Going Silent

I've been really busy with work, namely - funding proposals, hosting a Luncheon for 200 people, and travelling around the province giving workshops and speeches. Starting this Thursday my schedule showed signs of slowing down, so I could get my life back. But, just when I planned to start blogging more regularly, life threw a curve ball. A few hours ago I found out I have a detached retina, and must have eye surgery tomorrow morning. I'm having laser surgery to fix a tear, plus that procedure where they inject a gas bubble into your eye so it can push the retina back into place. I pleaded to be put to sleep for it so I don't have to watch needles coming towards my eye, and they agreed. Whew! Anyway, I'll be unable to read, knit, sew, etc for about a week, and can't drive for two weeks. Yikes! My back-tack package will be mailed when I'm on my way to the hospital.
I'll be back!

Back Tack!!

I'm in - are you?
Go here for the fun

Clapotis - the slim version

The yarn I used is Phoenix soy silk from South West Trading Company in the colour called I Candy. This yarn is fabulous to work with. It is very easy on the hands and the colours are vibrant. It is a ribbon yarn, so when I was using it I felt like I was knitting with shoelaces, but in a good way :) The stitches dropped with ease. My scarf drapes beautifully. I only had two skeins of the Phoenix, so i made Clapotis slimmer than the pattern, but I love it anyway.

Easter Boxes

I made these boxes to hold the Easter treats for my sister and her family. They were a hit! Fabric boxes are from this book.

Hint: use Fast2Fuse instead of the regular Timtex. This eliminates a step because Fast2Fuse has the fusible webbing on both sides.

Button Bag

Isn't she cute? This is a free pattern from here , at Mason Dixon knitting.

I used Lamb's Pride by Brown Sheep, the bulky version, DOUBLED. That's right, the yarn is doubled. So, this knits up really, really, quickly into a sturdy bag. I use it to carry my lunch and my knitting to work whenever I don't need to have the corporate briefcase look.

Cute as a button!

Hmmm. Maybe I should go back to school...

The first few questions are very easy but the last few are very difficult.

You can take the test here

Advanced You scored 100% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 93% Advanced, and 61% Expert!

You have an extremely good understanding of beginner, intermediate, and advanced level commonly confused English words, getting at least 75% of each of these three levels' questions correct. This is an exceptional score. Remember, these are commonly confused English words, which means most people don't use them properly. You got an extremely respectable score. Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it! For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

'Wool Gathering"

I'm reading a book by Rose Tremain called "Music & Silence". It is historical fiction set in the court of Denmark in the 1600's. This passage appears on page 10:



Queen Sofie ... loved to be rowed in a little boat to an island "and there sit in the sunshine and indulge in secret in her passion for knitting. This activity had been proscribed throughout the land as tending to induce in women an idle trance of mind, in which their proper thoughts would fly away and be replaced by fancy. Men called this state 'wool gathering'. That the wool itself could be fashioned into useful articles of haberdashery such as stockings or night bonnets made them no less superstitiously afraid of the knitting craze. They believed that any knitted night bonnet might contain among its million stitches the longings of their wives that they could never satisfy and which in consequence would give them nightmares of the darkest kind."

Flowers are forever

Experimenting with Reverse Bloom wash cloths from the Weekend Knitting book.



The peach and cream flower is made of very inexpensive dishcloth cotton, which I dislike because my fingers hurt while knitting with it. However, the finished product is soft.



The bright pink flower to the left of it is made with Rowan cotton tape. (colour 549) I modified the pattern to make each petal smaller because I was worried about running out of yarn. The flower you see here took exactly one skein of the cotton tape. This was much easier to knit with than the dish cloth cotton and is very soft to use. I got the Rowan on sale, but still it was 6 times more expensive than the dish cloth cotton.



The tiny blue flower WIP is made with a very thin silky cotton by Schoeller Esslinger called "Palma". I bought it for really cheap at a big box craft store (shhhh). I think it is discontinued. The gauge is much smaller, obviously, so the flower will be smaller. This suits me just fine, since the others are a bit big to use as face cloths. The cost of this yarn is between the Rowan and the dish cloth cotton.



The pattern in the book is extremely clear and well written. These flowers are a joy to knit, especially when storm-stayed due to blizzard conditions. In fact, we are under a blizzard warning again today. This will be the 3rd major storm in 8 days. Hmmm, it must be winter :)

"W" stands for "wrong"

Each mosaic square is a photo of an American service man or woman who has been killed in Iraq, in the war that violates international law. The original mosaic in larger sizes can be found here:

Canadian, eh

You Know You're From Canada When...

You're not offended by the term, "Homo Milk." You understand the phrase, "Could you pass me a serviette, I just dropped my poutine, on the chesterfield." You eat chocolate bars, not candy bars. You drink pop, not soda. You know what a Mickey and 2-4 mean. You don't care about the fuss with Cuba. It's a cheap place to go for your holidays, with good cigars. You know that a pike is a type of fish, not part of a highway. You drive on a highway, not a freeway. You have Canadian Tire money in your kitchen drawers. You know that Casey and Finnegan were not part of a Celtic musical group. You get excited whenever an American television show mentions Canada. You brag to Americans that: Shania Twain, Jim Carrey, Celine Dion and many more are Canadians. You know that the C.E.O. of American Airlines is a Canadian! You know what a touque is. You know that the last letter of the English alphabet is always pronounced "Zed" not "Zee". You understand the Labatt Blue commercials. You know how to pronounce and spell "Saskatchewan." You perk up when you hear the theme song from "Hockey Night in Canada." You were in grade 12, not the 12th grade. "Eh?" is a very important part of your vocabulary and more polite than, "Huh?" Winter. Whenever you want it. And then some. There's German food, Italian food, Chinese food, Armenian food, American food, but NO Canadian food. You call a "mouse" a "moose". You like the Americans a little because they don't want Quebec either. Contests run by anyone other than the government have "skill-testing questions" that winners must answer correctly before they can claim a prize. Everything is labelled in English and French. Milk comes in plastic bags as well as cartons and plastic jugs. Mountain Dew has no caffeine. You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Canada.

Get Your Own "You Know You're From" Meme Here





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Lucky Winner

There were only three entrants in the yarn draw. I wrote each name on a separate piece of paper fanned them in my hand like cards, then asked my husband to draw one. He made a big production of choosing but finally settled on one and drew the winner. And the yarn goes to ..... Dorothy! Woo Hoo! Congratulations! Please send me your mailing address on the private email so I can pop this in the mail to you, k? Thanks to everyone for playing along.

That's all and Good Night.

Left Overs

Blue Loretta was made for my mom-in-law for Christmas. By all accounts, she likes it. (We live thousands of miles apart, so I didn't get to see her open it). Anyway, notice the lack of fringe. As a result, I have yarn left over and wish to give it away. Scroll past the photo for details.





The yarn is a boucle, from Bernat, called Illusions: 98% acrylic, 2% polyester. Each skein is 5 oz. or 140 g. The main colour is multiple blues with flecks of green, called "Carnival". The contrast colour is navy blue. Each skein is 195 yards, or 178 meters. Go here for yarn details and a better photo of the colours on the Bernat site



I am giving away 4 full skeins of the multi blue and a half skein of the navy blue. If you want this yarn, just leave me a comment and I'll add you to the draw. Entries will be accepted until midnight EST on Monday, January 10. Winner to be announced sometime Tuesday.



Cheers!

I'm sorry I wished for snow ...

We had a green Christmas. Actually, it was more like a mud Christmas, with tons of rain. Now, we have snow. It started snowing last night at around 9. It continued to snow until these photos, which were taken at 2 pm. Now it is blowing a gale. Mind you, a blizzard is nothing compared to the devastating earthquake in Asia. I'm not complaining ...





The front yard





My car isn't going anywhere soon.





The back deck in a moment of calm. The snow is knee high, with drifts to my waist.

Belle's sweater

from Santa's workshop .... made for my 4 year old niece and mailed half way across the country just in time for Christmas. By all reports it fits except for the sleeves, which are too long.

Pattern specs

Pattern from Knit 'n Style magazine, December 2004, p. 72, called the Ocean Stripe jacket. This photo is a better likeness of the colours.

The Night before Christmas (Lawyer version)

I didn't write this, but I wish I had. Happy Holidays everyone!



Whereas, on or about the night prior to Christmas, there did occur at a certain improved piece of real property (hereinafter "the House") a general lack of stirring by all creatures therein, including, but not limited to a mouse.



A variety of foot apparel, e.g., stocking, socks, etc., had been affixed by and around the chimney in said House in the hope and/or belief that St. Nick a/k/a/ St. Nicholas a/k/a/ Santa Claus (hereinafter "Claus")would arrive at sometime thereafter.



The minor residents, i.e. the children, of the aforementioned House were located in their individual beds and were engaged in nocturnal hallucinations, i.e. dreams, wherein vision of confectionery treats, including, but not limited to, candies, nuts and/or sugar plums, did dance, cavort and otherwise appear in said dreams.



Whereupon the party of the first part (sometimes hereinafter referred to as ("I"), being the joint-owner in fee simple of the House with the party of the second part (hereinafter "Mamma"), and said Mamma had retired for a sustained period of sleep. At such time, the parties were clad in various forms of headgear, e.g., kerchief and cap.



Suddenly, and without prior notice or warning, there did occur upon the unimproved real property adjacent and appurtenant to said House, i.e., the lawn, a certain disruption of unknown nature, cause and/or circumstance. The party of the first part did immediately rush to a window in the House to investigate the cause of such disturbance.



At that time, the party of the first part did observe, with some degree of wonder and/or disbelief, a miniature sleigh (hereinafter "the Vehicle") being pulled and/or drawn very rapidly through the air by approximately eight (8) reindeer. The driver of the Vehicle appeared to be and in fact was, the previously referenced Claus.



Said Claus was providing specific direction, instruction and guidance to the approximately eight (8) reindeer and specifically identified the animal co-conspirators by name: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen (hereinafter "the Deer"). (Upon information and belief, it is further asserted that an additional co- conspirator named "Rudolph" may have been involved.)



The party of the first part witnessed Claus, the Vehicle and the Deer intentionally and willfully trespass upon the roofs of several residences located adjacent to and in the vicinity of the House, and noted that the Vehicle was heavily laden with packages, toys and other items of unknown origin or nature. Suddenly, without prior invitation or permission, either express or implied, the Vehicle arrived at the House, and Claus entered said House via the chimney.



Said Claus was clad in a red fur suit, which was partially covered with residue from the chimney, and he carried a large sack containing a portion of the aforementioned packages , toys, and other unknown items.

He was smoking what appeared to be tobacco in a small pipe in blatant violation of local ordinances and health regulations.



Claus did not speak, but immediately began to fill the stocking of the minor children, which hung adjacent to the chimney, with toys and other small gifts. (Said items did not, however, constitute "gifts" to said minor pursuant to the applicable provisions of the U.S. Tax Code.)



Upon completion of such task, Claus touched the side of his nose and flew, rose and/or ascended up the chimney of the House to the roof where the Vehicle and Deer waited and/or served as "lookouts." Claus immediately departed for an unknown destination.



However, prior to the departure of the Vehicle, Deer and Claus from said House, the party of the first part did hear Claus state and/or exclaim: "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!" Or words to that effect.

Happy December!

Happy December!

Originally uploaded by Mrs. R..

Today, Canadian Prime Minister Martin and American President Bush, along with a slew of other politicans and notables came to my neck of the woods - Halifax, Nova Scotia. There were planes and helicopters circling overhead for hours, which was somewhat unsettling. But, the speeches were short, the protestors polite, and everyone has gone home safe and sound. Just the way I like it.

By the way, the photo above is of quilts made by crayon applique. I found these samples on the net, just google "crayon applique" and you'll find lots of lovely examples. Just another quilting technique to add to the tool box ... someday.

Loretta!

LorrettaDisplay

Originally uploaded by Mrs. R..

Finally, a finished Loretta! Dorey approves. By the way, this is my first post using the Flickr photo sharing.

Happy Birthday to Me!

So today I turn 29 for the 17th time. Back in the day, I had a very strict upbringing, but birthdays were special. My Mom had a tradition of giving each child breakfast in bed on the actual birthday, school day or not. We got to choose our meal. I invariably chose ham, french fries and chocolate cake with chocolate icing and chocolate fudge on top. Can you imagine having to whip that up on a school morning whilst ensuring the rest of your 6 children got off to school on time? Thanks Mom!

When we turned 14 we got an extra special treat. At breakfast we received a formal invitation from Mom and Dad to dine with them that evening at a "grown up" restaurant. We were expected to deliver an equally formal R.S.V.P to them. (Funnily enough, a box of lovely note cards would be part of the gifts that morning.) That evening the lucky birthday child would dress to the nines and accompany Mom and Dad for an evening alone with them. Those of you who come from large families will recognize the importance of having the parents' full attention. This was our introduction to the world of adults. Thanks Mom! Thanks Dad!

Top Ten Signs

Here are the top ten signs that my Secret Pal is a totally cool, sweet, caring, generous knitter:

10. She vacations in Prague.

9. She prepares and sends a package to me in the midst of packing for said vacation in Prague, when there is too little time and too much to do.

8. Email greetings are sent to me from internet cafes in Prague.

7. She includes treats for my puppies in the package (Kobie and Dorey say thank you SP).

6. My cats also receive treats in the package, in the form of catnip toys knit by my SP3. She knit for my cats! The dim sum from Knitty How cool is that? (Mickey and Ellie would say thanks too, if they weren't stoned on cat nip).

5. She sends me brain food in the form of a box of Mensa riddles and puzzles. I am slowly working my way through the box. Yes, I have gotten lots and lots right. Honest, I have. O.K., maybe not lots and lots. Maybe just some right so far. But I haven't gone through the whole box yet.

4. Chocolate is a necessity to me. She understands this, and includes chocolate in each package.

3. I am a Harry Potter fan. There are Harry Potter candies in the package.

2. She sends silk yarn. SILK!!! Yummy purple, soft, brushed Tussah silk. Obtained while she was on a trip to San Francisco. You can find it at the Art Fibers store. I love it, just love it.

1. I collect eggs. She makes me a candle in the shape of an egg, in my favourite colours. Hand crafted candle, folks. She rocks!



Here are the goodies.







Silk yarn! Handcrafted candle!







Mickey hugs his toy.











Ellie abandons dignity in favour of getting stoned, er, I mean, playing with catnip toy.







Dorey watches the cats. No photos of puppies enjoying their treats are available because, well, I forgot to take such photos. Erp.