The Great Clearout of 2025

 We have a new project to keep us busy. We have been planning to fix up the basement, for a number of years. We finally got to a point where we had a clear idea of what we would like to do, found a contractor that saw our vision (sweet and simple), and decided to go ahead. Then we heard the horrifying words: "I can start in two weeks." So now we have a deadline to sort through the many years of "stuff" that has been stored down there, doing the toss, donate, keep process. 

This was my giveaway piles of fabric on Thursday night. I found 5 Beaver neckerchiefs, brand new, which is odd because I only have 2 kids.

I mentioned on Friday morning to my church handwork group that I had some fabric and craft supplies to giveaway. They all stopped in on the way home, and took at least half of the stuff there. Of course, I have found more. My DIL, a goddess at posting on the local Buy Nothing group has volunteered to post the stuff for me, and handle the pickups.

It is surprisingly easy to let stuff go, when most of it hasn't seen the light for many years. My sewing space used to be in the basement, and when I moved upstairs, some of the supplies didn't get moved. There are also the hobbies I don't do any more. So very little is staying.

Of my current hobbies, my March goal of finishing a couple of WIP's is going well. 

The Boublay scarf is finished, and just needs blocking.

The bobbles along the cast off are beaded.

I am on to my next WIP. It is called Sobriquet, and the pattern is by Romi Hill. I started it in Feb. 2024.

It should be finished next week. I am just working on the border.

I also started a Musselburgh Hat. 

It is a top down hat and from here it is about 14" of straight knitting. Great project for meetings and waiting rooms.

In an effort to have a bit of spring, I forced some Forsythia branches.

The yellow is bright and cheerful. In a few short weeks, the whole bush will be covered in yellow.

Meanwhile, my Christmas cactus is having an identity crisis. It bloomed the end of November, and then decided to bloom again this week.

More pretty flowers to enjoy.

So, tomorrow is back to the clear out.  We can actually see progress, as more bags and boxes leave the house. I'll report back on the progress.

In Like A Lion Cub

 March came in, not like a lamb, but like a rather small Lion. There was more snow.  We got 109.3 cm of snow in February, in 12th place for the snowiest month on record. The snow has continued into March.  Today and tomorrow we are above zero, but that ends tomorrow night, and we are back in the freezer again. 

It seems like a good month to bake. Yesterday, I made Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies, to have with our coffee.

It was Shrove Tuesday (or Mardi Gras, or Pancake Day) so I made pancakes for supper. They are Oatmeal Apple Banana Pecan Spice Pancakes. When my kids were at home, they would eat a double batch in a single sitting. I made a single batch, and half are stored in the freezer for another day.

We had local maple syrup with them.

I finished the Trail Blazer Socks. I missed finishing in February but it was close.  So two pairs of socks for 2025.

I have decided that March will be a good time to finish three WIP's that I have sitting here. All of them are single skein fingering projects, two small shawls and a cowl.

The first one is a very small scarf, that uses a 30 gm ball of fingering. It is called Boublay by Laura Nelkin. Beads will be added.

Aren't the colours great! The yarn is Uneek by Urth Yarns. The colour is "54". There is purple still to come.

Not much sewing accomplished, but the knitting is going well.

Snow, Cold, and Now a Thaw

 It started to snow after my last post. In a 4 day period, we ended up with 80 cm of snow.  If you don't speak metric, that is a lot of snow! It has also been cold.

The snow on the road got plowed out fairly quickly, but the snow contractor for Canada Post got lost, and didn't manage to plow out our community mailbox.

The carrier couldn't put any mail into the box, because he couldn't get the doors open. We were three days without mail. Because that carrier didn't want the parcels to pile up (parcels go into the big boxes at the bottom that you can't see) he went door to door delivering them.  This meant that I didn't have to wait for some beautiful yarn I had ordered.

I couldn't resist these colours. It is from a hand dyer in Regina, SK, Area 51. 

https://area51fibres.com/

Yesterday and today the temperatures have been above zero, so some of the snow is melting. I looked out this morning and saw this on my neighbour's shed.

It looks like someone has piled quilt batting on the roof of the shed.  All ready for 5 or 6 beautiful quilts.

We had Valentine's Day, in the middle of the snow, so I made a heart shaped pizza. If one has a heart shaped pan, one should use it at least once a year.

My February socks are coming along nicely.

I'm just turning the heel, then it is straight to the toe! I have 4 days to finish.

I was looking for a fat quarter for a new pouch pattern I wanted to try. I opened my drawer, where I keep my fat quarters, and it was a mess. So, I spent much of today sorting and folding everything, again.

I still have a few more to refold, but I think they look very good. I probably should have sorted them by colour, but this is so much more fun to look at. I found lots of things I'd forgotten about.

Here is Doug, playing in the snow. He buries his ball and digs it up again. He really enjoys playing in the snow.

Block Party

 I had a pile of finished knitted items in need of blocking. So, Saturday, I gave them a spa treatment. soaking them, rinsing them, and wet blocking them.

I love how the shawls did a YinYang thing, and left room for the mitts and socks. 

The most recent finish is the Barn Swallow Mitts by Cheryl toy. I knit these once before, in a white alpaca yarn. These are in wool sock yarn from my stash.

These will be a gift to a friend.

I also blocked some socks. I don't usually block my socks but these felt a bit rough, so soaking them in water with a drop of hair conditioner made them nice and soft. You can see them in the middle of the blocking mat. I think I knit those last winter.

The two shawls have been waiting awhile. The cream coloured one is called Reach for the Stars by Jem Arrowsmith, and was a knit along from 2021. The yarn was called Stay Home For Christmas, by Canadian Hand Dyer Allison Barnes.

The blue and purple shawl is also from a Jem Arrowsmith and is called Get Set and Go. The knit along was in 2024.

I'm keeping the socks for my own sock drawer, but the rest will be gifts.

While I was playing with wet wool, I did a hand wash of my wool socks.

Yes, I do wear my handmade socks. You can see that some have a lot of wear, but they are still going strong. I actually have another pair, that were on my feet when the picture was taken.

Speaking of socks, I started my February socks for my use up the sock yarn challenge. I actually started two pair.

This is the first pair. I tried to make socks with this yarn once before and it didn't work. It didn't work this time either.

It is called Pompon by Regia and I think it needs bigger needles. Maybe it can become a baby sweater.

After that disaster, I dove into the bin a second time, and found some Turtlepurl yarn, in the colourway Cannonball.

I started it yesterday, and I am already 28 rows into the sock. The pattern is Trailblazer Socks by Winwick Mum. and is intended for striped yarn.

The other day, I was knitting by the fire and I looked up to see Emme, working on her camouflage skills. 

I think she needs to duck down a bit more.

Snow Day

It's a balmy -12C and snowing. A good day to stay home and knit by the fire. 

My hibiscus decided to cheer me up with a new flower. You can see the snow out the window, behind.

The knitting continues. I finished a pair of fingerless mitts.

So, I started another pair.

The pattern for the top pair is Point Edward Mitts, by Fairlight Fibres. The second pair is Swallowtail Mitts by Cheryl Toy.

I actually did some sewing, inspired by some scrap sorting I've been doing.

A simple zippered pouch, because I wanted to try a different method of inserting the zipper. It is called the Butler Method, and is used in designer Amy Butler's patterns. I'm not convinced that it is better than the method I already use, but it is good to try new things.

On a PA Day last week, my little buddy and I made muffins and practiced fractions.

Here they are on their way into the oven. He declared them delicious. They were raspberry almond, in case you were wondering.

The fire is lite, so I'm off to finish that mitt, and maybe cast on the second one.

Its A Start

 I usually blog on my desktop computer but it decided that it wanted to update, whether I wanted to, or not. So I'll try using my Chromebook.  Every time I do this, I need to fix the type size and the font, so I can read it.

My plans for blogging weekly have failed already. I am blaming this.

Poor Doug had to have surgery this week. Keeping him quiet has been a two person job. He looks so miserable hugging his new snake. 

I finished my not so matching striped socks.

Oddly, they match at the toe but no where else. 

I started some fingerless Mitts. The first one just needs the thumb cast off.

I've been playing in my sewing room, trying to figure out what scraps to keep and which to toss or donate to the local Kindergarten. After about half an hour of sorting this afternoon, I took a couple of larger scraps and cut them into a good size for a sock project bag. I interfaced them and found a suitable zipper.

The zipper is actually purple, not black. 

Progress is being made on getting my stash sorted and rehoming the stuff I know I'll never use. 

Hopefully, I'll manage to be back here next week, with more progress.

A New Year and A Look Back

We have entered a new year, a quarter way through the century. 

I am reminded of the New Year's Eve party I attended 25 years ago. The press was all about the Y2K bug. In order to ease people's minds, a lot of big companies paid IT staff overtime to be available to fix any problems that might arise. We were invited to a Y2K party. It was a small gathering, 6 adults and 6 young teens. Three of the adults were being paid to be available to go into their offices, if required. Three of the adults were just there for the fun, along with the teens. It was an old fashioned, low tech party. We had lots of food, mulled unfermented cider, a Y2K cake, board games, sing songs. At midnight, the teens were sent outside to bang pots and shout loudly to welcome the new year. The dark haired man (First Footer) went out the back door, and entered the front door, with a basket of symbols of good luck and prosperity for the coming year. 

Humourously, about 9:30 PM one of the cell phones rang. It seemed the one of the people on overtime at the workplace had plugged in the electric kettle to make tea, and blew the breaker. They were calling to ask where the breaker panel was, because they were sitting in the dark. A problem quickly solved over the phone. 

This year, it was just us. Two people, two cats, and a dog. We broke out the Christmas goodies and watched an old movie.

I also did my tally of creative projects finished this year. 

My proudest achievement was my Celosia Bags. I made the pattern twice, once to figure it out and once to make it in waxed canvas and waterproof nylon.

I am using the bag with the Caticorns as a day bag when I am going out for longer that a couple of hours.

I also set a goal of knitting a pair of socks per month for the year. I didn't quite manage, but I came close.

2024 Finishes

Knitting

Baby Socks           6

Mittens                  3

Adult Socks           8 1/2

Hats                       4

Shawls                   1

Double Mitts         2

In case you are wondering, this is the half pair of socks.

This sock was finished and the next one started on December 30.

Sewing

Pouches                          5

Bags                               2

Dog Bandanas              16

Receiving Blankets        2

Pillowcase                      3

Reading Pillow               1

I don't like to make any promises about the future. I'd rather see where my creativity leads me. The last few years have show that life gets in the way of making plans. I will keep blogging, because it keeps me moving forward. 

Happy New Year!

Kate