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.

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

Washed Out Canada Day

 Although we live in the National Capital, we leave the big show downtown to the visitors, and enjoy something quieter.

Our favourite little Canadian was dressed in her patriotic bandana. She was planning a day in her pool.

Meanwhile, off in the official celebration, our Prime Minister announced that Canada would be in Eurovision, next year. 

However, just after 1:30 in the afternoon, the sky started to boom. The rain started to fall. It was very dark. The people at the downtown festivities were told to take shelter. The storm went on for hours. The main highway, just east of us, became a lake. In the end we set a new record for a single day in July, of 118 mm of rain. 

In the late afternoon, I saw a rainbow. It was rather faint. In a few minutes the clouds turned dark again, and the rain started again. 

I spent some time, playing with a new knitting pattern.

This is Floral iCord Garland, a practice pattern for Floral Bouquet Shawl, both by Xandy Peters. 

The sun is out today, and it is very hot, and of course, very humid. I'm hiding inside. 

I'm making progress on a new purse. I have to keep reminding myself that even 15 minutes is progress. I hope to have it done by the end of the weekend.

Have a good weekend. 

It's June

 After about 3 weeks of spring weather, we suddenly turned to summer. We have been having weather around 30C. I am not a fan, and it makes my sewing space much too warm. We have a couple more days of heat, in the coming week, then it is predicted to be more moderate.

I have nearly finished my Sunshine Crossbody Bag, and it ended up bigger than I wanted.  I love to look of it, but I wanted something just for making quick trips and errands.

This is the front.

The back has no zipper.

Lots of pockets, for a phone, cards, and other necessities.

It also has a leash for keys.

After I finish the pressing and add a strap, it will be off to its new home. 

Emmaline's Bags has a new wallet pattern, and when they offered a kit with everything except the thread, I just had to get one.

You buy the pattern separate, because you can use it again and again. The kit is a great idea if you don't have a lot of vinyl or cork scraps and want to make one. The pattern looks easy, so I can see making more than one.

I finished my baby socks.

The yarn is leftovers from a pair of socks earlier this year. I was surprised when the socks turned out to be identical.

The new Quilt The North box arrived today. I am among the first to get it, I expect, so I'll wait to post my unboxing, however, one item in the box is exciting.

There is a zipper! This won't be the usual Quilt the North Project.

I have a couple of handbags to finish in the next while, but I am excited to do this project, too.

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.