Snow Day

The members of my quilt groups got an email last night, telling us to stay home and sew, since today was suppose to be a snow day. The snow was not bad as advertised, with most of it passing south of here. However, I did follow directions, and had a sew day. By the end of the day, I had this.

My Polaris quilt top is finished. I was pleased with how well it went together. It still needs a backing and some quilting, as well as a binding. That will come. I have to finish it, so I can try the blueberry chocolate bar that came with the the quilt kit.

I finished another hat.

This is the Martine Hat, a free pattern on Ravelry. The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Tonal which has been languishing in my stash for several years.

I have gone back to working on a scarf I started about 6 months ago. I am down to 3 knitting WIPs. I am working hard to finish those before I accidentally cast on something else.

I had helpers this afternoon, while I was trying to take pictures.

After a very cold weekend, the basement is the warmest place to hang out. It is suppose to warm up and snow some more. I'm tired of boots and mitts, and scarves, already and there is still at least two more months of winter. Sigh...At least I have warm hobbies.

Fraternal Twins

 I was asked to make two beach bags for a friend's granddaughters. Since it will be awhile before we have any beach days, I went toward a tote bag. My friend gave me some cotton fabric from her stash that both young women liked, and I added some water resistant canvas, that I got from Emmaline Bags. 

https://emmalinebags.com/collections/canvas-all-kinds/products/water-resistant-polyester-2-2-twill-450-denier-polyurethane-coated-back

Here are the finished bags.

The one on the right actually has blue canvas, but the camera turned it, and the wall behind it, grey. 

The bags have recessed zippers in the top.

They have slip pockets inside, a long with a lanyard for their keys.

The slip pockets has a label describing my thoughts as I finished,

I made the slip pockets a bit larger than I meant to make it. I must change the measurements in my book to shorten it.

I also finished my Christmas socks.

Like the bags, the socks are fraternal twins. They nearly match. The yarn is from Area 51, an Alberta hand dyer.

With winter settled in, the cats were thrilled the other day when their bird feeder was visited by a collection of finches and juncos.

there is only a junco visible in the picture. The cats are keen bird watcher in the winter, and remind us if the feeder is empty, or we didn't put peanuts out.

Purse # 4

 After 3 more days of work, I finished the requested purse for my friend's granddaughter. This is the finished bag.

The fabric was supplied by Grandma, and I supplied the hardware, zippers and strap. I needed to deliver the bag, so I forgot to get a picture of the strap, or the zipper. You can kind of see the zipper in this picture.

The zipper and strap are rainbow leopard print. The interior has big polka dots and small ones.

My friend was thrilled with how it turned out. I added a different stabilizer to the flap and adjusted the lining seams to give a smoother fit to the lining. I hope its new owner enjoys it.

I saw a pattern for a tiny sock and decided I needed to do one. I already have a tiny sweater for my tree, why not a tiny sock?

It is very tiny. It is laying next to a 6" DPN, so it is about 3" long.

I started a new pair of adult socks, shown above, then realized that it was December and I needed to make Christmas socks. The Christmas socks are coming nicely. I should have them done in time to wear, this Christmas.

Finally, Emme would like to show you her bestest spring. She hopes you will think it is lovely, too. She is also hoping she gets some new springs in her stocking because her other springs all seem to have disappeared.

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.

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.

It's Finished!

 Earlier this year, I finished the Celosia Bag. 

On Thursday, I finally finished its twin.

The sun came out briefly, so I could get some better pictures.

The new bag is for a young man, who wanted a bag to carry his essentials for the day. It is made in waxed canvas with a waterproof nylon pack cloth lining.

It is all navy, which was hard for me, because I love colour. I added grey zippers (because that is what I had.

The bag has a navy cross body strap with a side release buckle,  Its new owner selected black hardware. 

The outer pocket has a large slip pocket.

The strap ends are covered in natural cork fabric (I could resist a bit of contrast.)

Inside, there is another large slip pocket.

My label is hiding inside!

The zippered pocket has a cork overlay. 

This bag was a huge learning experience for me. The waxed canvas is marked by scribing the wax with a sharp point. Neither fabric can be ironed so the seams have to be folded with a seam roller. I realized that I needed to do the overlay for the inset zipper because the usual zipper facing wasn't going to work in the nylon.  You can't use pins because they leave marks in the fabric. You can't really take out stitches without leaving a mark, so you have to try to get things right the first time. I hope he enjoys this bag, and uses it for a long time. It should be nearly indestructible. 

My machine and I are ready for a nice project in cotton. I dove into my stash and found this piece.

Look at all those glorious colours! Some rainbow hardware, and a bright lining will finish it off nicely.

My baby bonnet from last week is nearly finished.

It looks like a bonnet now, and only needs a couple of edgings.

I have a new fur grandbaby. Welcome to the family to Poe. His human "brother" is very excited.

Still Chugging Away

 I had some fun the other day, with yarn I plan to use for a summer knit along. 

These are all pictures of the same two skeins, photographed under different lights. The top left is with indirect light from an east window in the middle of the morning. Top right is the same location but with a piece of blue tissue under the skeins. The bottom left is a south east window, with skylights and a white table.  The bottom right is in full direct sun, None of them look like the colours I see. 

I started my June socks, and got the first sock finished. I decided since it was summer, that I should make short leg socks, with a cotton, rayon and nylon blend. The lighting is not great, but the sock is cute.

It is kind of an adult version of my usual baby sock.

I was also asked to make a Princess Charlotte Bonnet. I've lost track of how many of these I have made. They are cute and not hard to make. This was my progress over the weekend.

The pink tubing will help with all the stiches that need to be picked up.

The waxed canvas Celosia bag is nearing completion. I am at the hardest part, putting the whole thing together. Today, I got the lining sewn to the gusset pieces.

It looks rather strange, since the bag is completely inside out at this stage. The exterior is next, then all that is left are the straps.

Look what Costco brought, with my order of coffee and oat milk. Hi, Emme!

 

The weather has turned hot again. I made most of supper, early this morning, before it got too hot. Just a bit of assembly left. 

Suddenly, June

 May was a month of appointments, gathering supplies for the garden, visiting with friends, and some how, very little sewing. My 20 minute pledge failed. 

I did keep up with my knitting.

The socks for May's self imposed Sock of the Month are finished. The yarn is Regia, designed by Arne and Carlos. Lots of purple and blue. 

There are tiny bits of colour that look like flowers on a vine when the yarn is knitted. such a sweet surprise. This picture shows the colours better.

Another pair of baby socks, knit from the leftovers of the February socks. These are going to a friend for her new grandson.

For Mother's Day we had a tea party. One should get out the Royal Albert cake plate every now and again, even if the desserts are packaged cookies. (The Jaffa cakes were lovely.)

We were running an errand one evening and stepped out to discover that there was a duck on the lawn.

Ms. Mallard was just enjoying the peace and quiet and didn't mind us quietly heading to the car.

We did the annual sun room clean out, and the cats have their conversation nook back.

They seem to enjoy the nice weather in their own chairs.

Hopefully the sewing will get back on track this week.