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.

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.

Grandparenting

 I read many years ago, that anthropologists think that older women have long had a place in our world as the providers of childcare for their grandchildren. These days, it seems to be the way. Three to five days a week, we are running Camp Nana and Grandad, It seriously cuts into my sewing time.

Last Friday, we went on an adventure to a Day Lily Festival at a local nursery. I'm all for free adventures.

Here is Daisy, enjoying the new sights and sounds. It's a big field. She is the little dark blob at the end of the leash.

The lilies were lovely, although a bit heat stressed.

They also had outdoor art for sale. This was my favourite. A bit more than our yard needs, so I'll stick to giant pinwheels from Canadian Tire.

We stopped for a little picnic on the way home. at the Metcalfe Geoheritage Park, in Mississippi Mills. We got to learn about the rocks that form out landscape.

Interesting limestone examples, with lots of fossils.

Grandparenting has left lots of time for knitting.

I knit one sock last week, and got an immediate start on the second. These are a late birthday present for one of the Alberta crowd,

On my day off, I did manage to get my sewing space tidied, and ready for the next project. I have two projects kitted, missing bits ordered, and I hope to get a bit of sewing done this weekend. 

Kate

Apple Blossoms

 

The apple trees are blooming. The backyard is perfumed in the late afternoon. Hopefully, we have lots of bees to pollinate them and give us food for the birds over the winter.

The weather has been crazy. We have had frost warnings with near freezing nights, after a couple of days in the high 20's. It's hard to know how to dress.

I started a shawl, when we first got Daisy and the Olympics were on TV. It was slow going, with a puppy to keep an eye on, so it pretty much got forgotten. Last week, I decided it was time to let it go, so I frogged it, and will use the yarn for a different shawl. 

I started a new one, and it is going much better.

The pattern is easy to follow, and I'm enjoying it.

I've also been working on a new purse for me.

This is the front. I showed the alterations I was making to the pattern on my last blog. Things are mostly fitting together. It's amazing how the bright rainbow zipper just blends into that fabric.

I was asked for baby socks. I need to keep a pair in stock at all times, apparently. I discovered that I had started a pair, for waiting room knitting, that I had forgotten about. I'll finish them and start a new pair for the stock. My friends keep having grandbabies and great grandbabies.

I will close with Princess Daisy, sitting on her throne, looking very regal. The only thought in her mind is " I think I smell BBQ'ed chicken."

Daisy and I wish you a happy week.

Tulip Time

 It's Victoria Day weekend in Canada. In Ottawa, it is Tulip Festival time. Since the end of WWII we have covered the place with tulips. This week, Princess Margriet of the Netherlands was here again, to enjoy our tulips. If you didn't know, Princess Margriet was born in Ottawa in 1943. 

Here are some of my tulips.

Not much sewing done this week.

We had two of our big trees removed. They were diseased and we felt that they were unsafe. We were sad to see them go.

As you can see, the replacement was planted about 5 years ago, knowing this was going to happen. It is a native Basswood and will start to spread, now that it has more sun.

The machine that took the trees down is amazing. The operator stands on the ground, and a crane arm with a large clamp and circular blade can grab the tree, and cut off the piece it is holding. Then the cut piece is lowered gently to the ground. This seems so much safer than older methods.

I went shopping for new shoes. This is what I wanted.

They didn't have them in my size, so this is what I got.

Why are grownup shoes so boring? I want shoes that sparkle when I walk.

I finished my April socks.

And started my May ones.

They have a different heel, I'm waiting to see how they fit.

The pattern pieces for my new bag have all been altered, and I need to get the fabric cut out and sewn.

They are threatening weather in the high 20's this week. I have long felt like spring is just about 3 weeks, here, at the beginning of May. Then, poof, it is summer. Hopefully we will have a day to clean up the sunroom, before it gets too hot.

Where Did You Get That Bag?

 I have carried bags I made for myself for a very long time. I like that they have the pockets that I need, the bag is a suitable size for me, and the fabrics I use are a reflection of my personality. 

However, out in the wild, I get the most interesting response. The conversation goes something like this:

"Where did you get that bag?"

"I made it."

"You're kidding!"

Very weird. Why wouldn't I make it? Where do they think bags come from? Magical elves?

Oh, well. I recently looked at my everyday clutch and decided that it was looking a little worn. Apparently I made it 3 years ago. So it is time for a new bag. Something bright for the spring that is still playing hide and seek.

I was playing in my stash. I recently sorted my fabrics again, to put themes together. At the same time, I pulled some fabric to give to a friend for her latest charity project.

In this box are cats, EMS, animals, Laurel Burch, and crafting themed fabric. I have another 2 boxes this size, though the second one isn't full.

I started putting fabrics together, that I liked.

Take 1:

 It has potential, but that isn;t quite it.

Take 2:

Maybe, but I think I want something a bit brighter. I have some cork that might work. I think I'll keep playing.

I finished some knitting this week.

Baby socks and one adult sock. The second adult sock is approaching the heel.

The flowers are trying to appear.

Snowdrops and crocus on a damp and  grey day. The forsythia is starting to get a yellow tinge.

Daisy is growing, too.

Her days as a lap dog are numbered. 

This is the dining room conservatory.

Six Hibiscus flowers opened this morning. They are obviously ready for it to be spring. 

Begonia

 Sometimes, an idea comes together quickly and easily.

A friend wanted a small backpack with a drawstring top for her spring walks. She asked if  I knew of a pattern. I went looking in my usual sources and found exactly what she was looking for at Blue Calla Patterns, the Begonia Backpack.

I realized that I had most everything I needed in my stash, so I decided a quick little project would take my mind off the snow.

The bag is finished, mailed and received, so let me show you.

I was really pleased with how it turned out.

The zipper pulls line up in the centre, and the fabric is matched across the zipper.

I remembered to add my label. The bottom of the bag is cork fabric.

I added a cork overlay to the interior pocket.

There is a carabiner for her keys. I didn't take a picture but there is Daisy fabric lining the interior pocket.

All of the fabric was in my stash, along with the zippers. 

I also started a new sock, this week.

A plain vanilla sock in some pretty yarn from Area 51 Fibres. 

Not much sign of spring outside, although most of the snow has disappeared. However, my dining room plants think we need some bright flowers.

The weather for this week is forecast to be grey and rainy. A good week to sew.