A Time of Remembrance

Remembrance Day, to Canadains

Vetrans Day, to Americans

Armistice Day, to UK folk

A time for remembrance......

Lest we forget.

Some pics and Happy Thanksgiving!

It is a lovely fall Thanksgiving day! the sun has been shining all weekend, so I have taken some pictures of recent stuff for you!As you can see I have made some stash enhancement. The two dark skeins at the bottom were purchased at the Thanksgiving sale at 88 Stitches.. another LYS. Berroco ultra Alpalca Fine and Malabrigo Lace in Purple Mystery.

The top three were dyed, and in the case of the pink/red overdyed the other night with some friends... who knew a dyepot party could be so fun! mow all I want to do is buy more white to dye it! LOL. The pink is Orangi Filati Merion Oro. The pink wasn't me, I bought it to match the Hanami stole pattern, but that is a mistake huh... never buy the yarn colour the pattern is in unless it is flattering! LOL

The other two are a Patons Classic Merino and another Berroco Ultra ALpalce Fine. They turned out very bright... but I love them. The flashes of white, and the pop of purple. Fantastic!!

This has been my easy "on the road "project but it is at the end so I am moving on soon. The was an experiment in log cabin. I made it off centre, but I am unsure if it was succesful or not. Glad I tried it though.

I also have a Multnoma shawl on the go in a green skein of West Coast Colours dyed by the owner of Knitopia the other lys. I was planning on making socks or a baby jacket, but the colours are a bit more suited to this project. This shawl has been a bit of a hit on Ravelry and I think that I would make more, maybe with some modification. I do really like it though. The begining is all garter stitch with increases that are very easy to follow. I think that I have been knitting this in the car and at work primarily in the last week, because it is really so easy. The Manic Purl Podcast has been talking about it too. The host has made two, in a larger size. Check hers out.

So a pal of mine has mentioned that a group she is in in Ravelry are having a finishing month. No new projects, just completion. I like the idea, but I won't comit to it, I really am trying to finish off all the outstanding projects on my needles, but what fun is it if you can't cast on something new when you feel like it! LOL

I suppose, because I have been frogging and einishing fairly wel; recently, I am really not too worried about this. I will be completing finishing on a few projects this week for sure, and that is always a nice thing. to use the items, or pass them on tho the rightful recipient.

Hope fall is treating you well and you are cozy with a pot of tea and some great knitting... maybe a book too. Have a great week and a holiday for those of us up in Canada. Take time to be thankful! I know I am!

So what's up?

What happens in your life that tears you away from your blogging life? LOL
Real life!

So I have had a busy summer, visiting, working, canning and some knitting. A bit of drawing too.
It's been great and I think that this season of the harvest will be just as busy. When the hubby is working on a Saturday, I have been canning with friends, or my Mom. Jars of pie filling, jams, pickles and jalapeno jelly line the pantry, and boy does that feel great. There is more to do though, my parents have some great grape vines in their yard, and two apple trees that always give fruit. This year they are all full! So more pie filing and preserves are coming up!

Someone at work asked me if my sister was as "domestic" as I am. I was stuck a bit, but being as I didn't really want to get into it.... I said "not really"

My sister I think is more domestic, she has a child and a group of ladies she sees on a regular basis. She is a great mom already, and I love her to bits.
I guess I always saw my hobbies as self-sufficency, not the dread domesticity. Why I dread it I cannot say at the moment... suffice to theorize that it has something to do with the second wave of feminism that I was exposed to before I could really understand it.You know the idea. They didn't like knitting either. So I guess as a third-wave feminist, I am embracing the things that give me pleasure and make me feel connected to the earth and self-sufficent. I knit, I can fruit, I jam,, I raise a veggie and herb garden, I bake (occasionally but, not from scratch yet.)
I also practice archery, target shooting and am going to hunt this year with my husband. I have a bachelors' degree in art and love the ideas that go along with that.

So is that domestic? If so I am a domestic goddess.... I embrace it all.

Next on my list.... learning to roast a chicken well..... and maybe talk the hubby into getting me a bee hive this spring ;) I also think that running is something I should take up... or rowing.

Hope all is well with you and you are doing things away from work that make you happy.
To friends I haven't seen in a while, I will try to drop you a line for dinner or breakfast soon. Hope your autumn is shaping up nicely gang. I realllllly do want to show off some FO's and almost FO's. That is the next blog goal. Comments and thoughts are awelcome and encouraged. Talk to you soon.

Dear lord I missed two months!

Hello, I am well, and knitting... I have been having a bus summer as I am sure most of you did as well. I will update more this weekend!

With pics!

Hope you are all well. I will check in soon!

What a great idea!

Hey there gang... I am so happy that it is cooler here in the Lower mainland! Summer is great but heat is not my thing! Don't get me wrong, I love the sunny days, I just enjoy the cooler days too!

So I am happy to also report that I am making good progress on the baby kimono, I don't know if this pattern is the best way to do this, but hey.... gotta try things out. I am using way more yarn than the pattern sggested, and as you may know that is a bit of a concern. I don't feel like the size of the kimono is extrordinary so I don't think that I am making the "amazing humongous baby jacket" I promise to update on if that happens or not.

I was also making great headway on a purple blanket that I was knitting, and then I ran out of a yarn.... but a friend of mine is going to be saving my ass from having to buy more yarn! This is going to be a gift blanket, and it knits up so quick... as I am using huge needles and double stranding the yarns. A great baby or child blanket. Honestly it is a great blanket, and I have made several for gifts, they have several great things going for them..... washable, cushy, and warm. Double stranding means that I use up more of my stash in less time!

My plan for stash busting, is going okay. The last couple of months I have felt that I have not made as much progress as i wanted to. Som months were really slow! I have a few projects that I am knitting in pieces so I don't finish a ball as I finish a piece..... so I am making progress on my projects but not knocking down my stash. Oh well I am keeping up with my goal for knitting my stash down.

Now that 2009 is half through (yikes!) I am going to count all yarn used. purchased recently or not. I will start that next month. I don't think that it will have much bearing on my tally, as I am still planning on knitting from Stash primarily.

Okay.....so the link in the title and the image at the top.

I have been listening to some new podcasts, and the KIPing It Real podcast is a new one for me.

(more on new podcasts in another post)

Anyway the host mentioned an intresting project that she had hear of. The 3-50 Project is basically an idea for supporting the local Brick-and-mortar stores in your local area. You budget 50 dollars each month and split it between three local shops that you would HATE to loose in this economy. Thereby supporting the locals but not breaking your monthly budget! I encourage you to pop by and check it out. I have already tried to begin this idea, but I wasn't supporting three stores..... just my LYS. :D Let me know what you think.. I would be intrested.

Trying to keep up...

but the world is going so fast!!!!

LOL

So here I am again with cute animal pictures!

I have several things to babble about, but I have no idea if I will hit you with it all at once. I am having a mini vacation this weekend. I am off four days in a row. We were camping this weekend already, but there was much rain so we came home this morning instead of tomorrow morning.... well that is sometimes how it goes!

We do camp in a lovely area.

See?

Pretty. Aside from the sad state of the dead pine trees due to the pine beetle infestation here in BC. This area is about 2 and a half hours north from home here in Langley. The spike buck you see in the upper photo thought we were pretty intresting to look at, he visited every day! LOL Even the dog didn't bother him.

Okay enough of that. I have completed the Crimson and Coccoa baby Blanket. Thank goodness! I am seriously falling out of love with this blanket style, but I have to admit they look great and don't take too much time. I think the verrigated yarns are the best to use though, they keep your interest longer. When I finally got to the border, I felt very put upon! lol but I wanted to finish it off so I can get it in the mail soon.

Speaking of mail... I have several packets to get out. Sorry guys, I suck and I have a small amount of play money at the moment. The will be gone before the next month. I apoligize profusley, and you know why!

I am working on a Baby Kimono for my niece at the moment as well as the Central Park Hoodie, Hunters Vest and the other straggler projects! The Kimono pattern is one I have never knit, so it has been intresting so far. I think the pattern is very clear and so far so good.. seperation for the fronts and back is mere centimeters away.

I think that I will be re-starting the blanket for my pal James. I don't know where I am in the thing, and I think that is what is keeping me from completing that paticular project. oh well.

I am feeling a bit of Startitis coming on... two shawls are calling to me. That may be bad! LOL oh well, gotta knit for myself a bit this year! I plan on using the rest of tonight and a bit of tomorrow to get ahead on the CPH I think, and maybe cast on a new shawl! :D

I am a bit tired so I will leave you with that update. Hope you are all well and more productive than I!!