Off to a Good Start

  First thing on the agenda (2nd week of the month) was to put the Christmas decorations away.  Had to say goodby to these little friends.

 

With projects I'm off to a good start.  The Mossbank is finished and soon to be delivered.  Father James is from India, so I thought the antique brass moose buttons were a neat touch.

I ran out of the main color of yarn just before Christmas, so I went through my stash, didn't find any, but found another project using the same Jamieson & Smith yarn, where I may run out of one color.  The postage for quantities up to 1kg is £8.95--a lot of moolah for just 4x25g of yarn.  Since that's a yarn that I plan on doing some designing with,  I ordered 19 more balls of various colors that I don't have.

 The Ginny is also finished.  This sweater is so cute, but its recipient is so tiny I'm worried that it may not fit.  However, I made the size that she circled in the book.

New on the needles is a mohair prayer shawl for a friend undergoing breast cancer treatments.  Since these pictures were taken I'm on the 4th ball and it's almost 5 feet long.

 Another friend was also just diagnosed.  For her, two other friends are chipping in for the yarn, and I am knitting the Rams and Yowes lap robe--another order went in to J&S for that.  Again I added 15 colors of yarn.  I now have most of them.  I'm also planning on making Rams and Yeows for myself later on, but I want to make it a bit bigger.  That blanket is so well planned, using all the 9 natural sheep colors of Shetland Supreme Jumper weight, that I will have to plan carefully to maintain the beautiful color transitions.

Seeds are coming in now,  so that puts on pressure to get the housework all caught up, get lots of R&R banked up, because in the middle of February we're back to work.

A Ravelry friend, Sheila Joynes, published a wonderful little Leisure Arts book called I can't Believe I'm knitting Fair Isle.  I've done some sample knitting for her, so I immediately ordered her book.  Highly recommend it.

I also got Charts for Colored Knitting,

The Art of Fair Isle Knitting,

and ...... I will get a lot of use from all these books.  Another friend gifted me a copy of Tudor Roses, an out-of-print book (which will be re-printed in 2013).  That book is a treasure--I have a few sweaters on my to-do list.

And since I've got "plump" and sluggish with sitting around and just knitting, I have to play on the WiiFit for an hour or so every day to limber up the joints and shape up my middle so I can knit some of the lovely waist-shaped sweaters that I've been ogling.

On Tuesday I went to a knitting group for the first time.  The Sherwood Park Daytime subgroup of The Edmonton Knitters.  That was a hoot.  I loved everyone's projects, didn't get much knitting done what with watching everyone else, and the lavish praise for my knitting wasn't too painful, either.  What a nice way to make new friends.

Finished and filed the last quarter GST (sales tax) report, and realized that the file cabinet is overflowing, so I started shredding stuff from as far back as 1999.  Also realized that it's time to review our estate stuff and make everything easy to settle (in 30 or 40 years or so)--organize now, while I still have a bit of a mind left.

Have a great week-end everyone, and God Bless You!!

Happy New Year Everyone

I'm busy organizing about 2000 photos that are taking up space on the camera, duplicates in different folders on the laptop, also in Flickr.  Once that's done, or sooner, I want to tidy up my old years' project lists.  I have in mind something like this:
Completed Projects 2009

appears as a single line, but it is a link leading to where these projects are:  I'm thinking on Flickr or Picasa.  Same with 2010, and 2011.  Same with my Reading list--but I'm not sure where to store that n order to link to, since pictures aren't involved.  Maybe work on the look of the blog a bit, too.

What are we up to?  I started the New Year with the Flu.  Head, chest, weak muscles, joint pain.  Now just still coughing to clear out the chest, and still fatigue easily.  Tomorrow to Edmonton for preventive maintenance on the Tundra.  Bit of a LYS visit, groceries and buy a pattern at the fabric store.

Working on the Mossbank Cardigan, and have started the Ginny cardigan.  Pictures to follow.

Spring-like weather--happy about temperatures, not happy about freezing rain, and wish there was more snowcover for strawberries, perennials, and our wintering trees and shrubs sitting in the ground in their pots.

Have a great January, or until I can post again.

Will correct the weird font/color thing later.

Almost Christmas--Have-To Knitting all Done.

Since the last post, I've started and finished a lot of things (though not everything started got finished yet).  I've joined a Ravelry group called 12 Sweaters in 2012, and have a list made that will last me till fall.
Finished Projects
A wedding dress alteration.  This bride ordered her dress on-line, and it came in about 3 weeks before the wedding.  It had lovely lace, but that's all.  It had a lace yoke, 2 large rectangles of fabric for the front and back and 2 large rectangles for sleeves,and a ruffle at the bottom--8" above the floor.  She was in tears.  She and I are both believers, and her prayers brought her to me (she lives a couple of hours from me, we had never met, but we share an acquaintance in common). We minimized the sleeves, took tucks in the bodice, added to the skirt above the ruffle, stitched many pearls onto the lace, and added a silk grosgrain ribbon for the waist.  Pouf it out with a silk organza petticoat, and VOILA--a happy bride.

 You'll have to lie down--all my efforts to turn this picture have failed.

A neckwarmer for Mrs. Cratchit in A Christmas Carol at the Citadel theatre.

More fingerless gloves













"Goth" fingerless gloves for one of the granddaughters.  I made them worsted weight, bought some small dog chain collars at the dollar store, and some spider, bat and scorpion charms at Wal-Mart.

Also the Saskatchewan Roughrider dreads for Granddaughter #2 and boyfriend.  They had their toques in time for the Thangsgiving Day game.

A potholder made by deconstructing ( the potholder wasn't harmed--I just read a pattern off it)  a model potholder,in order to write a pattern for the owner to replicate:

Two pairs of Pyjama pants for Granddaughter #3--wild prints.

|A prayer shawl--actually an afghan.

Started:  Sock Monkey--just for fun.  I give all my children and grandchildren a new Christmas ornament every year.  Sometimes they're bought, but next year I want to make them.  I am going to start with a full size sock monkey  to learn the pattern, then make sock monkey ornaments dressed in Christmas theme, using very fine yarn to size them down (I'm thinking double lace weight or double sock yarn).

A Fair Isle Cardigan modified from "Mossbank" for a gift--aiming for a mid-Jan. birthday.

 And last but not least, a new visitor to the birdfeeder--a male pine grosbeak.  I didn't get a picture of the female.

I just remembered I forgot to take pictures of some more socks that were made since the last post.  Will add to next post.  If I don't talk to you till then, have a very Happy Christmas Season.

OOOPPPSSS!!  I just noticed that there is some duplication with the last post--blue fingerless gloves and bride's alterations--sorry.

Seems Like a Million Years

Finally a chance to catch up.  Still having some problems with the wireless router, but I'll try.  The projects are not necessarily in chronological order.
We had so much rain that the garden and yard were under water for 6 weeks:

Mom and I planted flowers at the Hospital complex in Lamont, where she is a resident of the Nursing Home.

An exciting project was for Stratford Shakespeare Festival, a sweater for Brian Denehey in "The Homecoming".

 I completed my sweater for a Design Challenge on Ravelry.  It is made from Hebridean 2-ply from https://www.virtualyarns.com/.

And for my Edmonton Eskimo fans:  Eskimo toques and dreads.  Made 3 sets for D2 and D3 as well as D2's
spouse.  Also GD2 and her boyfriend each got a Saskatchewan Roughrider toque--their dreads yet to be made.

The Haruni shawl, for SIL (in Ontario)'s Bday:

Several pairs of socks, some for Christmas, some for me:

Fingerless gloves for Christmas presents:

Alterations to a wedding dress that came from Mexico shaped like a giant nightgown with a lace yoke and large rectangles for a skirt and large rectangles for long sleeves.  Some modifications and  lot of prayers:  VOILA

There were some small projects for the Citadel Theatre "Little Women".

In progress:  Bird's Eye Shawl

A sweater called Mossbank--Fair Isle for a Christmas or January Bday gift (no picture yet),  a new small project for the Theatre, for A Christmas Carol, and on my wish list for after Christmas--A Ron Schweizer design called "Flowers of Life", which I may modify into a cardigan:

Nice to be back with you.  Hopefully I will be able to be more faithful about inviting you all back to my blog.  God bless you all.

Too Bad, so Sad

I got a call today, that the High Speed internet guy can't come until after our Thanksgiving--Oct 11.  I guess I have to dwell on "all good things come to those who wait".  So it'll be a while.  When I can finally catch up pictures, it will seem like I'm bragging.  We're still really busy doing fall work.  DH is slowly easing back into working (except for lifting) since his Aug 15 surgery.  

Keep on Trying

I keep on trying to add pictures, but the dial-up internet is for the birds.  On the 22nd they are coming to test if we have a good signal here for high-speed internet--if there is, I am finally ordering it.  Maybe then things will improve with the blogging.
♥♥♥ all my faithful followers for putting up with this slow-poke.

And Time Marches On

It's been a very busy spring, crazy weather, lots of work, computer and dial-up issues.  We are alive and healthy, life is good, and I promise I'll soon catch up with news and everyday events, and pictures.  Thanks for hanging in there.
Till next time:  Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.  (Cicero)