that Heagen will like. He is a good eater so I don't really have to change much for his tastes, but his dad hates cheese and that creats a problem for me as a lot of my simple recipes have cheese in them.

We had a lot of snow over Christmas and it is still on the ground but mostly it is dirty snow now and not as pretty as it was.

Having all three adult children home again has its ups and downs. Things are going fine right now so I don't want to rock the boat. I'm learning to deal with interruptions and very little free time to myself.

Heagen and I watch Frosty the Snowman and we've been watching Pooh and friends when he's allowed to watch something on a screen. He is slowly learning to play by himself for short periods of time but he and I play trains and I try to teach him new things or new words when we're playing.

I did finish the Wisp that I'd made out of Malabrigo sock yarn and got the buttons on it but I'm waiting for Yuka to model it. I'm giving it to her. She is breaking out of her wearing mostly black, grey, brown or white and something with colour makes her look even more beautiful.

My daughter is back at UBC, but she finds time to help with meals, run with Millie on the weekends and work part-time and have a social life.

I'm quite content yet I do long for more privacy. But it will come with a price. No little boy to want to sit on my lap to watch Pooh or Frosty the Snowman or no little boy to say, "Good morning, Gramme."

Life is an Excitment of Possibilities, Not a Series of Obstacles

2008-10-23T21:52:00.000-07:00

Again, I have no time to post here. If I were a tad more organized, I'd be adding patterns that I've changed or created, not that there are that many or at least post something that might help someone who actually reads this.

My eldest son, daughter-in-law, and almost 2 year old grandson moved from Japan over a month ago to live with us. Now there are 6 adults, one toddler, one very old cat and one almost 7 month old puppy in this house.

It is amazing that things are running so smoothly. I credit my wonderful daughter-in-law for a lot of it because she helps with meals, cleans and does anything she can to help out. My daughter is at UBC full-time now but she still manages to cook dinner 3 nights a week. I'm down to only having to cook dinner on Monday nights, so life is good.

I have finished some knitting projects, but still need to find time to work on the alpaca grey sweater for my husband. I made two more Christmas stockings and will probably make a third one as I did the heel backwards in the first stocking. I'll use that one for our dog, Millie. She won't mind.

I still have to add decorations and names to the stockings, but they didn't take me very long to make, and the second one was much easier since I actually read the pattern and figured out how to do a regular heel. I'm used to doing socks toe up, so now I can do a cuff down sock on two circulars if I choose to do so.

Millie is now in dog obedience and at her third session today, she was the star pupil with the instructor. I think I finally have a clue as to how to get her to walk beside me much better. She loves to go to dog parks and just runs and plays with other dogs. She is quite submissive so she knows how to protect herself from bigger dogs who are running fast. She does a duck and hide.

My grandson is delightful. He's teaching me Japanese but his mum has to help me as he's just barely learning it. His English is good. His poor little brain must be confused with growing up bilingual, but it will be to his benefit.

We're have his 2nd birthday party this weekend and we did buy him some shelves and containers for the bedroom so he can put away his own toys. All of their belongings haven't arrived from Japan yet, so Yuka is able to borrow my coats or my daughter's.

August in BC, Canada

2008-08-10T21:34:00.001-07:00

I'm not very good at keeping up this blog. And of course I don't write down patterns, or give any knitting hints, which I probably could do to help out others. Maybe at this time in my life, I just need a place to write down my thoughts about knitting and whatever is going on around me.

I recently finished the Cindy pattern from Berroco which was a KAL for the group on Ravelry for people who's names were related to Cindy.

I attended the PicKnit on Saturday, August 9th at the Surrey Museum in Cloverdale. I wandered around, met up with old knitting buddies that I haven't seen for awhile and even met some new knitting buddies that I only knew from Ravelry. It was a wet, damp and rainy day, but then it does things like that in August in BC.

I'm working on the Luna Moth shawl which is a free pattern from elann.com and I'm making it out of some Tussah Sea from Handmaiden that I purchased at Urban Yarns in Vancouver. It is slow going but lately I've found myself actually being able to follow the chart and know how many repeats I need to do before I get to the centre stitch. I have lifelines in place at specific spots so if I do end up with the wrong number of stitches and can't figure out where I made my mistake, I can rip back to the lifeline and continue on. I swear by lifelines for any lace knitting and I also used them for my Branching Out scarf that I just finished blocking.

I think I've convinced my husband that a sweater out of the light weight, #3 or dk and alpaca will stretch out of shape on him. I was trying to create a sweater, sorta follow a pattern and make it to fit him via my sweater wizard. It was just becoming too much work for me and trying to concentrate with a puppy around isn't easy. So now I'm going to make another swatch and he did pick out a sweater from a library book that I'd picked up of men's sweaters. I'd rather use this beautiful grey alpaca for a beautiful shawl, but then working with it is hard enough for me. I don't like to work with black because my eyes just can't focus on it and it strains my eyes. While this yarn is grey and cost a lot of money, I do think that if I can get the gauge for this pattern, I'll just stick with that. He may get it for Christmas but then again, he may not.

With my eldest son, daughter-in-law and my grandson, who will be almost 23 months old in September when they arrive from Japan, I think I'll be back to making Heagen sweaters. I have yarn to make him several sweaters, but the last item that I made for him was too tight so it will be easier to have him present so I can measure him myself.

My daughter has moved back home to save money as she continues studies at UBC and she has been a big help around the house. She works and is taking one class this summer, but she cooks many of our dinners and that is a major help to me.

What is going to be strange is having all three of my adult children plus my daughter-in-law and grandson and Millie, our 4 month old puppy all under the same roof. At least until my eldest son can find a job here that he wants. Hopefully it won't take him long to find something in management either school related or just a position that uses all of his abilities and experience. He has taken a Canadian Labour Law course by distance in Japan so that should help in some ways. He is also talking about getting a MBA. He doesn't want to have to live with us for long, but they have a lot of paper work to finish and deal with, plus job interviews.

I still go to 88 Stitches in Langley each Friday to sit and chat and knit. My husband comes home for lunch on that day so Millie isn't left in her crate for more than an hour or two. She is getting two walks per day now and she loves to meet people and other dogs. She is walking very well on her leash since I started watching the show, End-of-my-leash and incorporating some of his hints into her training.

I plan to take one knitting class in the Fall at 88 Stitches and since it is in the daytime, that helps me as I don't do well with a class in the evenings although I did it last Spring to learn about lace knitting.

My mindless knitting was the eye-of-the-partridge shawl and even with that, I had many lifelines. My trip to California was great but it was far too hot for me and I messed up one stitch and tried to fix it and ended up having to rip back one stitch at a time to fix my error. I didn't have a lifeline in place so after that I made sure I had several.

No problems with needles on Air Alaska and my friend and I both knitted on the plane and we hit as many yarn shops as we could in the Redlands, Lake Arrowhead, and Riverside areas. I did buy too much yarn as usual but I only bought yarn that I can't get in Canada easily and I was focusing on sock yarn or fingering weight yarns for shawls.

When I get over my desire to do lace knitting, I will have a lot of yarn for socks or whatever else hits me to make. I'm really sick of making scarves, but they do make nice Christmas gifts. The problem is that I've given my family fingerless gloves and scarves and hats for several years now and I guess I'm going to have to return to making felted clogs and sweaters.

I did cast on the vest for my daughter. It is the Ski Lodge Sloop vest from the 12 Months of Knitting and one that she liked. I'm using green malabrigo and changing the yarn every two rows as it is kettle dyed.

This constant shift in weather isn't doing much for my fibromyalgia nor my energy levels, but hopefully it will settle down in September. I love the Fall here in BC and I'm enjoying walking Millie and she had her first car ride without being in the crate because she was too big to fit into it. She was a tad nervous but she managed just fine as I had two quick errands to run, it wasn't too hot outside and I had the windows down and the air conditioning on when I was driving. She was shy about entering a new pet store but once she was in it and saw toys and a fake dog, she went up to the dog and wanted to play. It was quite amusing to see her all submissive to a statue. She just keeps getting better and better and I don't have to get up every single night to take her outside. That is a blessing and she is still sleeping at the end of our bed and not bothering me. My husband is the one who wanted her there and yet she does tend to sleep on his legs. I'm sure he'll change his mind when she is bigger. She sleeps in with me and is a horrible alarm clock.

With Millie at almost 6 months and Heagen at almost 23 months in September, it ought to be interesting to see them together. He is used to his Japanese grandparents' dog so I'm sure he won't be scared of Millie, and we're working with her to keep her from jumping up on people. Something that doesn't go over well with my 90 year old mother-in-law or at least it doesn't sit well with me. Mum just tolerates it.

Back to knitting and watching the Olympics.

Is It Really Summer Yet?

2008-07-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

We had a very hot long weekend as Canada Day on July 1 was on Tuesday. Then last night we had lightning and thunder and rain. It was rainy today but not really horrible, but I do wonder if we are going to have a real summer this year or not. We didn't really have a Spring, so chances are that we'll continue to have hot days, rain, and then hot days.

I prefer nice and sunny days but not too hot. Yet our home is air conditioned, so I really don't have much to complain about.

I finished the Flower Basket Lace shawl that I decided to make to take with me next week when I go down to Lake Arrowhead to visit with 9 of my high school friends. I have 2 projects on bamboo needles that don't require much thought from me plus socks on two plastic circular needles.

Apparently Air Alaska accepts needles but any liquids over 3 oz are banned. I'm going to brave it and put all my make up stuff, creams, toothpaste, etc in my suitcase and just hope it doesn't get lost on the short flight from Seattle to Ontario, California.

Since I keep checking the weather in Lake Arrowhead and it is in the 30's C, I figured that I don't need anything to keep me warm.

I also finished the Gwen Vest from The Illustrator from Mission Falls, made out of cotton. The cotton was hard to work with, but it did turn out looking quite nice.

I still have about 11 UFO's and have joined a KAL on beginner knitters on ravelry making the luna moth, which is a free pattern from Elann.com. I've done the first 14 rows of it, but don't plan on taking it with me.

Millie is 3 months old now and had a rough weekend due to the heat, having another set of shots, teething, and feeling generally lethargic. My daughter moved back home this past weekend to save money while she's at UBC. She's going to take the bus so she can study and save on gas, which just keeps getting higher and higher. It is nice to have her at home again and she and her dad painted her old bedroom and she's settling in quite nicely. My den which is now my craft room still needs to be organized. Going from her old bedroom which was a good sized room into a small room meant that I've had to store a lot of my stash of yarn in the basement for now. It does give me a motive to start using more of my stash for projects though.

I'm also working on a Cindy pattern for a KAL on Ravelry for knitter's named Cynthia, Cindy or any other types of names that are related to Cindy. I'm slowly working on the back but my heart isn't into it right now. Mostly, it is because I've been busy with Millie and also trying to get things organized for my trip south. But I will finish it. I want to finish at least 5 of my UFO's before I start something new because I need to work on the sweater for my husband so he can wear it in the Fall and Winter. Also, I have a pair of socks for him that have been glued to the needles for months now.

Sometimes I just get bored with a project but I do always finish them. Unless like a couple lately that I frogged because I just didn't like what I was seeing.

UFO's and other Misc. Things

2008-06-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

Since I'm planning to be in Lake Arrowhead in July with the same group of friends who came to visit me last summer, I've had to read all sorts of stuff about the rules and regulations of what I can or can not take on a plane. Air Alaska says yes to knitting needles but the friend that I'm flying down with said to take bamboo ones. She said they really are more concerned about liquids. Finding mouthwash in bottles less than 3oz isn't that difficult but it sure is a royal pain in the neck.

And then to have to put these items in a plastic bag to be inspected makes me just a tad frustrated. I'd rather just put everything in my suitcase but then with the air lines losing luggage left right and centre these days and not being able to lock luggage anymore and baggage carriers helping themselves to things in people's bags, doesn't do well for my sense of security.

However, I will do what I have to do. I have two knitting projects that I can work on on the plane and will probably just take those two items as they don't require much thinking. Well, the Branching Out Scarf does require some so I may do that on the plane and leave the Eye of the Partridge shawl for when we're all just hanging about.

Millie is now 11 months old and is quite delightful and very smart. Except that she likes to chew on my sweaters and slippers and my hands. I now just don't allow it. She starts and she is put down and I walk away. Then she'll go to my husband or anyone else in the room who will play with her. That is until she starts chewing on them and they figure it out that they'd better stop her or she'll keep doing it.

She is sleeping with us and I've tried to explain to my husband that he isn't going to want a big Golden Retriever pushing him out of bed but he's so smitten with Millie that I figure it's his problem. If she bugs me at night, I take her out to pee and if she can't settle down again, she goes into her crate. I love her dearly but I am alpha dog. She will wait until I step outside before she does, she will sit and stay for me. She will shake a paw and we're working on lying down. Mostly she just lunges for the treat, which is really just some of her food. She retrieves sticks or balls and rides in the car very well. She is getting used to having the leash on her and each day we practise walking around outside or in the house and if she doesn't chew on the leash, she gets a 'treat'.

I haven't been able to get much done around the house or yard, but then the weather has been wet and dreary and I don't feel like weeding. Plus, when I did try to do some in the backyard, Millie thought she should help and was digging holes.

I've managed to work on some knitting with Millie sleeping next to me. Problem is when she wakes up and wants to chew my needles or the yarn. I always win with this contest.

My Flower Basket Lace Shawl is coming along nicely with only a few errors and a few rows ripped back to my lifelines. I'm hoping to finish it to wear in California if there is a cool evening.

My Gwen vest from Mission Falls, The Illustrator is about 3/4 finished. I just need to finish the right front, block it, sew up the seams and figure out how to do the neck which at first didn't make any sense to me but is slowly awakening some of my tired brain cells.

I did cast on some socks in case I want to work on them in California, but I still haven't finished the pair of socks for my husband yet because I got so bored going around and around.

I feel like I have a new baby and a toddler rolled into one. Yet, Millie is fun and even though I still miss Scully, getting Millie when we did was the right time. With our grandson coming to live with us in September with my eldest son and daughter-in-law and my daughter moving home again at the end of this month to save money while at University, and my youngest son working full-time for a year before he has to decide if he wants to get another bachelor's degree or not, our house is very full.

I've had to move my yarn and quilting and scrapbooking supplies to the smaller den on the main floor and store a lot of yarn in the basement. My husband still has to tile the rec room in the basement and finish it up but he does have time before September.

It will be strange having all 3 of my children back under the same roof again, but as adults plus our daughter-in-law and grandson who will be almost 2 at the time of their arrival.

I just hope I can overlook their messes and that there is some order to who is fixing dinners and which day I do get to do the laundry in my own home.

Life is to be enjoyed and not suffered through so I choose to see this as a positive thing. We've always had family meetings to discuss issues, and my daughter has already suggested that we have one when she comes and then another one in September.

I'm grateful to have her returning home because even though she will be working part-time and studying for her degree in Sociology, she knows what needs to be done around the house and what I can't do nor should I do it.

I finished the Bias Shawl recently and it will also go to California with me. I've been checking the temperatures at Lake Arrowhead and I'll be taking mostly summer clothes. With rain and damp and cool weather here in BC, I've been forced to return to wearing some turtleneck tops just to keep warm. Hopefully that will change in the next week.

Welcoming Millie into our Family

2008-05-12T19:02:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, May 10th, my husband and I drove out to Rosedale, a small town just past Chilliwack to look at some Golden Retriever puppies. It was a long drive, but I told him that we were just going to look. I'd already contacted a couple of local breeders about acquiring a Golden Retriever and we did have the option of putting down a deposit at one place for a female which would be ready in September.

Since my husband is a planner and I'm the type of person who will and who has purchased animals more spontaneously, it was a very long drive to just look at puppies and also make sure that these puppies were from a good family. I loved Millie from the start but David had his eye on another female that was a bit bigger. Since it has been me and the kids who have always brought animals into our home, David wanted to pick the breed and pick the name. I only asked for a female dog as that's what we had before and we had one very bad experience with a male mixed dog when our two older children were too small to have a puppy around. My reasoning was that females are easier for me.

David finally picked up Millie and she licked his face. That did it for him. He wanted her. I was also enjoying a male who was a bit shy and David asked if I thought I could handle two puppies. I was very shocked. Then instead of being spontaneous I thought. Training two dogs at one time is a lot of work and since I'm the one who is home the most, that job is mine. Having them sleep together might have helped, but I wasn't willing to spend double and also get double the work. So I said that since our other two dogs were a year and a half apart and our two older children were 14 months apart, it was easier to wait and see if we actually wanted a companion for Millie.

She rode home in our old crate, which David had cleaned and slept. We stopped at the pet store to get her some puppy food and a couple of toys.

So far, she has done all her peeing and pooping outside. I think I'm well trained. I took her out today and she met another dog and other people and seems to want to be outside digging and running around and trying to chew everything in sight. She will be only 7 weeks old tomorrow so she sleeps a lot, but she won't sleep in her crate next to our bed. I'll keep trying but the last two nights, she's slept with us.

I'm tired and have forgotten how hard it is to get up in the middle of the night with a new puppy to take her outside to pee. But she does return to our bed and settles in and I'm getting some sleep but it isn't what I need for fibromyalgia. However, I know that this stage will pass.

She seems to want to get into my knitting bag. I tried to knit this afternoon but she wanted to be right next to me and of course was interested in the yarn and needles. Finally she fell asleep so I continued to work on my bias Shawl.

I finished my Misty Garden scarf on Sunday, Mother's Day and it is blocking now. I'm still waiting for my lace wires from Knitpicks in order to block my Evelyn A. Clark shawl of Flower Baskets. I'm trying to finish up the few projects that have been sitting around for awhile, but I do want to work on a vest made out of Mission Falls cotton from the book The Illustrator called Gwen. I've been working on the back as it is mindless knitting at this point.

My knitting is taking a backseat to Millie right now, but I just mailed off the romper outfit that I'd made for my grandson.

I do wish I knew how to get my pictures to appear where I want them. I guess I'll have to email a couple of people who seem to do it seamlessly.

Saying Good bye To Scully

2008-04-23T19:48:00.001-07:00

Early in the morning of April 20, our beloved dog, Scully died. We'd celebrated my birthday the day previous so she had a party, ate pizza crust and had a lot of attention and love. I had a feeling that she was going to die when I settled her on her bed for the night. Her breathing was quite laboured, and even though she was still going outside to pee, she preferred to lie on another bed on the patio.

Her timing was perfect. We all knew that if she hadn't died, we were going to have to put her down on April 22 but I just wanted to get through my birthday which was on April 21. We all had a rough day on the 20th, my real birthday day wasn't much fun for me, and I really felt the loss of her yesterday.

We'd buried her in our backyard and hopefully I'll be able to wander up to her grave in the next month or so.

I did finish the Kukka, by Norah Gaughan that I'd been working on and am enjoying wearing it. Since it is made out of Alpaca, it tends to stretch and I'm reblocking it now because I've been wearing it tied around my abdomen. But it is warm and perfect for our non-Spring like weather.

The knitting class that I'm taking at 88 Stitches, making a flower basket shawl/scarf by Evelyn Clark is slowly coming together. After learning how to add beads with a crochet hook, I ripped back to the 25th row, which was very painful to do, and added beads in three spots. I will be adding beads to the lace edging but I wanted some beads throughout the scarf, but not very many. I'm finally enjoying the pattern and have managed not to make mistakes this time around with the repeat rows. I'm using lifelines of course and they are really making it easier in case I do have to rip back. I'm also counting the stitches after I do each odd row so that if I have too few or too many, I can just redo one row.

I've also been mindlessly knitting a neck scarf that I usually take with me for when I have to wait in lines or for appointments. I just needed to finish something else or just not have to think too much. If I'm focused on the lace pattern I can sometimes forget about losing Scully, but sometimes I just need something to do with my hands that requires no thinking.

Grieving is hard. It has always been hard, but I do know that it will pass. And I'm grateful that we had Scully for 11 years and that she isn't suffering anymore.

It's Monday

2008-03-31T16:16:00.000-07:00

My dog, Scully has now had two semi-bad days. She hasn't eaten anything yet today and gets very short of breath after she's been outside. Her hind legs aren't working as well as they were a couple of days ago. She is anemic and weak and getting thin and trying to find food that she'll eat is becoming harder and harder.

I still can't see myself taking her into the Vet's office and putting her down. She is a part of our family. She is my buddy. She loves me and the entire family unconditionally. I know that some people think that an animal shouldn't suffer, but neither should people and yet we aren't allowed to put people out of their misery or pain. Scully is my baby and the thought of taking her to the Vet's office and knowing that I'm basically killing her is something that I just can't do right now.

Right or wrong, I have to listen to my gut.

My husband did pay for her 2008 license, and he'd put it off until after our youngest son's 24th birthday on Saturday. We aren't superstitious people but there are certain things, like renewing a license for a year that just might mean that Scully isn't going to make it beyond this week.

Already today, I've had a couple of crying sessions on the floor with Scully. Our son doesn't want to find her dead in the morning as he found our other dog three years ago and I don't blame him. I want to spare him of that, but we did talk about it. We'd decided that seven bad days were our limit and yet she did eventually eat last evening. She is still able to get up to go outside.

I seem to be carrying on my life around Scully. If I have to leave the house, I try to limit the time I'm out. I went to get some more tins of chicken, turkey and even bought some liver for her today. My grocery shopping is basically for her.

I do need to do a big grocery shop at Costco this week, but it will depend upon when my son has some time to help me. Trying to push a heavy cart, lifting heavy items into the cart and then putting all the products in the trunk are very difficult for me due to my bad back and having fibromyalgia.

Thus, my knitting is slowly getting done. I'm almost finished with the triangle shawl made out of Fleece Artist Goldielocks and once I get closer to the end of a project, I just want it finished.

The Lacey hat that I made for a friend fit her and the new Fountain Hat that I'd cast on for her seems like it will fit. She doesn't want me to make her two hats, but I know how much she liked the Fountain Hat that was far too huge for her.

Depression is setting in only because of Scully. Other that her being so ill and dying, I'm very positive about life and trying very hard to be gentle with not only myself but with others.

Another So-So Day

2008-03-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

I finished this beaded scarf that I'd begun in March, 2006 over the long Easter weekend. I worked on it in March, 2006 until I got bored and got tired of moving the beads. Then for two years, I took knitting classes and learned different knitting techniques.

However, my daughter is back into working with beads and making bracelets, key chain dangling things, etc so I pulled out my beaded knitting last Tuesday evening when she was at the house to give a piano lesson and suddenly the urge to finish this project hit me.

I wasn't sure about how to end it as I was reading too much into the directions, as usual, so I phoned the woman who'd given the beaded scarf class and we chatted for a bit and she reassured me that I was doing it correctly. I had to K1, Drop 1, and then K1 at the end of the last row. I wasn't sure whether than meant to K1, D1, K1, D1, etc and end with a K1 or just D1. Of course I did analyze the scarf and figured out that I needed to drop every other stitch, but it was nice to be reassured that I was doing it right.

It is blocking right now but I will add a picture of the finished project. It looks so different than what is shown above. I can't wait to try bead knitting again with some beautiful Handmaiden that I have. This scarf was made out of cotton but I can just imagine how much more I'll enjoy doing the same scarf but in some silky yarn.

My dog, Scully did have four good days. It was nice to see her wanting to go for a walk again, although I made it a very short one on Saturday, see her eating but still only people food and see her begging for food and just being herself. It's amazing how the small things like her knocking on the patio door can fill my heart with love and joy that she is still with us.

Today is a bad day for her. She can still get up to go outside, but she's very weak and is mostly just lying on her bed and eating a bit of chicken and rice and drinking her water from a lying down position.

We celebrated our daughter's 29th birthday on Easter Sunday and it was fun and relaxing. She wanted pizza and a Dairy Queen ice cream cake so there was little or no work for any of us. She'd picked up her grandmother, who is 90, took her flowers and also brought me some Easter flowers. I really don't know what I did right to have such a wonderful, beautiful, and kind and gentle daughter. We've had our ups and downs, but lately it is a joy to have her at the house every Tuesday evening. She fixes dinner, gives her piano lesson and then we curl up together and watch American Idol. Not something I enjoy watching, but she does and since she has her ARCT in music, she can definitely hear when one of the contestants is off key or pitchy. I still don't understand what pitchy is, but that's why I need her to listen with me. I do have my grade 7 from the RCM but finding the time, energy, and patience to work on my grade 8 is beyond me right now. I'd tried a few years ago but the amount of time that I had to spend at the piano was cutting into my knitting time.

I still have several UFO's but I'm continually searching for a new pattern or wanting new yarn to start something else. However, I decided to work on my Kukka last night. I'm still working on my triangle shawl made out of Fleece Artist Goldielocks but it is mostly my on-the-go project.

I gave my daughter the Freedom Spirit beret and scarf that I'd made for her even though they are really for winter. She loved them. But then she loved all the stamps, paper, beads, and other card making and bead supplies that I'd bought her.

Next Saturday is my son's 24th birthday so we'll be doing it all over again. My husband can't understand why our adult children actually enjoy spending their birthdays with us, but I told him that we should be grateful that they want to share their special day with us.

Meeting a fellow knitter.

2008-03-13T16:02:00.000-07:00

I had to go to a local hospital today to swallow some radioactive stuff for a laser scan of my thyroid. The parking lot was full, and I must have gone around it several times trying to find one simple parking spot. I'd given myself plenty of time as I know that the parking for this hospital is always full. Since I have a disability sticker due to having fibromyalgia, I finally found a disability spot that was open. I don't generally use those spots unless I'm in a lot of pain, know that I'm going to be walking for a long period of time or shopping and carrying heavy bags. However, I needed a parking spot very badly so I used it. I wasn't there for long as all I had to do was drink this liquid which tasted like water. I was reassured that I wouldn't be radioactive.

As a nurse, or somewho who nursed for 25 years before having to stop due to fibromyalgia, I did like how I was treated. I couldn't eat or drink anything for an hour, and of course all I wanted when I got into the car was a nice glass of water. But I did hold out.

When I walked into the nuclear medicine department, I saw a very nice lady sitting in a corner knitting. The joy that I felt to find someone else who knew the value of having a bag of knitting with them during waiting for appointments or waiting for someone else was instant. It was quite dark in the room so I did ask her how she could see. She said she didn't need much light and of course I pulled out the shawl that I'm making as it is my favourite mindless item to work on in such situations.

We found out we live in the same area and of course we both love knitting. I loved the yarn that she was using and it was nice to finally be able to touch some yarn from Knitpicks. I rarely purchase yarn online anymore unless it is something that I know and it is at a great discount. I buy all my yarn from 88 Stitches in Langley now as it is my home away from home.

We exchanged 'knitting cards' and her son was the type of young man who was polite and interested in someone else who knits as much as his mum does.

Since I'm working on the Fountain Hat, free from Knittingdaily for the lady who does the threading of my eyebrows in Cloverdale, I worked a few more rounds on it while tending my very ill dog.

Scully most likely has a tumor on her liver. There was no point in having an ultrasound since at age 11, we weren't about to put her through a very dangerous surgery. Even if the tumor was in a place that could have been easily removed, the surgery probably would have killed her. Her liver enzymes are up plus she's anemic. She did want to go for a walk on Tuesday after dinner but I didn't take her as far as we usually go even though she seemed eager to do it. The past two days have been hard on both of us. She's not eating anything except people food and her treats which are very soft. She's weak when she gets up and very shaky on her legs. She has some shortness of breath after going outside for a brief period of time, and it is breaking my heart.

We're just trying to keep her comfortable, give her a lot of love, and I'm going to make a hamburger patty for her tonight in the hopes that I can get some protein and calories into her.

She's turned her nose up at her regular food, all dry food and even the canned food now.

I'm not good at having an animal put down, but if she does continue to be so short of breath and isn't eating anything, I'll have to discuss it with my husband. I'd rather that she just go quietly in her sleep. She isn't crying out in pain, but I know that she's uncomfortable.

I've been lying on the floor with her at times and crying. She likes it when I'm in the room, so you'd think that I'd get a lot of knitting done. I'm not. Mostly I'm trying to find things that she'll eat.

However, the fountain hat is coming along. I've started the lace pattern. I just hope that it will be big enough for Sarb. Her head is 23" and the pattern says that the ribbing will be 20". I used Debbie Bliss cashmerino dk and 3.75mm needles. When I'd done a gauge with 3.5mm needles, I was close to gauge, but I need this hat to be bigger. I was helped out by ravelry and someone who had done the hat in dk weight and used 3.75mm needles and she said it fit her and she had a big head.

We'll see. If it is too small, I'll just frog it and start again. The fingerless gloves that I'd made out of the same colour of yarn is what she wants and the hat and gloves are a paid project. I like to do my very best work when someone asks me to make them something and wants to pay me for my time and the yarn.

Not one of my better days

2008-03-05T20:54:00.000-08:00

My 11 year old shepherd/lab isn't doing very well. She's on prednisone for arthritis but I swear that the prednisone is making her sicker than the pain of having arthritis in her spine and no disc cushioning in her hind legs. So my days have been mostly spent worrying about Scully, giving her love, and helping her up to go outside to pee. So far, she's managed to get up with some help, and she did eat some canned dog food today. She's never had canned dog food, but she doesn't seem to want to chew anything rough. Even a couple of biscuit treats have been sitting by her bed for two days now.

Of course I've done some knitting during this time of watching her and nursing her. I finished the Ingaborg vest from a Noro pattern book, by Jane Ellison. I had problems understanding how to do the short rows for the collar, but I used the wrap and turn method and it did work out just fine. I reblocked it and it is still drying but I probably should have made a size small rather than a medium size. It seems a bit loose on me. Oh well. It looks funky, and will be nice for Spring days when it isn't raining.

I did start a romper outfit for my grandson, but I was going to do the legs in the round rather than have a seam. However, I realized that since I have to change colours about every 6 rows, it will be easier to sew up a seam and get all of those tails into the seam.

I started a long awaited sweater for my husband out of guilt as I spent far too much money on Handmaiden when it came into 88 Stitches. I now am trying not to buy any more books or yarn for two months, but it is very hard. I did pick up some Debbie Bliss Cathay and a book of hers on discount from elann.com. I was able to use up some vouchers so basically my taxes were paid.

More guilt for me of course, but the purple that I bought will be perfect for a Spring/Summer top. That is if I can finish up some UFO's that are still lingering. The Wavy Scarf, a free pattern from Handmaiden is slowly getting worked on now as it seems to be the only thing that is holding my interest right now.

It must be the weather, my sick dog, and just generally tired of winter that is making me restless and tired. I'm sure that I'll feel much better tomorrow when I take my dear mother-in-law out to lunch. If not, I'll take a nap before dinner. Friday is my knitting day at 88 Stitches, and although I don't want to leave Scully alone for too long, she did all right when my son and I went to Costco this afternoon. I figure a couple of hours without me hovering over her will probably be a welcoming rest for her.

What to finish next?

2008-02-13T19:15:00.000-08:00

I'm getting close to finishing the Tilted Duster by Norah Gaughan that was on the cover of Interweave Fall, 2007 magazine. Three of us decided to make it and I just have about 14 more rows to do plus do the collar and buttons. And of course sew the sleeves in.

I've discovered that I like to finish projects quickly. Thus, Sue from 88 Stitches did send me a short scarf pattern that was online because right now I'm into short scarves. They go quickly, they look beautiful and they are great for keeping my neck warm at this time of the year.

I'm trying to use up my stash, but when Fleece Artist and Handmaiden shipments arrive at 88 Stitches, it will be hard for me to resist. The short row scarf that I made was out of Grande Godiva, silk and wool and the colours are renaissance and look amazing in short rows.

My daughter tried it on and she loved it but it is mine to keep. I'm planning to make several short scarves with buttons for Christmas and I already have one saved.

I'm very tired lately and even knitting for a long period of time is getting to be hard on my poor fibromyalgia body. With the weather constantly changing, I've run into a flare that just won't go away. However, I'm determined to finish this Tilted Duster in a week so I can actually wear it before it possibly gets warmer outside.

In BC, I still need a sweater in the Spring and yet I don't want the rain to ruin the beautiful Berroco peruvia.

A Cold Day

2008-01-22T15:03:00.000-08:00

I don't seem to find the time to write something here very often. I do keep up my site at ravelry and my knitting projects are posted there. Currently I'm in an online KAL and we're making socks. I'm making toe up socks with some beautiful alpaca, merino wool and nylon that I bought at a fair a couple of years ago. I got the toes started and then put both socks on two circular needles. It makes the project go slower but at the end, I'll have two socks and won't have to be concerned about finishing the second sock.

I'm busy working on denim pants for my almost 15 month old grandson in size 18 months because I'd bought the yarn after he was born but never got around to making them until a month or so ago. I now have both legs done and have joined them together and all I have to do is go round and round for about 50 more rounds. Hopefully they will fit him. The pattern is from the book, Last Minute Gifts and I've found this book to have some nice projects in it.

I really have the obsessive/compulsive casting on syndrome. I have several ongoing projects. One is for when I'm out and about and have to wait for an appointment or just wait in line at the bank. It is mindless knitting. It is going to be a short scarf, and I did make one for my daughter for Christmas that she wears everywhere and gets lots of compliments about it. It makes her blue eyes look bluer and it keeps her neck warm as it is very cold outside lately.

However, the sun is shining and that makes up for the freezing weather since we live in British Columbia, Canada in the lower mainland where it rains and rains until one feels like they've turned to rust.

It is time to sit for awhile and either work on the socks or do a few more rounds of the pants, or even work a bit on the Tilted Duster that I've been working on for months. Sometimes having many projects on the go is nice because I can pick and choose, but at this point I really need to finish these pants before my grandson is too big for them.

So Far Behind in Writing!

2007-12-26T19:19:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that I've let almost two months pass without posting anything here. Of course I've been busy with knitting and quilting classes, spending time actually working on a quilt, knitting Christmas gifts as fast as I could, and meeting with a couple of dear knitting friends at 88 Stitches, my favourite knitting shop in Langley, BC, Canada.

Christmas is over for 2007 and it was a good thing that I was ready early. I became ill with a very bad cold on December 24th. Wasn't feeling very good on the 22nd or 23rd but I thought my neck and headache were due to fibromyalgia, weather changing or just having my neck out of alignment. I haven't been to see my chiropractor in awhile as I'd used up the number of visits that I could have for the year, and I would have had to pay full price.

I now have larygitis and even though that should make my husband happy, he is also feeling poorly and the silence around here is quite nice after all the noise of Christmas Day.

Thankfully my daughter, my youngest son's girl friend and my daughter's friend managed to get Christmas dinner on the table. I mostly lay on the couch in the family room trying to sleep but Buckley's cough medicine must have something in it that causes sleeplessness. It did say that if sleeplessness occurred to stop the medication. The medication did help for about an hour after taking it, but I couldn't get to sleep for two nights now.

I was so ill, I didn't even want to knit so when my eldest son phoned from Japan, he knew I was really very ill.

I've posted all my recent projects on Ravelry and as I'm still not competent in posting them here, I'll just leave them there.

I'm really enjoying Ravelry. As I've already inventoried my yarn, needles and books on the computer, I don't need to use that part of Ravelry, but it is fun to add new projects that I'm working on and it does inspire me to finish them. My goal for the next two months is to finish up all the projects that I have on needles and finish about nine more projects that I've been planning to do for months now. So I have about sixteen projects to complete before I begin something new with the beautiful yarn that I received for Christmas.

It will be hard to not start something new, but having all these UFO's is really getting to me.

It is time to finish a pair of denim pants for my grandson before he is too big to wear 18 month old sizes. So I am working on his pants and thankfully my son emailed me his current sizes so if need be, I can make them a bit bigger.

Off to rest again. This cold is horrible and I don't wish it upon anyone. Well, maybe one person, who will remain nameless.

So Much Knitting and Quilting and So Little Time

2007-10-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

My weeks have been just flying by. In spite of the weather being conducive to knitting, I've had very little time to just sit and knit. Between knitting classes and quilting classes and homework, plus of course the never ending laundry, running errands, and preparing dinners, walking the dog, and of course sitting and knitting at 88 Stitches on Friday's, where I tend to go around and look at new patterns, touch the beautiful yarn and chat more than I knit, I haven't gotten as far as I wanted to be with my current projects.

I started the Tilted Duster from Interweave Fall, 2007 as a KAL with the owner of 88 Stitches and the instructor from the shop, and although this is a big project, the first part is done and being blocked.

My adventures into quilting have been somewhat frustrating and also a great deal of fun. I literally had chest pain due to anxiety for the first three weeks of classes. Not having sewn for many years now, I felt that I was suddenly planted into a foreign land. Much like how I've felt during our two trips to Japan to visit our son and daughter-in-law. Not knowing the language of Japan nor the language of quilting, it has been a very interesting experience. The quilting that is. Japan is of course beautiful and not knowing the language isn't really a problem when shopping for yarn. And my daughter-in-law is getting quite good at reading patterns in Japanese for me.

I'm enjoying the art of mixing colours with quilting and since all my Rowan kidsilk haze has arrived for a scarf from Scarf Style, it will be fun to built a scarf with colour. I'm finding that the two crafts do compliment each other.

At Ravelry, I've posted my recent finished projects and since it is easier to do it there rather than to figure out how to add links and pictures here, I will link to Ravelry. I now have a link to 88 Stitches here and although I still can't remember how to do the html while writing, it works for me just to have links along the side of the page.

So, I'm heading back to working on the first sleeve of the Tilted Duster by Norah Gaughan and hopefully get more done on a scarf from Freedom Spirit and Wool for my daughter for Christmas. Christmas will be upon us before we know it, and I still have to finish a few projects to send to Japan.

With the way things are with Nova Company in Japan, it seems that our son, daughter-in-law, and beautiful one year old grandson will be coming to live in Canada with us. I'm really looking forward to having them here.

I'm still trying to decide what to send my daughter-in-law's mom for Christmas. Last year I made her a beautiful shawl out of Silky Wool and she loved it. I have a shawl made but I think it would be too heavy for her. We'll see. Maybe I'll just whip up something quick in my so-called spare time.

Freedom Spirit Beret

2007-10-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

I finally finished the beret pattern from Freedom Spirit. I chose to do it in the round rather than have a seam up the back. My head is small and at first it was slipping down to my eyes. I blocked it in cold water, soaking it throughly and gently squeezing out the excess water. Spinning it in the washing machine for about 15 seconds is another way I do this type of blocking but I was too lazy to go down to the basement. It now fits my head perfectly however the picture that my youngest son took of me wasn't the best. I was trying to get him to get the hat and how wonderful it looks as a beret, but it didn't work. I do have this model that I got from a local beauty shop and she works great. Besides her head is about the size of mine!

Trying to figure out how to get a picture here plus take the picture and then upload it to my computer is old hat to me. No pun intended. But I haven't worked with html for several years so I'm very new at trying to link the pattern or even to link 88 Stitches, where I bought both the pattern and the yarn. Eventually I'll get it right.

So Behind with everything!

2007-10-14T18:42:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that it has been over a month since I sat and wrote anything about knitting. I've been so busy knitting and now quilting plus trying to do normal activities of daily living that I haven't had time to post any pictures or even sit and write.

I'm still not posting any pictures today as I have quilting homework that I want to complete this evening. I'm blocking a beret that I made out of Freedom Spirit and will have a picture eventually.

Every Friday I go to 88 Stitches in Langley for a Stitch n' Chat that I started there. It is a select group of women knitters and so far there are only 3 of us, but we don't want the shop to advertise for people as there is already a drop in knitting group that the owner of the shop created. That can have as many as 8 people or even more and as I prefer daytime activities, I've only been there once. Besides my husband likes to be fed.

I'll try to post more often and post pictures and even a few patterns that I've modified.

Missed Knitting Class

2007-09-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

I overslept and missed my knitting class yesterday. I'd signed up for a month long knitting class making something of my choice but with the instructor helping as needed. It is a wonderful way to make something that is a bit difficult, but also something that takes about a month to complete. Well, my body just decided that it needed more sleep, so the two projects that I was considering are still sitting in a bag in the family room.

All was not lost though. I popped into 88 Stitches and sat with Sue for a couple of hours, knitting on another diamond triangle scarf. Since this is my third scarf with this pattern, it is almost mindless knitting at this time. It is a perfect way to try out different yarns that change colours. And the scarves look wonderful.

I haven't been on a scarf kick for awhile now. However, after taking two one day scarf classes in July and August, I've been back knitting scarves. They make for quick projects and also make great Christmas gifts. Of course, my youngest son says he doesn't need anymore scarves, but he'll probably get one anyway in his stocking this year.

I have about 10 UFO's on needles now. That is too many for me, but it seems to be where I'm going these days. I just can't resist buying some of the new Fall yarns from 88 Stitches, and it seems that all I want to do is knit them up as quickly as possible.

I did start the front of my son's sweater last night. If I can continue to do 10 rows each day, I may have this sweater finished by Christmas. The fingerless gloves became a nightmare for me on the long weekend. I tried doing the thumb gusset and the lace pattern got lost somehow each time I tried. I mapped out a different way to incorporate the lace but I'd still find myself with either one less stitch or one extra. I finally gave up and worked with a spiral pattern that I've done twice before. The cashmere is a tad stretchy and now they will actually fit my hands. However, I've only got one halfway finished because I keep working on a scarf or trying to get this sweater done.

Sometimes there aren't enough hours in a day to knit. Other times, I oversleep and lose many knitting hours.

Another Day of Knitting

2007-09-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

The weather is fine, and I should be outside gardening, however I sit here still in my pj's with my knitting waiting for another round to be done on my lace fingerless gloves. I'm using 100% cashmere in fuschia that I bought from handknitting.com. It is lovely to work with. I've already made the lace scarf from the Debbie Bliss book of Pure Silk out of some of the cashmere. I took the lace pattern from the scarf, altered it to make fingerless gloves and I'm at the thumb gusset now. It has been slow going as I have about 10 UFO's to complete. I have a couple of scarves on the go for simple knitting, but I'm trying to finish a crew necked sweater for my youngest son. It is out of Debbie Bliss merino DK and in a light grey.

Trying to keep up with my knitting when I frequent my favourite yarn shop, 88 Stitches which is located in Walnut Grove and fairly close to me makes it difficult. I have to go into the shop at least once a week to see what Sue has that's new. And she always seems to order the things that I love. The right colours, the right yarns, and the shop is coming along beautifully.

She's the new owner and she has really put her heart and soul into this shop. And it shows!

Back to knitting and I will post a picture of these fingerless gloves when I get them completed or maybe when I finish the first one. I will post the scarves that I've finished once I upload the pictures to my computer.

It is hard to do everything that I want to do. And dealing with my chronic pain, trying to keep up with household chores and spend time with my family means that at least I can knit and listen and even talk at the same time. It is the perfect hobby to have as far as I'm concerned.

2007-08-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

Me teaching my high school friend, Patty how to knit. At the end of July, eight of my high school friends came to Canada to visit me. We had a slumber party to end all slumber parties. Can you imagine nine females aged 59-60 being together in one place laughing, talking, crying, eating, drinking and talking some more about high school, their lives since age 18, and sharing some very intimate details of their lives? Well, it did happen and four of these dear friends of mine wanted to learn how to knit. I taught them. It was so much fun, a tad hysterical and so funny trying to teach the few that had had a bit too much red wine. Some left with needles and yarn and how to cast on, cast off, knit and even purl!