Fresh Start...

Good Evening Internet Friends!

I hope that everyone had an AMAZING New Year's Eve and Day and that this is going to be the BEST Year EVER!!

Last night kiddo and I attended the Broadmoor Lake Park Fireworks as we have now for a few years.  It is always an amazing show.  It was super cold out but thankfully I had my newest knitted toque on:

On Sunday evening I found an old copy of the Northward Toque I had knitted several years ago.  In my stash (yarn) I also just happened to have this skein of Superwash Six - a bulky 100% Merino.  I thought this was a perfect knitting combo because both the yarn designer and pattern designer are from Vancouver.

This toque is an easy and quick knit and I think I might need to put it into use a little more frequently.

Last night there was a bit of snow fall and wind so when I took doggie out for his walk this morning the world was our blank slate:

It was also an added bonus that the temperature was only about - 2 C (28 Fahrenheit).

It was very peaceful out and as such we were able to be about 10' from this dude and watch him closely:

The doggie even sat very still watching.  

This afternoon I sorted through my scrap fabrics in preparation for the 52 Week Block Challenge.  As you know I have done this challenge for the past five years.  I am a bit behind on the others right now but hopefully with a bit of planning I can fix that up.  I have now sorted through the scrap fabric on my desk that has accumulated since moving and cut it to the various sizes that I will need for these blocks.  All scraps are now in plastic zip seal bags ready to be sewn into blocks.

A friend gave me a tote for Christmas that I have decided will be the perfect size to store the bags of scraps and the sets finished blocks:

Left Block is Flock of Geese 2017 - these blocks were a casualty of moving.

Middle Block is 2018 Red and White Snowball - just behind on this series.

Right Block is 2019 Jewel Box.  "Sew" far I am not behind yet🤣.  

Will relax for the evening now with a pair of socks that I am knitting that have a special mission and I should get those completed ASAP.

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Another Knitting Finish....

Good Late Evening Internet Friends.

I always mean to be better prepared for Christmas every year.  Yet, this year thanks to all the stuff that has gone on in my world this fall, I am very far behind.  I am still trying to get a scarf knitted for my son's teacher and this should be done at latest tomorrow so that I have time to block it for wrapping on Friday.....might not make it.

As you know I attended a class last spring on Cowichan Knitting as part of Sylvia Olsen's Great Canadian Knitting Tour.  The original toque I knit I gave to hubby to wear under his hard hat the oil fields camp.  Then I made one for myself in a red.  My brother then saw this and wanted one of his own, so I got knitting again.  By mid summer I realized that these would make most awesome Christmas Gifts for almost everyone.  

As of this evening here is my latest Cowachin Toque freshly blocked and dried and ready to be wrapped up:

TAH DAH!!!!

Now off to finish a few last touches on my Secret Santa Gift for tomorrow. ☺

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

What's For Christmas?????

A Toque!!!

Good Late Evening Internet Friends.

As I posted much earlier this spring I attended Sylvia Olsen's Great Canadian Knitting Tour in which I learned Cowichan Knitting.  Since then I made the two toque kit that I bought however the list of family and friends wanting these just keeps growing.

So, almost everyone is getting a color version of some sort this year for Christmas.  Here is the one I started this evening while keeping an ear on my son's homework:

Tomorrow is planned as a ME day since I ran all my errands (I think/hope) today.  We will see how that goes...

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Monkey Sees.....

Good Evening Internet Friends!

My son and I ventured out this afternoon to run a few errands, one of which included a stop at Sewing With Class.  The intent was to pick up their version of the Alberta Row by Row which unfortunately was "sew" popular they were sold out already!  I will have to wait for my kit...

Alas, the trip was not in vain.  My son was born in the Year of the Monkey and sometimes I really believe it!  He also has an affinity for monkey's so when we found toque kits for knitted monkey hats, he just had to have one:

The kit is super quick to knit up.  I cable cast on while dinner was in the oven and a few sitcoms later this evening it is done!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

The Weekend

Good Evening Internet Friends!

I had to get up early this morning to take the dog to the groomer for a hair cut.  Hubby was supposed to do it while he was home from work, but the appointment had to be moved to today due to the other stuff going on in our world.  

My son and I dropped off the dog, stopped for a quick breakfast and headed off to Canada's largest Canadian Tire store.  There were actually lots of deals, plus lots of fun things to do there so we spent almost two hours there.  We left with some very mundane things that were on sale, including some pretty neat items: Lego Technic and a skate board for my son, canning jars and a few KitchenAid finds for the camper trailer.

 The shopping cars being transported to the second floor.  

 The dog after hair cut and apparently fully charged! ☺ She even put a little bandana on him.

Then after all this activity I had a nap this afternoon.

This evening I took out the recycling and realized it is FREEZING outside.  Well, just really cold.  So I decided to finish my toque from the kit I picked up from Sylvia Olsen's Great Canadian Knitting Tour:

TAH DAH!!!

I LOVE this toque and it is super cozy on the head.

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

DOH!!!! Long Weekend Over Already

Good Evening Internet Friends!

So, the Victoria Day Long Weekend is over.  As my son put it though it is still a bonus, because not only did we get a long weekend, but now we have a short week!.  Alright, try to look at this positively...

The weather forecast for the farm last night was - 4 degrees Celsius (25 F)!  Most of my plants had not yet surfaced so I figured that they would be okay in their dirt bed, but what about the strawberries, rhubarb and lavender.  I spent most of yesterday afternoon fretting about this until I was cutting off the edges of my quilt to put on the binding.  As I pulled off those long rows of bamboo batting I realized that since it makes quilts nice and warm that I could probably make a quilt for my plants. ☺

A quick trip to town to the Peavy Mart for some tarps and I made the best sleeping bag ever for my garden:

Today when I unwrapped everything I found:

The neighbor lost 23 of his tomato plants : (, wasn't using bamboo quilt batting is my guess.

Last evening I finished my Sylvia Olsen toque:

It kept my head warm last night while I brought all the flower pots in to the 5th wheel for the night!

Still need to block it, but it is very cozy and I will be knitting a few more of these in my future I think...

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Best Day Ever Saturday

Good Evening Internet Friends.

It is late Saturday evening and of course I am still up.  Today my son and I headed out to spend the weekend at the acreage.  Road trip! Yay.

Before we could head out though I attended the Sylvia Olsen Great Canadian Knitting Tour.  She is a fabulous teacher and a wonderful story teller.  Here is what I have started and I got another kit with red wool to make another of these toques:

After class we headed out to the acreage.  There had been rain today so we did have to do a little mudding.  After dinner we headed out for a walk to see what was new.  The pond/swamp/bog looked really pretty with the sun setting:

Now off to bed cause I have big crafting plans for tomorrow!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Work In Progress Wednesday

Good Evening Internet Friends!

My Work in Progress for participating in The Needle and Thread Network Work In Progress Wednesday is a toque that I started in the middle of September!

Progress has been slow on this pattern as it has multiple colors on it and I am frequently getting the yarns knotted around each other:

I ordered this kit from Knit Picks this summer in the hopes that if I knit the hat myself I would be able to wear a toque.  It gets really cold here in Western Canada come winter and I have a really big head (seriously, not just ego) that makes wearing most head gear very difficult.  

This is as far as I have gotten.  Hope to be able to get it finished soon as the temperature is dropping quickly ☺

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy