September Quilt the North. A Little Late

 The Quilt The North box arrived right on time. However, I had forgotten to unbox it for you.

The September box is designed by Pam Robertson Rivet, from Medicine Hat, Alberta. As always the box was full of delightful goodies.

Always beautifully presented, with a custom box.

The first thing I saw was a candle.

Monica asks when you register if you have any allergies, and I was pleased to discover my candle was unscented.

We received an introduction to the designer and some info about Medicine Hat.

We also got a sticker.

The quilt this time is reverse applique and the design is called Mugs Up.

The fabric selection is quite nice.

It looks like a fun project. 

Our bonus pattern is Saamis Tepee. This is based on an artwork in Medicine Hat.

I must get to work and make these quilts. I need to take a bag break and return to my roots, I think.

I did do some sewing this yesterday. I made Daisy a new collar, since she had outgrown her puppy collar.

It gets lost in her floof.

However, I was pleased with how it turned out. It was a quick and easy project, and I had everything in my stash. I followed a tutorial from Halifax Dogventures. There seem to get lots of tutorials on the web, most have you cover the webbing with quilting cotton, but I thought the webbing was quite pretty, 

I also cut out a bag, today. I'm trying to get back into my daily sewing routine. Cutting and interfacing all the bag pieces always seems to be the most time consuming part.

Maybe I'll have a bag to show you, next week.

I also think a picture of Daisy, at the car wash ends things nicely. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

How did a Month Pass?

 I'm not sure what I've been doing in the month.

Daisy decided to chew my sock.

After consulting with a knitting friend, the best solution would be to frog the foot of the sock, to where the heel starts and reknit the foot. That feels like a task for a snowy day by the fire so I think it will wait.

Here she is, trying to look innocent. No more socks for you!

I bought a giant cabbage from a local farm stand.

Daisy thought it was very scary, because it was so big.

However, it became this.

Thanksgiving dinner was cabbage rolls! I have enough left over for two or three more meals. 

Tonight, it will be roasted squash and carrot soup. My produce basket has been overflowing.

The mornings are really chilly. Last week, the tree in the neighbour's yard looked like this.

Today, it looks like this.

The tropical plants that summered in the yard are moving into the house.

They seem pretty happy about the move.

i finished a pair of socks, that will become a Christmas gift.

A friend is destashing, and I was gifted some lovely pieces.

Orientals. that I think are going to be lovely pockets and linings for bags.

Some Laurel Burch from some time ago, in beautiful shades of blue.

We had a playday with Daisy"s brother Luigi.

They will soon have their first birthday, and we are planning a Super Mario party for the Super Mario Pups!

A couple of flower pictures from the last days of summer.

The weather looks cool and sunny this week. There will be more winterizing, I expect, and hopefully, some sewing.

It Feels Like Fall

I think the high today was 16C. As the equinox approaches, it is starting to feel like fall. The winter blankets are washed, but need to be put on the bed.

I finished another pair of mittens.

I played yarn chicken with these and got two pairs out of one ball of yarn. I have another pair started and in my "emergency knitting" bag.

My friend Maggie (The Cheerful Chickadee) asked if I would make some socks for her house. Her projects from now until the snow flies don't include room for one more project, so I figured why not. I still have time to finish my Christmas knitting.

The first one is nearly done. I had to get out Kate Atherley's excellent book on knitting socks. This pair is a different size from what I use for my dear ones. I see there is a similar sock on the cover of the book.

I managed to get in some sewing this week. I made a purse, a Clematis Clutch in cork.

I bought a kit of materials from MM Cork, and had no problem getting it together. The cork is black with silver foil accents.

The lining in the kit was a dark green floral print. I found this in my stash that I like better. It has a single slip pocket on the inside. I figure it will hold a phone, a packet of tissues, a bit of makeup for touch ups, and a card or two. It was a quick, fun sew.

I got these labels, recently, and I thought they suited.

The bag is for a dear one in the bridal party of a friend of hers. I remembered I had something that the bride might like to borrow.

It is an Australian sixpence, for the bride's shoe. I had a "pen friend" in Australia when I was a young teen. She sent this to me, and I sent her a Canadian dime from 1967, with a fish on the back. Appropriate because in Canada, if you didn't have a sixpence, a dime would do. This sixpence is from 1951, and has been in a lot of shoes.

I am hoping that I am back into the swing of daily sewing. Sunday is cleanup day, before starting a new project. Haven't quite decided what is next, but starting with a tidy space is always a good idea.

A Grand Day Out

 But no Wensleydale. (Sorry, if you aren't a fan of Wallace and Grommit)

We took Daisy on a road trip to a lovely nearby town. We are working on her car riding and being in strange places skills. We like to take our dog with us on outings.

We went to the Rideau Canal Lock Station at Merrickville.

We watched the boats lock through. The water is being lowered in the lock they are looking in.

Daisy walked across a lock gate.

We had lunch on a dog friendly patio.

She had some chicken Caesar wrap, too.

The weather was lovely, we met some dog friendly people and dogs. and got our "lock nerds" fix.

I spent a lot of the week tidying. I was on hold for way too long the other day, and got the top of my desk cleaned off.

I got a bin from last summer finally emptied, except for one item.

I finished the first lace section of my shawl.

One final picture from Merrickville, a reminder of the history of our relations with our neighbours.

This is the 200 year old Block House, guarding the route to Ottawa from the south. So far, it hasn't been needed.

I'm So Tangled

 A song from Pretty Woman movie is stuck in my head. "Oh, baby I'm so tangled". Apparently the singer was from the Go-Gos. I'll take the internet's word on that.

My tangling took much longer to solve, than looking up the song.

Daisy has been trying to play with this ball of yarn for awhile. I've had it well guarded, but I guess I let my guard down for a minute. Last week, I spent much of my knitting time, untangling that snarl.

And now it is 400m of usable yarn. I didn't even have to cut it anywhere (though at one point I thought I might.)

The yarn is Drops Lace, a discontinued yarn, that has been living in my stash. It is the second ball for a shawl I started. The shawl is called Ontario. It seemed appropriate.

I cast it on about 5 times before I got the cast on and foundation rows right. Now it is going quite well. Slow mindful knitting. And, yes, it will have beads.

I finished the baby socks, and they are just so cute.

I also made my first pair of mittens for 2026.

I think I can get a second pair from the ball of stash yarn. A friend just donated 10 more skeins to the hat and mitten stash.

Meanwhile, my sewing has been on hold but I hope to get back to it today. My summer buddy is only with us for a couple more weeks, before he goes back to school. We didn't get to half our plans.

Our new gardens are nearly ready. 

There are still more places to plant, but it is progressing. I am not a gardener. My job is to keep Daisy out of the garden, and supply cold drinks. I also do plant identification, the result of many years volunteering at summer camps.

I have some sewing stuff to show you, but I think that will wait for another day.

Rain, Rain....

 It is Colonel By Day in Ottawa, and like the last holiday, it has been pouring rain.  On the upside, the patio pots have been doing well.

The tomatoes are starting to ripen. I buy my tomato plants at the garden centre, and they are often a surprise. This year, I have black tomatoes, some small salad tomatoes, and I think I have some orange ones. Nearly every meal includes tomatoes.

Daisy enjoyed a rare sunny moment under the tree.

Although she will not be a large dog, she is a lot bigger than when she arrived.

The knitting continues. I finished the big boy socks, and they are off to Alberta, this week.

The yarn is a DK weight sock yarn, from Area 51 Fibres in Regina, and the colourway is "I survived 2025". 

Because my hands need to be busy, I grabbed some leftovers, and started a pair of baby socks.

I'm sure they will find a little foot, soon. The second sock is already down to the heel.

I need a new project for knitting, but for now, I pulled out my only UFO. It's been on the needles since October 2024. It requires a fair bit of attention, and the pattern is not well written. I've seen several comments on Ravelry about missing lines of pattern. It is a "Choose your own adventure" pattern, mostly in graphs, but more words would be helpful.

With diligent work I think I can manage one more repeat and then the edging, and I will call it done.I know it is hard to tell from the pictures. It looks like a hot mess. However, I hope it will be a nice cowl for somebody, after blocking.

The LYS is having their annual sale this week. I need to compare the projects I think I want to do in the next while, with the yarn I have on hand, and make a shopping list. Yarn sales are dangerous places. I'll post pictures next week.