Vacation -- done ... interesting and well!

My daughter has relocated to Alberta as of July 2025.  Since then, we have been visiting via video calls, but it just isn't the same.  The family came back to Ontario in September for a friend's wedding, and I got to spend time with them.  It was delightful.  It was heavenly. It was not nearly enough.

 

And so when Daughter called and asked if I/we could assist with some childcare in March, my agreement to do so was done so fast she didn't even get to finish her sentence!  Her husband has been the primary caregiver for the granddaughter so far, and he had landed an acting role.  The daycare situation was only for part-time, and she needed to work. The in-laws were away traveling.  

 

We flew out on March 1st, arriving in the early evening.  Monday was great; Daughter had taken a day off work so that she could spend time with us.  Lots of laughter, lots of good time.  Granddaughter was playing shy, which was totally expected. Over night Monday into Tuesday morning is when things got ... interesting. 

 

I have been treating high blood pressure for many years.  I am currently taking three medications.  When I get out of bed, or even stand up from a chair, I have to pause and wait for my head to stop spinning.  I have been doing so for at least six months, so nothing new.  However, things got more serious in Alberta.  I passed out -- twice -- hitting my head on a hard, ceramic floor once and on the lip of a walk-in shower the second time.  I remember vaguely wondering if I might be better off staying on the bathroom floor, but eventually made my way back to bed and to sleep.  When Doug woke up in the morning, I told him of my adventures.  We decided that I should be seen by medical professionals, and that even tho the emergency room would be an all-day adventure that was where I should go.  As he escorted me to the bathroom, I managed to pass out again; this time, he was right behind me and gently lowered me to the floor.  Whew. 

 

I was correct in that we spent all day in the emergency room.  Thankfully I was not a high priority patient -- which means it wasn't THAT serious.  I had figured that at a minimum there would be x-rays, and possibly a CT scan.  I was correct.  Those were both clear, and the bloodwork did not indicate a heart attack.  Thankfully.  

 

Turns out that high altitude and high blood pressure are not a good combination and that sometimes people faint.  Nice to not be a medical mystery.  We are assuming a concussion, even tho the discharge paperwork did not indicate so.  Concussion protocol means limiting my screen time, reading, high-level concentration tasks, and reading.  Now, after two weeks, I am mostly recovered.  I still get tired easily and I do note my concentration is not as good as it could be.  But better than two weeks ago.  Thank heavens.  

 

Now ... on to the better part of vacation!

 

We spent time with the granddaughter and her parents. I know she is 2 years old.  Really, I do.  It is still startling to see her acting like a big girl though!  She loves colouring and painting. She also loves her stuffies and books.  

 

 She absolutely despises her car seat, her winter coat and any sweaters. And socks.  Consequently, we did most of our adventuring near to home, but that was OK.  We managed a walk almost every day, and there are several playgrounds nearby. 

 

One "excuse" for the trip was to deliver the Christmas (!) gifts, albeit late.  Daughter received a lovely silk cowl; Son-in-Law loved his double-knit mittens and used them while shoveling snow.  Granddaughter loved her dress, but the sweaters all had mixed reviews.  The socks, though --

 were received with great delight.  The yarn for the grown-up socks is Laines du Nord Summer Socks, which is a delightful cotton in a fingering weight.  I used a 2.5mm needle and a standard 60 stitch sock for Daughter, and 64 stitches for Son-in-Law.  The Granddaughter socks are one sock from her mama's colourway and one from her papa's.  She even caught on to what I had done.  The parents were absolutely tickled pink. 

 

While out west, we stayed in the in-laws' house, which is nearby.  As a host/hostess gift, I gave the mother-in-law a lovely alpaca cabled cowl.  For the father-in-law, I knit up a hat with a skein of wool which the store had been gifted as a test skein -- Juniper Moon Farms Moonshine. 

 This is a truly delightful alpaca blend wool, and well worth the cost.  Sadly, we are not able to bring it into the store because of the tariff uncertainty and ... well, politics.  I expect you all know just where I stand.  In any event, the pattern is Two by Two and it worked up every bit as well as I hoped it would.  Interesting, though, is that I read the pattern carefully and discovered that I was supposed to be using a 4.0mm needle.  No wonder my previous hats have been on the large size!

 

In other knitting news -- the Mountain Forest sweater (from Knitty) is finished!

 I am so very pleased with how it turned out!  My gauge was ever-so-slightly large so I ended up making a Medium and it is just perfect for me.  I opted to do the colourwork only around the yoke as I felt that having it at my hips and cuffs would make me look short and dumpy.  Maybe, maybe not.  I used two balls of James Brett Croftland for the solid colour, and one ball of Estelle 50 for the multi-colour part.  You will note that the sleeves are -- gasp -- delightfully long enough!  Patience is a virtue, and I displayed a fair bit of it as I knit the sleeves three inches longer than the pattern requested!  Yippee!  I love it! I keep pondering a second sweater, with all the colourwork included.  Time will tell.

 

Flying back home from Alberta was bittersweet.  I got the most delightful hug and kiss from the Granddaughter. 

And I was sent home with refrigerator art!

 

 Needless to say, I am plotting my next trip west with great delight!

 

 

 

 

Happy Family Day!

 My Family Day started out really well — with a video call from my daughter in Calgary.  Yippee!  The wee one was mostly playing shy and not looking, but every once in a while she would peek and give me a big smile.  I also realized that it is exactly two weeks yesterday that I am flying out to spend some time with them all.  To claim that I am excited would be such a drastic understatement!

On another note, the situation in the States is not improving.  Not even a little bit.  One of my store ladies has a friend living in Minneapolis.  This friend says that things are so much worse than is being reported in the news.  I have no idea how that happens — both being worse and not being reported. 

On the other hand, coverage of the Peace Walk has given me hope.  The idea that people would walk from Austin, Texas, to Washington DC just blew my mind.  The monks set out, with no expectations.  Just the thought in their minds to restore peace to the earth by way of their intentional meditations as they walked.  I know some folks see it as an attention-grabbing action, or useless.  The community responses that I observed gave me hope that somehow the world and the US will come through this safely.

And courtesy of Google and my love of electronics and fricking passwords ... I have just spent the last hour and a half trying to get pictures uploaded from my tablet to my blog.  It seems that when I removed the recovery telephone number from my Google account, I lost permission to my very own photos.  I have tried everything the accursed Google tells me to try.  I can access photos within Chat, I can finally access Meeting again ... but not the photos.  I am, however, a clever girl.  I e-mailed the selected photos to another e-mail account and here I am.  Life should not be this difficult.  

And now, the reason for the blog.  I have knitting and crochet to show off!  The cowl made with designs from a doodle deck and crocheted waistcoat stitch is finished. I used wool from my stash, and actually used most of it up, so I am pleased.  Waistcoat stitch is an unusually tight stitch, and it was recommended that you use a hook two to three sizes larger than the ball band recommends.  Consequently, I used a 6.5mm hook with my worsted weight wool.

I am quite pleased with how it turned out.  For me?  Not necessarily, as I have a multitude of scarves and cowls already.  I will put this in a gift box and someone will be lucky next winter. 

We published a newsletter at the store, wherein I had to admit that I was not actually making any progress at all on my Star of Logy Bay mittens.  How embarrassing.  So I dug around and found the proper needles and cast on.  This particular pattern asks you to do the ribbing in a 3.25mm needle and then switch to a 3.5mm needle.  I made a rookie mistake ... 

I worked across the first half of the mitten, with one end of the next needle.  And then I worked across the second half with the second end of the next needle.  What you almost see there is that the needles are ... each pointing a different direction.   I diligently slipped stitches and got things properly aligned, and made more progress. 

The wool is, once again, from stash.  I am hoping to have enough to complete the mittens -- but I have a cunning plan if it looks like I am falling short.  (The gold is Haynes Creek Heathers, the brown is Noro Viola, and the light is Estelle Worsted -- all the same as used in last month's hat.)  Once I finish the star chart on the hand, I will start the second mitt.  If I am running short, they can become fingerless mitts.  

At the store, we started a knit-along of the Mountain Forest pullover from Knitty.com.  It is a beautiful sweater as designed, with fair isle colourwork across the bottom of the sweater and bottom of the sleeves as well as the yoke.  Being a slight bit vertically challenged (as in short and losing height), I opted to only do the colourwork on the yoke.  Here you see the current state of my project: 

The body is complete up to where the sleeves will be attached.  I am approximately half way done with the first sleeve ... So much stockinette ...

Our February class is double-knit mittens and so, of course, I had to start a pair.  These are really delightful mittens and Doug absolutely loves them.  He usually wears through a pair every winter because of the cross-country skiing he does.  This year I pulled a skein of Katia DeGrade sock yarn out of stash and cast on.  I am hoping that the nylon component will help the mittens last a bit longer.  Of course, having started them later in the year will assist as well.  (This reminds me of a corny joke from one of my kids' books -- How do you make a pair of pants last longer?  You make the coat first!  Thank you, Dr. Seuess.)

I am quite pleased with the progress.  Even better, without even trying, I have managed to get them to match!  These should be done well before the end of the month. 

I have also been knitting a bit on the Nightshift Shawl that was started back when we were teaching at the Uxbridge Library.  No pictures of it at the moment, because I thought this was enough pictures.  And with the fighting I have done to get the photos up onto the blog, that was enough frustration to be getting on with. 

I am now off to enjoy the remainder of Family Day by having a lovely dinner with Doug, and then some TV watching and knitting.  Hope you all have had a good day, with FAR LESS frustration than me!

 

 

January 2026

 2026 is off to a start.  Not a great start.  Will the “incinerate the year” idea work on a monthly basis?  I definitely hope so, because I already have slips of paper with writing on them.  In the world at large, I am heartsick at the happenings in the US.  As a white woman, I have always felt a tad safer than, for instance, my daughter-in-law.  She is a naturalized US citizen who was born in Hong Kong.  The murder of Renee Good has made that assumption of safety fly right out the window.  The unprovoked attack on the capital of Venezuela and the rendition of its president have shaken me tremendously.  Turns out I was relatively confident that the military would not blindly follow the regime’s orders; I was wrong.  And now listening to all the sabre rattling about Iceland, Cuba, Canada … I am genuinely fearful that my beloved grandchildren will not have the chance to grow up.  Period, never mind in peace.

In an attempt to change the subject and provide distraction, let me turn to fibre-related thoughts …

2026 has been declared The Year of Saltwater Knits.  This means that Barb and I will be starting (and hopefully completing) a project from one of the Saltwater books each month.  For January, we decided to knit the Star of Logy Bay Cap.  It is a stranded colour-work beanie representing the stars above the Logy Bay, Newfoundland.  I rifled through my stash and found three balls of the proper weight and cast on! 

I am about a quarter through the chart, making quite nice progress.  The wools being used are Haynes Creek Heathers (gold), Noro Viola (brown), and Estelle Worsted (tan), and a 4.5mm needle.  Delightful!

My next project is … unusual for me.  It is a crocheted cowl!  Crochet!   Me!  Last year a very cool idea for “Doodle Decks” occurred to some enterprising ladies, and a craze was born.

A doodle deck is a collection of cards (deck of cards) with charted motifs — collections of themed motifs.  Holidays, cats, dinosaurs, dogs, various hobbies, etc.  These were quickly adopted by knitters as a small card is easier to tote around than a large book.  Additionally, the cards stay put unlike a book which tries to close up at the worst times possible.  

Crocheters felt very left out.  The charts were perfect for knitters, but what about crocheters?  We went looking, and found a crochet stitch called “waistcoat” stitch.  For all the world, it looks like a knit stitch.  AND even better, it works like a knit stitch.  Barb figured out the numbers and we are now teaching a class using crochet and Doodle Decks.  It is very well received.

Going back to my project, though, I am not satisfied.  The grey and white work together just fine.  But, be honest — does that look like a candy cane?  I thought not.  I will frog back to the border and go find some geometric shapes and life will be good.  The wools are Wendy Wool Pure Wool (grey) and Croftland Aran (white) from my stash.  i am using a 6.00mm hook and so far very happy with the fabric.

We also have started a KAL for the Mountain Forest pullover from the new Knitty.com.  It uses a worsted/medium/#4 weight, so it asks for 4.5 or 5.00mm needles.  I happily opened up my Addi i/c needle kit … and noted the absence of a number of sets of needles, including the necessary sizes.  Not a problem because I have another Lykke i/c kit.  Except that kit was also missing a multitude of needles, including the sizes for which I was looking.

This necessitated a review of projects underway.  There are so many!  Ten, in fact.  For a girl who struggled with more than two projects underway, this is incredible!  So, in no particular order, we have:

1.  The hat shown above.

2.  The cowl shown above.

3.  A pair of socks for a grandchild.

4.  The Mountain Forest pullover.

5.  Central Park Hoodie

6.  A top-down raglan pullover for Doug.

7.  A lace jacket I am finishing for a friend.

8.  A brioche scarf which started life as a shawl, until I sold one of the necessary skeins of wool.

9.  The Nightshift shawl started with the Uxbridge Library class.

10.  The Berroco Mystery Blanket KAL.

Oops.  I just remembered another —

11.  Lace shawl made from some beautiful alpaca lace-weight given to me by my daughter.

I can be found in my craft room, on the futon, surrounded by my knitting.  Decision paralysis is a thing, but I will persevere.  Really.  Because there are more projects just waiting for my attention.

December 2025

 It may be the very last day of December, but it is STILL December.  And this means it is the very last day of 2025.  This past year has had good times and memories.  It has also been a cluster-f**k of major proportions.  To celebrate its end, I have procured a box, labelled 2025.  I have been writing things on slips of paper, things I wish had not happened, that brought pain to me or the folks I love, and to the world in general.  That box will be incinerated with prejudice tonight before I go to bed.  Additionally, the front door and the old bathroom window will be opened for 5 very long and cold minutes to welcome 2026 and be sure that 2025 is well and truly gone.  Does this all count if I do it before midnight?  

Having gotten that off my chest, let us move on to an actual knitting post!  

A while back I had a customer inquire about having an afghan knit from combings from her recently deceased dogs which had been combined and spun with sheep wool.  Because she was a fan of Aran styles (one of my favourite styles) and loved the picture I showed her, I agreed to make it for the princely sum of $25 per skein.  There were 12 full skeins of 125g and one smaller skein.  

Back in September I cast on.  The original pattern suggested making 5 panels, two with bobbles.  Once I started a bobble panel, I realized I would be woefully short of wool.  I rather grudgingly frogged the 4 skeins worth of knitting.  I reworked the pattern to make it a bit more narrow, and to be knit in one piece.  

And started again.  The customer was hoping to have the blanket by Christmas.  I did not promise, was knocked back by a month due to the restart, but was close.

To get this close to finishing, I had to devote myself to this project.  Every night I was home, every day I was off work.  My own sock knitting suffered tremendously.  I still have three pair of children’s sock to finish … at least I have started the first of them.

Since this was not store wool, I had to work on a separate project there.  We had received a beautiful superwash wool from Lang, and it definitely needed a sample.

This is the Multidirectional Scarf, worked in Infinity on a 5.0mm needle.  I even worked the optional square ending!  This wool is SO pretty and soft.  I heartily recommend it for all kinds of uses!

At home I was still devoted to the afghan.  I knit, and I knit, and I knit.  Looked at the remains of the 12th full skein and realized it was time to be done.  Top border completed.  Maybe enough left to finish the bottom border?  Yeah, no.  and silly woman that I am, I didn’t start by doing the bottom border so I had to pick up all those stitches.

(And just like that, I have lost the formatting.  Argh!  Technology is a pain in my tush!). I am done! Not wanting this afghan to clog up the recently cleaned washing machine, I opted to take it outside and roll the blanket around in the freshly fallen snow.  Doug’s comment was that least the dogs got one last romp in the snow!

Careful inspection of the blanket reveals that it is indeed combings from two different dogs.  There was no way around it, and it was not visible until it got laid flat over the bathtub.  In my knitting corner the variations were far less visible.  Attributed to not great lighting, even.

The pattern is Aran-Stripe Afghan published in McCall’s Super-Book of Afghans, circa 1975 or thereabouts.  I loved this publication and have made several projects from its pages.  I loved it so much that it fell apart, as magazines are prone to doing.  I loved it so much that I kept the magazine even tho it was falling apart.  I loved that magazine so much that I found another copy on e-bay and purchased that one too!  Some collections are just too precious to let go.

Any way, I am done.  To my absolute surprise and joy, I won Yarn Chicken!

I will close by wishing everyone a very safe evening of celebration, and with hopes that 2026 brings the world and those in it much joy.

November — Barely!

 I keep making comments everywhere (by which I mean here and in the store newsletters) about how quickly time is passing.  You might think I would clue in to this, and take steps to live more fully in the present.  Steps to not waste so much time playing games on my tablet, or doom scrolling.  After all, that is a plan for combating flying time.  Do I follow my own advice?  Mostly no, altho I did remove a puzzle game that threatened to pull me in big time. A partial success, eh?

In any event, it is the very last day of November and here I am, posting.  This means that (so far) my goal of once per month this year is still met!  Yay me!

We woke up this morning to a second wave of The Snowstorm the news media has been warning us about.  There is a special silence that falling snow brings, and this time of year that silence is greatly appreciated.  Of course, several hours later we are getting warmer, and the snow is slumping and melting.  Oh well.  It was glorious while it lasted.  I sent photos to my family in Virginia and Arizona.  They claim it is beautiful, but they do not miss it.

I have been knitting a fair bit, even tho I have not posted.  As is always the case … We taught a Ranunculus class in the spring.  I finally got mine finished … I did a gauge swatch, ran the math, and decided to make the third size, using Queensland United (Red Currant) and 3.75mm needles.  Of course, I tightened up while knitting the actual sweater.  I could wear it, but I would definitely feel like a stuffed turkey while doing so.  Coincidentally, it is a beautiful colour and weight for my daughter-in-law living in Virginia.  I will be getting it to her as a gift … one way or another.  I am still pondering another Ranunculus … third time might be the charm, eh?

Another gift knit is for (cough) THAT holiday which is unreasonably close.  I was doing so well through the year … until September.  What you see is Sock #1 of my September socks.  I still have 4 pairs to do for the grandchildren.  Three of them are almost adult sized (ages 12, 10, and 9) but thankfully my little munchkin is only two.  Tomorrow is her birthday, in fact.  Sadly I am not out west for the event … I am hoping to be able to travel in January.

The project which has consumed my time is this afghan.  Commissioned by a customer and made out of specially spun wool, it is big and time consuming.  I had originally started in 5 strips as the pattern specified.  Being the quick thinker I am, I realized that getting all 5 panels to end on the same row was going to be tricky.  Add to that realization the sad fact that I would not have enough wool to finish properly … everything came out and I started over.  

In addition to starting over, I removed some design features to make the afghan more narrow, and eliminated the bobbles.  I should have realized the bobbles would consume the wool quickly and warned the customer but alas, that is all behind me now.  I expect the afghan will be more throw-sized, as in 48 inches square.  It’s all I have wool for, and no way of getting more.

I am enjoying the knitting, so at least it has that going for it.  I am currently in the fourth ball of 12 …

Finally, I get to show off a finished object!  We received a new King Cole wool called Cottagespun.  It is a lovely chunky acrylic.  The pattern I selected is Ice Moon from Laura Aylor.  I wasn’t certain I had enough wool for the full pattern, but I cast on anyway.  Turns out I did!

And this pretty much sums up my knitting adventures … well, my life adventures as well.  No sailing, no biking, and no canoeing of late.  A couple of walks down the road … Doug’s idea of a walk is walking a bit, chatting with neighbours, walking a bit, more chatting.  It is getting a bit chilly for that!

Anyway, I am off to work on the afghan for a bit.  What are you working on?

October 2025

 Sailing season is over — sob!  We got the CL-14 out of the water the last Saturday in September.  The mast is tall enough that we prefer to use the Beacon Marina launch area.  The Caesarea municipal launch has a power line across it — what were they thinking?  In any event, Doug had driven the car and trailer to the Marina, I retrieved him on my way home from work, and we had a delightful final sail of the season.  

A bit of discussion later, and we decided to keep the little boats on the water for a bit longer.  Right — Doug acquired a Sunfish!  It is a small, single sail boat and he has been having such fun with it.  It is essentially the same size as my Itty-Bitty, altho he does sail a bit harder than I do.  We sailed Sunday and Monday of that weekend, and the water was surprisingly warm.   

How do we know he sails harder than me?  Well, HIS sailboat yeeted him into the water mid-sail.  The excellent news is that he is able to haul himself back aboard without assistance.  My boat did manage to dump me in the drink as well, but not until I was unrigging it at the dock.

A friend took this photo of us when we were out on Sunday!

Monday was also a sailing day.  I had assistance every time I went out this summer … until this day.  Not to worry — I can do this!  I made several trips up and down the steps carrying the necessary items.  Then started to untie and loosen the winch so that the boat could slide down the ramp.  I realized that I was holding the bow line AND the winch strap, which is not recommended.  Gravity was taking hold and the boat was sliding with increasing speed down the ramp.  I let go of the winch strap — and dropped the bow line as well.  With increasing dismay, I watched the bow line slither down the ramp.  “STOP!” Has no effect on gravity or inanimate objects, in case you didn’t know.  But then I thought that I could jump over to the dock and grab the boat as it drifted past the end of the dock … Itty-Bitty or Mother Nature, not sure which, then decided that instead of drifting straight back, the boat would angle away from me.  Since my shrieking “STOP”  had such little effect, I had no choice but to jump in.  And the water was surprisingly warm!  Comfortable, even.  

Anyway, we did take both boats out over the Thanksgiving weekend.  Time is now being spent getting them tucked in for the winter.  Our shoreline is beginning to look like a marina …

In knitting news, I had been having a banner week.  I started and finished Sophie’s Scarf from Petite Knits.

I used Rico Baby Soft Cotton and Cashmere, but only half a ball.  It is delightfully soft and … well, it is cashmere.  What more could a girl ask?

We also brought in a new chunky yarn — Aurora Chunky from James Brett.  It is lovely, and one skein makes a delightful hat, with enough for a pom-pom if one wishes!

This is the CC Boulder Style Beanie.  It was fun and quick — there may be more of these in my future!

In other knitting news … I am knitting a memorial blanket for someone.  The wool is a blend of her deceased dogs’ hair and sheep wool.  There is a limited quantity.  The pattern is from McCall’s Super Book of Afghans, circa 1980 or thereabouts.  The blanket is worked in 5 panels, and worked to a specific row count.

After the first skein of wool was knit, I realized I would not have enough to do the blanket as written.  So then I decided to knit one skein of each panel and evaluate.

I am known for encouraging people to not demand perfection.  Good enough is often good enough.  So when I figured out that I had messed up the directions in panel one, I carried on and made the same mistake consistently.  See?  Not a mistake!  And then … I worked panels two and three, which used the same pattern.  Did I make the same mistake?

The above photo represents hours and hours of work.  Hours and hours.  Then I also figured out that the row count was somewhat wrong as well.  There is one cable that is repeated 10 times across the blanket.  You have to have the cable crosses happen at the same time, every time.  Or it looks wrong.

So …now the blanket looks like this.

It only took 45 minutes.  In an effort to make a more conventional sized throw, I will be casting on and working the blanket all at once.  There has been lots of math, counting, and double checking.  I can do this!

I hope.

September 2025

 Ah, September.  I love the cool, crisp mornings; the deepening blue of the skies; the riot of colour from the maple trees.  While I do love winter and its related activities, I also mourn the end of sailing season.  Nothing can compare to the experience of being out on Itty-Bitty, by myself, with sunshine glinting on the water, the water purling along the hull, wind in the sails.  Of course, sailing on the CL-14 with Doug is also an amazing experience …

Speaking of sailing with Doug — our little sailing club has a Sunday race series.  While we enjoy winning, it is not the be-all end-all of our Sunday sails.  The race provides the impetus to get out and sail, sometimes in more winds than we thought we could handle.  The social times after the sails are also an important part of the allure.  (I find that I can get fairly one-dimensional when all I think and talk about is my knitting and crocheting.  Doug needs more social interaction than I do, and so those Sundays are invaluable for him as well.). In any event, our sailing race season has drawn to a close.  This photo was taken a week ago on Sunday — a rather low wind day.

I am feeling quite accomplished now, having been able to hike AND turn a heel at the same time!  I actually knit about 6cm of the leg, the heel flap (twice because I dropped a stitch), turned the heel, picked up for the gusset and started the decreases.  This also tells you how little wind there was!

Another favourite memory from this September happened in the first week.  Carrie and her family flew back to Ontario for a quick visit.  She and the little one spent a night here with us and we had a blast.  We even got everyone into life jackets and had a canoe ride to a friend’s dock and visited.  There is absolutely nothing better than a wet swimsuit hug from a little person!  Especially when you are totally dry and warm from the sun!

Little One had been wading with her mama prior to this photo, and managed to trip and fall in.  She has had swimming lessons, and so immediately started the maneuvers to get herself turned face up.  Amazing, eh?  Carrie scooped her up and stood her on the dock and she started babbling, obviously telling us something.  When she started gesturing to her eyes, her ears, her mouth, I realized that she was telling us ALL about falling into the water.  A bit later, she told us all about putting the life jacket on.  How do I know?  She was miming the zippers, the strap between the legs.  While I freely admit that at 21 months her pronunciation may leave me confused on many words, but I never suspected that all that vocalizing clearly had meaning to her.  I am gobsmacked!

In knitting news … it has taken me until September to fall behind in my sock knitting.  Here we are, the last third of the month, and I am still working on my August socks.  Gotta get busy, girl!

I did, however, have some fun at the store.  We got a new wool from Katia, called Holi.  It is a poly/wool/acrylic blend.  Gradient, with no colour repeat from beginning to end.  Years ago I had worked with some lovely angora, and I swear this wool has that feel. 

The blend is 42/29/29%, with over 600m per skein.  I made the Criss-Cross wrap by Dirk Gerngross.  I used a 5.5mm needle.  This made a lovely and generous shawl—when I drop it over my shoulders both ends hang down by my knees.  It is snuggly and warm.  I want everyone to work with this yarn because it is so soft!

Another finish for the store is my Doodle Deck Cowl.

You probably recognize the same colours as used in the Tunisian Crochet cowl.  I thought I had enough “left overs” to make the second cowl.  As you can see, I suffered the same fate most everyone has endured — when using up yarn, one often must purchase more yarn!  In any event, this was 120 stitches on a 4.00mm needle.  The solid is Ella Rae Honey (being discontinued) and the colour-changey yarn is James Brett Aurora.  Of course, I still have a ball of left-over Aurora.  Enough to make …?

My current “home” project is an afghan for a client.  She had saved the fur from her dogs and had it spun with wool into roughly an aran weight.  She wanted something cabled, which is why I succumbed.  Of course, $25 per skein does not hurt. 

This is a pattern from McCall’s Big Book of Afghans, published in the late 1970s.  Back then, charts were not a thing in the knitting world so the directions are written out.  Sort of.  There are so many abbreviations! These are panels (starting on the right) 1, 3, and 5.  Almost identical, which is why they are done first.  I am not certain that I have sufficient yardage for the full afghan, so am working one skein each for each panel, and will then work to be sure they are all even.  My current plan is to get panels 2 and 4 started, sew them together, and add the bottom border.  Mostly  to see how much wool is required for the border, as there needs to be a matching border at the top.  I am hoping, hoping, hoping to get at least 48” in length, but only time will tell.  There is no possibility of getting more wool as the dogs are no longer alive. The customer is hoping this will be done by Christmas, and it is entirely possible I can make that goal.  

Thanks for reading along with me!

A Long time Coming

 These are troubling times for all Americans, both those living in the US and those of us living abroad.  Whether we support the current president and his policies, or not.  This current mentality is not the US I grew up with and in.  Back then, in the deep dark past (I was born in 1956), we treated each other with a modicum of respect and tolerance.  Views differed politically?  Generally, we all agreed to disagree.  Admittedly, I did have somewhat of a life of privilege, being white and essentially middle class.  So there were no difficulties with colour or religion.  However, in my extended family there were handicapped folks (physical, requiring a handicap parking permit), Muslim (cousin's wife and children), pacifists (aunt, uncle and their children and grandchildren), Iraqi (cousin's wife and children and her brother), and then more recently Chinese (daughter-in-law and their children), Puerto Rican (another daughter-in-law and her mixed race child).  These are the ones that come to top of my mind; I am certain that with a little bit more thought I could recall more "dangerous" minorities as defined by MAGA.  I am further dismayed by the degree to which the Christian movement has developed.  Feed the hungry?  Clothe and house the poor?  Heal the sick?  What "woke" nonsense -- eh, no.  These are the principles by which I identified Christianity.  Now?  Yeah, no.  The whole family separation thing at the border sickens me; the children being taken away from their parents simply because the parents dared to try to claim asylum in the US?  The fact that CANADA, of all countries, has now issued travel advisories against traveling to the US is shocking.  That even Quebec is united with most Canadians in saying "HELL NO!" to the idea of becoming the 51st state says a lot.  A whole lot of a lot.  I am trying mightily to hold onto some level of optimism that 1) mid-term elections WILL occur in 2026; and 2) a Democrat wave will take hold and restore a level of sobriety and reasonableness to the US political scene.  

In other thoughts, I have been busily knitting and crocheting (shocking, right?) my little brains out.  My son introduced me to Critical Role dungeons and dragons streaming.  Each episode varies in length from 2.5 to 5 hours long, and I have watched all 120-some episodes of Campaign 1, and 116 episodes of Campaign 3.  I will be starting Campaign 2 in the near future, and will undoubtedly be switching between Campaign 2 and Campaign 4 as the fourth campaign develops.  The reason I tell you all this?  To explain the bounty on display below! 

This is a bolero designed by James C. Brett and knit in their Rustic Chunky (pattern JB023 and colour RU03).  Not for me, but for a customer.  She purchased the project from the store, neglected gauge, and then got lost in the directions.  I had to frog the already-completed back and start from scratch.  Now, we do not do these things from the goodness of our hearts at Never Enough Wool.  We charge for this service, hopefully enough to make the customer wince and sometimes even change her mind about the commission.  We are currently at $25 per 100g skein, and this was 4 skeins.  After making the gauge swatch, I dropped to a 4.5mm needle for ribbings and 5.5mm for the body.  A nice success if I do say so myself. 

 

Apparently this yarn is now discontinued since I don't find it on the James Brett website.  It is/was a nice yarn -- acrylic with a bit of wool -- and I did enjoy the knitting. 

 

Barb and I have laid out our class plans for the fall.  We decided to teach Tunisian Crochet in October, but needed a sample.  I volunteered!  The pattern, The Tunisian Sampler Cowl, by Joanne Scrace, was delightful -- well written and a nice progression from beginning simple stitch through more complex designs.  I used Ella Rae Honey  as the solid colour and James C Brett Aurora for the multi-colour.  The designer offered a series of video tutorials along with the pattern, for an extra fee.  I was able to source free videos, though, and they worked nicely.  One skein of each colour, and there is enough left to do the entire project one more time.  My favourite section is the white/yellow/blue section at the lower right corner of the second photo.  That diagonal stitch was so much fun to work. 

Another finish since my previous post is this little pullover.  I used James C Brett Fairground in colour 12.  This poor, lonely colourway was languishing on the shelves being totally overlooked.  Once people saw it being worked up, it has flown away.  Funny how that works, eh?  The pattern is JB623, a half-fisherman rib stitch and worked in pieces and assembled.  I have to say that I did enjoy the entire project, even the sewing up. Oddly enough, I have a granddaughter this will soon fit ...

Being an inveterate sock knitter and always eager to try new sock yarns, I purchased a package of Circulo Let it Sock.  I would bet my bottom dollar that this stretchy cotton yarn is a clone of Cascade's Fixation.  I can't find the Let It Sock in the Ravelry database though ... In any event, these socks were featured in the previous post being knit while participating in a sailboat race.  When the winds are light, the crew's job is to sit still and be ballast.  Knitting keeps me from fidgeting.  That's all I can say.  Well, except that when the winds are light and the knitting appears, it doesn't take long before there is enough wind to require ballast being more active!  These are plain socks, started at the toe, with a heel flap, six rows of stockinette, and ribbing.  Nothing fancy, except for the yarn. 

When the new administration was sworn in last January and all the blather about Canada becoming the 51st state, Canadian designers were outraged and the knitting universe was overflowing with patriotic designs.  I may be a citizen of the US, but I am also a supporter of a sovereign Canada.  Consequently, I found this cowl pattern and cast on.  The Elbows Up refers to an idea in hockey -- keep your elbows up to make your opponents pay dearly.  

Speaking of hockey -- and memories -- my father's house has been listed for sale and my brothers are doing an absolutely amazing job of clearing out the remnants from the house, garage and sheds.  Andy pulled out a radio and showed it to us all on a zoom call -- asking if anyone remembered it!  We all did.  I remember sitting with my grandfather and listening to baseball, hockey and the Indy 500 on that little radio.  Needs new batteries because the old ones somehow didn't leak but are dead, and it should work just fine!

Finally, Sunday was another sailboat race day.  We don't keep the CL14 at the marina, so have to sail from our house down to the marina/start line.  We were 12 minutes late to the start ... so started in 6th place.  There wasn't a lot of wind, and it took another hour to get to the first marker, across the lake from our house.  BUT, by the time we got there we had moved up to second place.  We battled our "nemisis" to the second marker, but rounded the marker first.  And then who knows what happened.  We pointed the boat's nose towards home, I pulled out the sock knitting, and that little boat just flew home.  Even though we started 12 minutes late, we won by more than 5 minutes.  Victory is sweet.  

AND I got to the toe shaping on this current pair of socks.  For those keeping score -- these are the socks for August, so I need to step up my game and get busy!

Thanks for the visit.

 

What have we here?

 

I opened up my browser to (FINALLY) do a blog post, a d what do I find?  One that was started back in June!  So, here we go!

It feels like forever ago that I sat down and posted an update.  Looking back, it was over a month ago.  I know my hands have been busy … why does it feel like I haven’t accomplished anything???

I know that I practiced my two-at-a-time sock technique because we were teaching it as our June class.  Yes, there they are!  I have finished a pair of socks!  These are mystery sock yarn, but the basic toes up sock pattern that we use at the store.  

And while rummaging around at the store attempting to show someone how one of our wools works up I was reminded of another finish.  This is the Baby Sophisticate and a Maine Baby Hat to complete the ensemble.

The wool is Scandi, designed to be compatible with Croftland Aran from James Brett.  This is an 80/20 blend of acrylic and superwash wool.  It washes and dries beautifully, knits up quickly and will wear well.  I imagine some little munchkin wearing this and then passing it on to siblings and cousins.  It wears that well. The pattern asks for a 5.00mm needle, so this works up quickly.

While admiring the Baby Sophisticate, I was reminded that I also finished Riley, a design from Regina Moessner.  I used six skeins of Ella Rae Rustic Aran in the colourway Holly.  I used 4.5mm needles to achieve gauge, and had so much fun making this.

I selected this sweater because I wanted a classic look for the recipient, and I had never worked a saddle shoulder sweater.  As a bonus, this was worked from the neck down — seamlessly.  The pattern is well written and quite clear.  The wool was fabulous to work with.  And the distributor of the wool (Knitting Fever) saw the picture on the store’s Facebook page and they reposted it.  I can now claim that 3.7k people have “liked” my work!

Now, with all my complaining about not finishing anything I decided it must be time to review all my on-the-needle projects.  Just to show that I have not been a slacker.  First up is a little sample for the store, using James Brett Fairground.

This is a little pullover worked in Fisherman Rib.  Also known as half-brioche, or a knit one below technique.  The right side rows are knit everything, while the wrong side rows are a knit one below, purl one.  This is a very easy pattern to do and almost as mindless as stockinette.  Sadly (or not) this will require sewing together at the end. 

What IS a big deal in my opinion is the new technique I have learned for placing stitches on a holder.  Zoom in and check out the neckline.  I crocheted a few chains, and then crocheted the neckline stitches onto scrap wool.  This is a game changer for me!  When I am ready to work the neckband these crocheted stitches can be pulled out, one by one, and placed back on my needle.  Piece of cake, and way easier than using a tapestry needle and scrap yarn.  Even better?  There are no dangley bits to get snagged and pulled out of the stitches before I am ready.  I do not recall where I read about this, but I have used it a lot since learning it. 

What else is on needles and causing me distraction?  There is this Ranunculus … leftover from our class in May.  

See how close I am to the end?  Must knit faster!

But there is sailing season to consider.  Every Sunday possible we participate in a sailing race with our Club.  On days when the wind is slow or non-existent this is what sailing looks like —

Yes, those are another pair of two-at-a-time socks.  More about them later.  In the meantime, must get knitting.

Cheers!

I HAVE been knitting …

 So, it has been a while.  I have been busy -- knitting and otherwise.  The first and very exciting bit of news (for Doug and I anyway) is that here we are at Mother's Day, and we HAVE DOCKS!  The usual crew of recruits who have assisted Doug in years past were not available this year.  This necessitated having me with my incredibly weak ankles being the assistant.  I am very happy to announce that there were no injuries this year, all the rest of the docks are in place as well as the two boat ramps.  Next up will be the boats -- but the current winds and waves have put the kibosh to that plan for this Victoria Day weekend.  In other exciting news, this photo I was able to send out over the internet to my children, FROM the lakeshore!  I gotta say that I absolutely love Communicate Freely!  They were slower than molasses running uphill in January when it came to the actual going live, but now that it is here we enjoy it immensely. 

Now, with regard to knitting, since I did announce that I have some ... I have been working diligently on my socks for 2025 Christmas.  So far, I am even current to the month!  That may change, but not just yet!

These are the socks for April, made with wool I acquired at the Hamilton Fibre Forge from Orange Octupus. This particular colourway is a fundraiser for a cause supporting LGBTQ health.  When I saw it, it clearly said to me "Hello Kitty."  Since my daughter-in-law loves this theme, the wool had to come home and be knit specially for her.  I used a 2.5mm needle and 60 stitches, and knit from the top down.  All in all, a perfect knit. 

This is the second yarn purchase from Orange Octupus.  I quite like the colour aesthetic she has and her choice of base fibre.  Since I have been attending smaller fibre festivals (which means smaller entry fees for vendors) I have been lucky enough to find her booth regularly.  I highly recommend this dyer. 

The socks for March were also completed in plenty of time, although not discussed here.  The yarn is Lang Super Soxx Alpaca in colourway number 0155.  The pattern is Socks on a Plane, which I have used many times in the past.  It is becoming my favourite sock pattern -- the cables add a bit of interest to the knitting.  Not all of my recipients are OK with having socks with a clear left and right foot, but I think this young lady will be fine with it.  Again, I used a 2.5mm needle. 

Last but not least, I have been also knitting away on the Berroco Mystery Blanket Knit-Along.  This is not the final layout by any means or measure.  I just looked at the chart and tried to place the proper technique square where Berroco indicated.  The original pattern asks for five colours.  My recipient was looking at the colours and where I saw a deep peacock blue, he saw navy.  With that in mind, and because the peacock blue didn't play nicely with another of the selected blue colours I opted to add a sixth colour.  My daughter approves so I am in the clear. 

This is a fun little project and I have been looking forward to the first Thursday of each month with great delight.  The brown lace square (second row, and second from the left) was a lot of fun to create.  It started with a magic loop and then built outward in concentric circles. Many other participants were complaining about the start on this square, but mine started easily and on the first attempt.  

Future months will fill in the empty spaces -- seven of them at the moment -- and then there will be discussions from the designers about how to join them together and the final border.  

I am using Estelle Worsted -- a lovely superwash wool and acrylic blend.  This means it will wash and dry beautifully and for my wool-sensitive daughter and son-in-law should not be an issue. 

Whew.  I did say I had been knitting.  A lot.  And this isn't even all of it!  There are a couple of 5-hour baby sweaters, a Ranunculus, a Riley, yet another pair of socks ... and even more.  But I expect this is sufficient for today.