family, work, school...what's knitting again?

I have missed my needles and wool. While trying to keep up with the knitting world through Ravelry, one day I came across Manic Purl's blog and podcast. Just listening to her enthusiastically knitting up many Christmas presents, and noting her many knitted gift suggestions, she motivated me in a kniterly way once again. So here's what I am working on right now:

Yuletide Gnomes by Alan Dart

... and a few pair of these:

Ribby Slipper Socks

Interweave's Holiday Knits 2008

... seven more knitting days (including today) till Christmas...

...falling behind...

With the start of a new school year, the shuttling of four kids to various activities, and beginning a new job, this is just about as close to knitting as I have come in the past two months...

...well, not quite. I do have a baby outfit on the needles (three new babies in my circle of friends). I also enjoyed the company of four dpn's and 100 gm of trusty sock wool on the GO train to Toronto this week. I don't envy those who have such long commutes to work every day; however, it is ideal knitting time!

There is just so much to knit, but so little time. Have you seen the preview for the winter Interweave Knits?

Back to school!

When they are literally climbing the walls, you know it is time to go back to school! That is, if they will let them in! Our "beautiful" children...
These are much better : )

An almost finished object, or two

I've always wondered what it would be like to make one of these...look familiar?

Starting to make sense yet?

Almost there now...

That's right! It's Elizabeth Zimmermann's Baby Surprise Jacket.

BSJ pattern found in The Opinionated Knitter.

Knit with MARBLE (James C. Brett) in Denims (MT2)

Needles: 4 mm

I loved how this knit up in one piece and did enjoy watching my daughter try to figure out what it was, once the knitting was finished. It still needs the top seam and a few buttons but is otherwise ready for a fall/winter baby...or two...

Camping: the art of getting closer to nature while getting farther away from the nearest cold beverage, hot shower and flush toilet.

It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent.-Dave Barry --American writer, b.1947

Every summer we head off to some park or other to go for a week of camping. This year, even though it has been the rainiest summer in eons, was no exception. After cramming our tent trailer and van as full as possible with camping "stuff" and food (marshmallows, chocolate, graham wafers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, bacon and eggs, etc) we first headed off to Charleston Lake Provincial Park. It rained the first night, it rained the second day, and the third day it rained again but the sun did come out for four hours, then it rained again, the fourth day was rainy, the fifth day we packed up and drove home in the rain. The sixth and seventh days were spent drying out the camping "stuff" and doing 10 loads of rain-soaked, mud-caked laundry. The camera got rained on and is barely functioning. We have one souvenir picture of our trip.

This was taken before it rained.

The trip was a disaster. Trying to make the most of it, I did bring along a bit of knitting...which I ripped out at least 10 times, in the rain.

Never mix lace knitting and camping.

Two weeks later we were back at it again, camping at another park called BurBaLac. Here the weather was much kinder to us and I was much wiser...

...I knit wash cloths.

Protein snack or just plain "icky"?

For the past five weeks or so, my neighbour and I have been faithfully running together and attending the Learn to Run clinic at our local Running Room. We have learned a lot as we run together, for example:

-do not wear "rotten cotton" on your runs

-one minute of running may feel like an eternity, but five weeks later five minutes of running is not so bad

-getting up at 5:45 AM to run is only possible because you're neighbour is waiting on her porch for you

-running on the sidewalk is harder on your legs than running on the road

-if you run on the road, various automobile drivers will make eye contact with you and still try to run you off the road, especially at 6 AM

Last evening we learned something new, once again, about the joys of running....avoid running past an open field, at dusk, during June Bug season. Swatting, shrieking, jumping, ingesting (gross, no we actually did not do that!) make for very poor running form!

After I returned from my run and showered off any bug remains, I "googled" the wretched creatures and found out that in actual fact, ingesting them may have not been so bad after all! Here's a little info about them that I found at this site:

"A chemical analysis of the June Bug revealed its hidden secrets as a beneficial healing remedy. Full of edible fats and proteins, the bug is a rich source of food and appetite stimulating medicine when prepared correctly.
When toasted in hot ashes, the internal body parts and juices of the bug congeal into a nugget of pure golden nutrition. After peeling off shriveled legs, wings, and wing case, the remaining orb of nourishment can be eaten one at a time or by the handful.
Toasted June bugs have a surprisingly sweet delightful taste. The flavor closely resembles thick raw molasses or crudely made ribbon cane syrup. It is difficult to eat just one."

Bon Appetit?

I think not!

Otto for Emily

The end of the school year is a very exciting time for kids and never seems to come quite soon enough. These last few days at school have been mostly fun for our kids, celebrating completing another grade, making summer plans with friends, having class parties. (While their teachers attempt to instill those last morsels of education).

It is time for a welcome break, to throw out the routines, sleep-in, play, and enjoy the all-too-short summer because, before the kids have a chance to say "Mom, I'm bored. What can I do?" - it will be September!

Owen has some mixed emotions about finishing grade three today and going on to grade four, as one of his good friends will not be returning in the fall. She and her family (her mother was also their teacher this year) will be starting a new chapter in their lives as they move to a new city and province. Her mother read to the class Owls in the Family by Farley Mowatt and this became one of Owen's favourite studies. I just couldn't resist and knit up Otto the Owl from Lucinda Guy's book "And So to Bed".

...from Owen to Emily...enjoy...

I think there will be a lot of "MSN-ing" happening this summer. : )

2 Wheels, 2 Days, 2 x 100 K (continued)...

Wow. I can't believe it has been over a month since my last entry. May and June can be crazy, busy months though, what with the class trips, recitals, soccer season, exams, and graduations, and finally the return of the sun and warm weather (in between the thunder storms). It's a great time of year to get out and do something...like this...

This past weekend my husband joined over 2,800 other cyclists in the two-day Ride to Conquer Cancer, covering over 200 kilometres from Toronto to the Niagara Falls. The participants raised over $14,000,000 to benefit research at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, one of the world's top 5 cancer research facilities.

...he's in there somewhere...

...a sea of tents (some opted for a hotel instead-wonder why?)...

...celebrating the finish along the shores of the Niagara River just before the Falls...this is definitely what Rod calls a "good weekend" - spending two days doing something he loves, for a very good cause...

Can you fail a KAL?

Back in March I joined my first KAL (knit along), Fashionably-late in '08 Clapotis KAL. I missed the first deadline, and then a first, second, and possibly even a third extended deadline. My shawl went everywhere with me - to a few night shifts, along to piano lessons, violin lessons, voice lessons. I knit if I watched TV, I knit just before falling asleep, I knit to de-stress and finally....I finished!

I love my Clapotis.

Pattern: Clapotis Shawl by Kate Gilbert

Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Marsh Mix (6296); just over 3 skeins

5 mm needles

A very musical week!

This past week was a very hectic, but also very successful week for Lydia. At her first Kiwanis Music Festival vocal competition she won first, two seconds, and received a junior medal!

I was so captivated by all the young vocalists I heard that I didn't even bring any knitting along! Besides, a dropped needle would sound just as disruptive as the one-year-old (although very cute) babbling baby sister of one of the other performers.

...still clapping....

Wow - I can't believe I have been this negligent in updating this blog! Here we are, halfway through April already. The weather is finally getting nice and spring-like so that means...time for new running shoes. Running is another thing I have been negligent with and now it hurts!

Knitting, on the other hand, doesn't hurt a bit. I am making slow but steady progress on my Clapotis. Here she is so far, at least two-thirds of the way completed.

For a good cause...

My husband is doing a very good thing.

On just two wheels,

over two days,

covering 200 km,

he is joining other cyclists in the Ride to Conquer Cancer.

This fundraising event will benefit the world-renowned cancer centre, the Princess Margaret Hospital.


For more information, feel free to visit Rod's event website and of course, any donation would be gratefully appreciated!


I wonder if there are any patterns on Ravelry for bicycle seat covers? (Just kidding!)

A Trip to the Farm

On Friday I went to the open house at the Spinning Wheel Alpaca farm in Enniskillen and had the pleasure of meeting Nancy and Garth Hutchinson. On the guided tour, I met some of their amazing alpacas up close, as well as the rest of the farm menagerie. Besides the 30-40 alpacas, there were several dogs, cats, geese and ducks, and even a pot-bellied pig! But the alpacas in all their wooley finery stole the show.

I believe this one is called "Peek-a-boo"

Nancy knows, respects, and loves her alpacas. She is a great source of knowledge about these animals. I was also curious about the great white dogs who were in the field near the alpacas and Nancy informed me that they are a large livestock guard breed called Maremmas. Apparently these beauties are nocturnal and make excellent guard dogs for animals like sheep, goats, and alpacas.

After the farm tour, I visited Nancy and Garth's shop which had beautiful and soft mitts, capes, scarves, coats, etc. all made from alpaca. As well, you can purchase wool directly from Nancy and the skeins are labelled with the name of the alpaca who so graciously provided it!

I went home with a couple of souveniers....two skeins of lace weight alpaca/silk blend from "Opal and Trish."

What's a Clapotis

A picture is worth a thousand words and here is a picture of a beautiful finished Clapotis. The Clapotis-making phenomenon continues since it first hit Knitty in the fall of 2004. Four years later and I am just about to start mine using this beautifully soft wool from Berroco. It is Ultra Alpaca (50% alpaca, 50% wool), colour #6296 (Marsh Mix). Webs has a better view of the colour at their site.

March Break Trip ...Back in Time

Unlike the many who escaped to our friendly neighbour's southern -exposure backyard, our family stayed put for the week. That is to say, we didn't put 3000 km on our vehicle. We put on more like 300 km just by carting hoards of kids around back and forth to friends, malls, pools, and large white-covered hills for the best tobogganing ever seen in March Break. The highlight of our week was a trip to see my brother and sister-in-law and their two youngun's.2 kids - 1 kid (who doesn't even use one) = 6 soothers (?)

~Life favours the prepared~

Edna Mode on The Incredibles

Other than eating all their food, which by the way was a veritable feast, we headed out to Crawford Lake Conservation Area where we hiked around the lake and then visited the 15th century Iroquoian village.

The long house...

...yarn...before two pointy sticks and sheep!

...a little light snack...

...one adorable nephew!

...and last but not least .... nature's three-ply!

Happy Knitting Day

Well, it's been a while since my last post. Knitting on the Tilted Duster continues, albeit slowly. I am on the skirt part of the bottom of the sweater still but almost finished that. I can't wait to be done this project and then go on to start something new. There are so many great things to make, like the little mouse, "Lodewijk." I received an email today from his very talented designer, Annita. It was great news ~ she has made instructions for the wee fellow available in English. You can find her here.I also joined this:

...better late than never. I'm still looking for the right wool for this project.



I also have on my desk the book "And So To Bed" by Lucinda Guy. There are at least three collegues at work who are "on the nest" and this book is full of beautiful baby things to make.
What a day...and to top it all off, I got to do some sock knitting-along today with my wonderful friend Connie. It is the year of the sock .... or should I say, a sock in a year? Either way, we have one finished!