Preparing and Minor Disasters

I got a funny message from a neighbour the other day: Could I knit or mend? So I replied yes and was told that the dog had been "playing" with her daughter's favourite hat. and they were hoping I could mend it.

This is what they brought me. Mudd offered to help.

The whole top of the hat was gone. To make it harder, the hat had a fleece lining. So, I took some double pointed needles and a crochet hook, and started trying to find the stitches.. Since I didn't want to disturb the fleece lining, I asked my young friend if she would settle for a knot on the top of her hat instead of the (now) sad looking pompom.  With Mudd's help we managed to get it fixed.

I didn't have any green yarn so I used grey instead.

We put up the Christmas tree and added lights.

Yesterday morning, we came down to this.

It is dark in the mornings, but if you click on the picture, you can see that Doug looks concerned. I think somebody jumped out of the tree and got tangled in the lights. She must have gone for a run to get free.

Though she is denying any knowledge of the light incident, we believe this is the suspect.

Now that the postal workers are back to work. I have started making cookies. I may have to make more before I can actually mail care parcels to the west.

These are hermit cookies made with the leftover fruit from the fruit cake.

I did some other knitting.

This is the finished Santa Hat using the pattern from the movie Red One. It is a quick and easy knit. The yarn is Brava from Knit Picks.

I also finished a mugmat that I found in my UFO bin. It has gone to a friend with a mug and hot chocolate bombs.

Last night I started knitting a hat with some gradient yarn, I finished the cast on only to find a knot, and the join was not in sequence. I cut the first piece off and started again, only to find a second splice out of sequence. 

Okay, this isn't going to work. I will find another ball and start again, hopefully with better results.

More Knitting

 I just can't seem to stop knitting. I have finished 2 pairs of mitts. in the past week.

I made a quick pair of toddler mitts for a collection of warn hats and mitts for a local Woman's shelter.

These were made from the leftovers from a pair of lady's mitts.

I also finished the double mitts with some soft grey liners. I love the contrast in the size of the two mitts.

After those finishes, I started a winter hat.

It is knit from the pattern that was used to make the Santa Hat for the movie Red One. I know nothing about the movie, but the hat story is in the description on Ravelry. The pattern is currently free.

https://ravel.me/rustic-red-one-hat

I know somebody who I think will enjoy the hat.

Meanwhile, I have started my holiday decorating, slowly. It took awhile to find the Advent Candles. I have LED candles, so the cats don't catch fire. After some searching some batteries were also found.

I also made mince tarts, though not from scratch.

Not the tidiest, but they were good. 

With luck, the tree will go up this week. Sometimes, I think by the time it all gets put up it, it's time to take it down.

Twas a Month Before Christmas

And my knitting is progressing.

The outer mittens for the next pair of Double Mitts are finished.

 The first inner mitt is started. 

I did some sewing in the past week. This is a Reading Pillow. I made it with some supplies from my stash. The pillow form was "pouffier" than I expected so I had a bit of a challenge getting the cover on. I imagine it will flatten out before the cover needs washing. You put a book in the pocket. It was given with 2 new books as a birthday gift, and very well received.

My favourite yarn shop had a sale (a rare event) and I ordered some goodies. Since Canada Post is currently on strike, I picked up my order today.

I think I showed great restraint, and I have plans for all of it. I also took the opportunity to step into the bead shop in the same mall to pick up some beads for one planned project.

The colour is called Seafoam and they are turquoise with a gold lining. 

Meanwhile, sometimes you just manage to get a lucky picture. On Saturday mornings, we make a cooked breakfast. This was my table mate last Saturday.

Ever hopeful Emme!

Time to Start Planning

 I seem to have gotten lost for awhile. First, if I commented on your blog lately, Google has decided that I am now a noreply-comments blogger. I am trying to find a solution but I haven't found one yet. Oddly, it shows my name on my comment but not my email. My email is on my profile so I can be found if you want to reply to me.

Edit: Google posted something about the no reply. Not sure how it will work. We will have to wait and see. 

https://support.google.com/blogger/thread/307556668/blogger-has-changed-where-all-of-my-blogger-s-comment-coming-in-email-notifications-are-now-no-reply?hl=en

I have been knitting, and not blogging lately. I have also been doing more things outside the house than I had been doing. Let's look at my best outing of the month.

Engineers in Canada have a ceremony when they finish their course work and become working engineers. At that time, they take their obligation to be moral and ethical in all their activities, and are presented with an Iron Ring by a previously "obligated" engineer. When I got my ring, there were only 4 women in my class. Of course, my ring was presented by a man. I always hoped to present a ring to another woman, and this fall, I did just that. My young friend was my knitting student some years ago, and is about to graduate as a Computer Engineer. We made sure our nail polish coordinated. 

My sewing activities have been restricted to dog bandanas. However, the Northern Lights ones are really cute.

I am starting to plan some Christmas gifts, and I need to get sewing. I was asked for some pillow cases, and I have a purse to finish. I also want to make some new knitting project bags. Add to that the mending that is piling up, I have sewing to do,

My cowl is progressing. It takes a lot of counting. It isn't TV knitting.

I have finished a pair of Double Mitts. They are wool on the outside and alpaca on the inside.

I did a stash dive looking for colourful yarn for the next pair.

I chose the skein at the top of the picture. The colourway is "Vegas, Baby". The liner will be grey.

Mudd found himself an excellent box, just the right size.  I wonder how soon before he finds a new one.

Aurora Watching

For a few days, around October 10, the Aurora Borealis created a glorious light show that was seen in most of North America (and Europe). 

I live on the edge of a major Canadian city, where light pollution makes it so the sky isn't really ever dark, but this is what we saw.

 I want a nail polish in that colour!

My son, in Northern Alberta, sent his sky at the same time.

Much further north and away from any big cities.

So, I got some fabric that help my granddogs remember the lights.

I am making them bandanas.

I am also making them Halloween bandanas.

This is called Little Tricksters.

Fall is here, but last week, I got one last treat of late raspberries at the farm stand. 

My last summer breakfast until spring, raspberries, granola and Greek yogourt.

It was a chilly morning, so I added a DIY Cafe Mocha.

I just add milk free hot cocoa powder to brewed coffee and add some "squirty" cream.

The trees are at their best. winter will be here soon. It is already snowing in the north.

So I started a winter cowl in the same colours. This is a really mindful project, requiring a lot of concentration.

I am actually further along than this, but it will be and interesting knit. The yarn is called "French River- PEI" from Ancient Arts Yarn. The pattern is called Shocktopus and is by Kim O'Brien Evans.

I am continuing to sort through my craft supplies. I have a bag for the garbage, today, as well as 4 bags of donations to groups and friends. I saw somebody refer it it as Swedish "I Will Have To Move, Someday" Cleaning, and I think that is a great description.

October, Already

 

It is that time, again. The leaves are starting to change colour. The air has a chill in the mornings. It is the time that knitters know as Woolie Season.

I finished my September socks on the last day of the month.

They are nearly perfectly identical. I am calling them Posh Socks since the colours look like a Burberry scarf.

I had an appointment on Friday at the clinic where I know there will always be a wait. I cast on a mitten the night before, and I finished the cuff while I waited. The wait is much more tolerable when you can knit.

The pair of mitts is now finished.

My goal with the sock knitting was to get the lid closed in my sock yarn bin.

Mission accomplished. I do have a bag of odds and ends that I know I will never use, so I am giving those away. There is still quite a bit of yarn in the bin, but I can see it all now.

I discovered at the bottom of the bin, a lone sock. It doesn't have a mate, and there is no yarn to make a mate. I have no memory of knitting it. I think it must have been very early in my sock knitting journey because it is knit toe up with a darted heel. I nearly always do my socks top down, and I never liked a darted heel. I think it is destined to become a sock puppet.

I feel the pull of sewing again. I saw some interesting fabric awhile ago. It was a custom print, so I've been waiting for it to come. It arrived recently, and I am considering what it should be.

It is "solar punk" fabric. It is one of those fabrics where every time I look at it, I see something else. It is canvas, so it will definitely become a bag (or two or three).

I am about to start my annual sort through my stuff. I always start with good intentions but get waylaid. Maybe I'll get a bit further this time. Wish me luck!

Some Knitting Advice

 I learned to knit when I was about 6. Since my mother didn't knit, I had multiple teachers, and books as my guides. Some things I just had to figure out for myself.

Interestingly, the thing I knit the most is socks and my sock knitting is entirely self taught. I bought a book, then another book, and worked it out from there. My first pair looked a bit odd, and I didn't think anyone would wear them. However, my big kid thought they were perfect and wore them happily. So now I am a sock knitter. 

One thing I was slow to learn, was how to keep track of the notions I use over and over again. I have more than one project bag and they could be in any of them, or some in one and some in another. 

Last year, I made this little Dumpling bag. It sat for awhile, wanting to be useful. Then I realized it was the perfect size for my sock notions.

It easily holds my little scissors, my tape measure, the case with my yarn needles, a little double ended crochet hook, and a bodkin. The case is small enough to fit into my project bag. Now I can quickly finish a sock and cast on the second sock of the pair.

It is currently moving between my sock bag, and my mitten bag. 

This is the start of the September socks.

These are in DK weight sock yarn. They knit up quickly.

This is the current mitten.

And the pair from the last blog are finished.

The needles are flying!

We are enjoying the last truly summer weather. The days are pleasantly warm and the nights are cool. The garden is flourishing.

The bees are really enjoying the sedum.