August Squirrel Moments

 August has flown by. I had big plans to finish a wall hanging and a paper pieced project. The highlight of my month, instead, was the Virtual Pride Walk for Bruce House, when six church friends joined me on a walk around the neighbourhood, and for a social time after, all carefully distanced. 

The walk was very successful. We raised $750 which will be matched by a corporate sponsor. It is good to know that while big fundraisers like galas are cancelled, it is still possible for individuals to make a difference in their community.

So far, I have made 20 Hand Sanitizer Pouches, and I have orders for a few more. These were the last ones I finished.

I also changed the cover on my ironing board. I bought a new one at IKEA months ago, but it took spilling coffee on the old one to get me to change it. 

This week's Drop Everything And Make it moment came when I heard that a good friend of my son had her baby. I had been told that the baby was due in October, but apparently that date had been changed. Mom and baby are fine (Dad is probably in shock), but the baby gift needed to be finished, immediately.

So, I grabbed some fabric and made some bibs to go with the already finished baby socks. There are fishes, because the baby is a Maritimer.  There is ambulances because her mother trained with my son as an Advanced Care Paramedic. There is Jyn Eros from Star Wars, because little girls need strong female role models (and her parents are Star Wars fans). The bibs were sewn, the parcel was packed and they were in the mail, in very short order. 

This week, I have been enjoying a juvenile Blue Jay, in my backyard. He (or she) has figured out that we put peanuts on the windowsills for the birds. The windowsill was empty, so he is making his request at the window.

His grownup feathers are slowly coming in, while his baby feathers are still visible in places. I am referring to him as my baby pterodactyl, although he is losing that look, quickly. You can just see the start of what will become his crest.

My grubby windows made me realize that the window washing crew hasn't called to tell me when they are coming. So, I dropped everything and sent them an email, asking for an appointment. 

I am linking up to Sandra at Musings of a Menopausal Melon - mmm quilts.

Raising Some Hope

 I don't often mention this, but I have an auto-immune disease, that requires that I take very potent immuno-suppression to live a "normal" life. This also means that during Covid-19, I am basically housebound. I have really enjoyed summer because I have been able to enjoy some socially distanced outdoor visits with friends. I am also getting very good at Zoom. 

I am very fortunate to have family and good friends that make sure that I can get everything I need and most everything I want. I am excellent at internet shopping. I have mastered curbside pickup. 

So, where is this going? Not everyone who is immuno-compromised is a fortunate as I am. Bruce House is an Ottawa charity that provides support for those living with HIV/AIDS. I have made donations to them for many years, not significant donations, but donations. This year, much of their fundraising has dried up. PRIDE events are a major source of funding for Bruce House. Since PRIDE events have been cancelled, I decided to step up my fundraising, So, I am participating in the National Capital Pride Run/Walk. I'm in the walking part! I will walk 2.5 km around my neighbourhood (it's on the honour system) and I am asking for people to sponsor me. My goal is to raise $500 for Bruce House. These donations will be matched by a corporate sponsor.

I decided to gift my sponsors with one of my lovely handmade hand sanitizer pouches. If you would like one, I will give you one for a donation of at least $20.

As of today, I have them in these fabrics. There are limited numbers of each. 

I also have cut out these fabrics, which should be pouches by Friday.

I have lots of fabric, so I will even entertain requests, if I have something suitable. I do have more cat fabric. The dogs are in short supply at the moment. I will not be buying any fabric for these, I'm working entirely from stash. So if you tell me you want something in a green stripe, you might be out of luck. If you haven't been here before, my taste in fabric is kind of vibrant. 

The short pouches hold a 60ml bottle of hand sanitizer. 

The taller ones will hold a 100ml. bottle.

They all have a magnetic snap and a clip to attach it to your purse, backpack or your belt loop.

If you would like to help people living with HIV, and you would like one of my hand sanitizer pouches, you can donate here.

https://ncpr2020.itsyourrace.com/donate/CATHERINECHAMBERLAIN-2273670

If you make a donation, contact me through my profile, on the right sidebar, and let me know you donated and what fabric you would like. We can arrange delivery.

If you just want to make your own pouch, you can find the information about the pattern in my previous post, here.

Some Knitting, and Other Finishes

Baby things are just about my favourite things to knit. They are small, quick and fun. Just tell me that there is a baby coming into you life and I am off.

So, today, there is a baby shower in Calgary. I wasn't invited (which is fine, because I couldn't have gone) but my friend, the new grandma, was happy to have me send a gift.

So, first up, I made a Baby Vertebrae Sweater. I've made several New Born Vertebrae Sweaters. It is a free pattern, that you can find here. 

 

It was a very dull day when I took the pictures, and the flash just seemed to wash out the colour, so this is the best picture I got.

The yarn is a Bernat DK yarn, no longer available, that was tucked into my stash.

I also, of course, had to make a Charlotte Hat.

The baby will be born in Calgary in the fall. She is going to need a hat.

So this is what I sent by Xpresspost this week. It arrived yesterday afternoon, just in time for the shower,

I also finished my latest socks.

They almost match! The yarn is a hand dyed stripe I picked up at a yarn festival, this fall. I am doing pretty well at finding what I need to knit with, in my stash. I've only bought one skein since March. And my Christmas box is slowly filling. 

I also started another batch of Hand Sanitizer Pouches. Since not everyone likes cats, this time we have Moose.

When they are holding a bottle of hand sanitizer, they are a bit heavy for a zipper pull.

After days of rain, the weather has turned back to something more seasonal (28C instead of 34C), and we are enjoying it.

A New Pattern

Last week, Spencer Ogg Patterns released a new quick pattern. It was for a hand sanitizer pouch that clips to your bag or belt loop. I think nearly everyone has a small bottle in their purse or backpack, these days.

The pattern is very inexpensive, and if you belong to her Facebook group, it is free.

https://www.spencerogg.com/product/hand-sanitizer-pod-pdf-pattern-and-video-tutorial/

I ordered some hardware, and dug into my stash and made some.

It has a clip to snap to the strap or zipper of a bag.

It has a magnetic snap so the bottle won't fall out.

It comfortably holds a 60ml bottle of hand sanitizer.

And since I was on a roll, I made 5.

I got all five out of a 9 1/2 inch strip of fabric and and a 5 1/2 inch strip of lining. I fused the interfacing to the strips before I started, so I could quickly make the 5 pouches.

I plan to give them as gifts to people who support me in an upcoming charity event. I think I might need to make some in other fabrics.

Thought you would like to see the Arts and Socks Security Department.

Misty was guarding me from any marauding squirrels or birds who might decide to come through the screen.

Hats!

Sandra, over at mmmquilts has a monthly link up DrEAMi (Drop Everything and Make It) where she asks to see our squirrels, the projects we just had to do.

After my mask manifesto last week, I decided I needed to make my grandson a new hat. He comes to play with us once a week, and Dad never remembers to bring a hat for him. The point of his visit is to play outside while socially distancing, something that is very difficult in his townhouse. So, he needs a hat. He has been wearing one of mine, but I thought I'd have the fun of making a new one just for him.

The fabric is from a line called Purely Canadian, Eh! Summer BBQ. Let's face it, nothing says summer in Canada like a bear cooking salmon on the grill, or a moose riding a paddle board.

Bear tried it on, but says it is too big for him. Funny, the grandson's hat used to fit better. 

This is the side with the moose playing in the water.  Yes, the hat is reversible. 

Fits him, much better than it does Bear. The best part is that he likes it. Now if we can just keep it on his head!

I actually made two hats (technically 4 because you put one hat inside the other to make them reversible), and one is on its way to Edmonton, to adorn the head of another little boy.

And because this is suppose to be about squirrels, Doug would like to know where the squirrels are.

Moving Along

Recently, another quilter that I know (not a close friend) asked if I had made masks. Then she asked how many I had made, and proceeded to tell me how many she had made. I didn't know it was a competition.

I have made masks for friends and family. I have even donated some to a charity that supports homeless youth.

This one is mine. Since I mostly stay home, I only need one.

I don't enjoy making masks. I find them boring, kind of like mending. There is little creative potential. I find that they have taken a lot of time away from my more artistic endeavors. I found myself doing other stuff (also not creative) to avoid making masks.

So, for now, I am done making masks. I have put away my box with the patterns and supplies. I am going to do something more fun. I am calling it self-care.

I saw a project earlier this week that I wanted to try. I ordered fabric for it on Wednesday, and it arrived yesterday. Thank you, Funky Monkey Fabrics, for the great service. I can't get groceries that fast!

It is washed, and laying on the ironing board. The pattern is printed. Lets see if I can get this done quickly. It is going to be fun, and funky, and yes, those are bananas on the fabric.

In the evenings, I am knitting baby things. I know two babies that are on the way, in the fall, so they will need to kept warm.

I am making a Baby Vertebrae Sweater in DK yarn this time. I found it in my stash and wanted to use it.

The Cat Came Back

In case you didn't have kids when I did, this is the literary reference:
https://youtu.be/J2XgXStPms4
And now you will have it stuck in your head, all day.

You might remember Mystique, our foster cat from April last year until January this year. She is a sweet little girl, but her complex heath problems proved a barrier to her being adopted. We all rejoiced when she found a home, after Christmas. After Mystique, we took a break from fostering. We knew our beloved Dolly was getting increasingly frail and we felt we didn't have the energy to take on a foster.

Last week, I got a note from the shelter, telling us that she had been returned to the shelter, and could we please refoster her? So she is back at our house. She is now officially Misty, although we sort of called her that all along.

She doesn't look too upset to be back. She came in, checked to make sure everything was where she left it, and has settled in with us again.

I started a shawl, in May, using yarn I ordered on impulse, right after everything shut down here. I saw it on Instagram, from a hand dyer in Edmonton, and it called out to me. I clicked the button and it was on its way.

This is what it looked like in the skein.

It is turquoise, hot pink, and purple. Why do cameras hate purple?

And this is what it looks like as a shawl.

That pattern is Turtle Lake by Melinda Measor and the yarn is Allison Barnes Yarn Basic Sock in "Ask My Pronouns Respectfully". The shawl used slightly less than one skein. These times demand yarn in bright fun colours!