Not Really A Squirrel

 It is actually a chipmunk.

This is my Mini Maker Case for the Mini Maker Case SAL. I used some of my Tula Pink fat quarters.

It has foxes on the bottom part.

This is the back.

And there is a sleeping fox on the bottom.

The interior is kind of wild.

I was disappointed with this sew along. It was billed as suitable for an adventurous beginner. However, the directions were not always clear, and sometimes they were not at all the way I would do them. My beginner friend got some unsatisfying results when she used the methods given. We ended up having long video chats to get a result she was happy with. I wonder how many beginners gave up, and blamed themselves for not being able to finish.

Okay, off my soapbox. On to some pictures for my friends in warmer climates. We take autumn colours for granted but in much of the world, they never get to see this.

This is the tree in my neighbours' yard.

The Virginia Creeper that has climbed my spruce tree.

Surprisingly, the frost didn't get these Morning Glories. 

And the old curtains have managed to save the tomato plants so we might get a few more, this fall. Last week, we had 4 nights of temperatures near zero, today, the high was 25C. Crazy.

Floating into Fall

 In February, in the midst of a feeling that winter would never end, I saw a pattern on Ravelry that I just had to try. I bought that pattern, and pored over it, wondering what I might use to knit it. I hate driving in the winter so I looked in my stash and found the two perfect yarns. One is merino and silk and the other is mohair.

The shawl has been finished for months but needed blocking. Blocking becomes complicated when we have a foster in residence, because cats like nothing better that to pull the pins out of blocking boards. Today, Misty has returned to the shelter for a medical procedure. So I laid the shawl out and pinned it for blocking.

This is Floatini. It was lots of fun to knit in lovely soft yarns. It is as light as a feather. I love the colours.

To block it, because of the very fine yarns, you pin it to size and spray it with water. My arms weren't long enough to stretch out the tape measure. I remember tape measures that used to have a hole in the end that you could put a pin into to hold  the tape. None of mine have a hole. So, I attached a binding clip and put the pin through that.

Of course, the next job is to sew in all the ends and there are lots. Two ends for each colour change.

I started a sew along for a little case, this week. It is going well. I am up to date. However, I am spending a lot of time with the pattern, saying "that's not how I would do it" and when I follow the instructions, I remember why I don't normally do it that way. However, I am playing with some Tula Pink fat quarters from my stash, and I had everything else I needed on hand. I didn't need to buy anything to do it. I had enough to be able to give some supplies to a friend to do one, too.

This is the exterior of the case.

And this is the lining. Fun fabrics to work with.

Six Months In

 We have now been going to church on Zoom for 6 months. While it is kind of strange to know the church building is only a few blocks away but we can't be together, there are some up sides.

I really enjoy a cup of tea and my knitting while I listen to the service. I get a lot of sock knitting done on Sunday mornings. I also get to enjoy the company of these sweeties.

They have been known to get a bit noisy during some of the quiet parts, but no worse than my kids used to be.

My new Covid addiction is Tamari Almonds, that I make in my oven. They are not as salty as commercial ones, and so tasty. I use this recipe.

I made a batch this morning. I have a big Costco bag of raw almonds in my cupboard that is dwindling fast.

One rainy day this week, I made a bag.

This is the third time I've used this IKEA fabric from a few years ago. I've nearly used all of it. The pattern is the Peanut Tote from UhOh Creations. 

The corners are boxed into the seam and make a nice design feature on the outside. I made the bag on the serger and was done in about an hour. I think I'll make a couple more, but I will make them smaller. This one is very large.

Another Month - Not Much Accomplished

 You would think that with all the time I am spending at home, I would have a lot to show, however, it doesn't seem to work that day.  We are entering the seventh month of self isolation, and I have no finishes to show you, this week.

My hibiscus tree has been summering on the patio, in the dappled shade. It has been moved back into the sunroom, as the nights have started to get colder. This morning it gave us this, for our pleasure during breakfast.

The tree was a gift from my mother and I think we have had it for about 15 years. It is happiest if it spends it's summers on the patio or sunroom and the winter in the dining room.

Back in April, when it became clear that it would be a long time before I could go out shopping, again, I bought a full share from a local Community Supported Agriculture program. I pick up my basket, along with a dozen fresh eggs, in a parking lot, on Thursday afternoon. It's kind of like a drug deal for foodies. We get a share of whatever is currently being picked at the farm. This week, I could hardly lift my basket. I sliced up a tomato this morning for breakfast.

That was just one tomato. We got lots more in the basket. We optimistically planted some cherry tomatoes in patio pots and we are getting a bowl full of tomatoes every second day, from them. I am giving tomatoes away!

I did manage to turn the heel on a sock.

 I think I started these about 3 weeks ago. I am proud of the fact that I remembered to centre the pattern on top of the foot, before I started on the heel. 

I also started a new shawl, because one knitting project is never enough.

I am going to assume that the loose stitches will balance themselves when I block it. The yarn is a wonderful skein I picked up at trunk show. It is from Indigo Dragonfly. They are known for their lovely colours and funky names. This colourway is called Beige. The yarn is a merino/cashmere/silk blend that is lovely to knit with.

Good news! New Blogger has fixed the frustrating separation of upper and lower case labels.  Now they are back to simply alphabetical order. As well they set the default picture size to medium instead of extra large, so I don't have to fix each picture. Maybe they should have fixed all the problems before they asked us to switch.