The Graduate

It was a big event with loads of hoopla, and my littlest has only a handful of 'little' school days left. I wouldn't have thought I would get a wee bit teary seeing her up on that stage accepting her 'diploma', but she's growing up! And these little friends that she has carefully cultivated are all off to their own big schools. And I am going to miss those special ladies that have watched over her while I am busy typing minutes and attending silly meetings. They have helped me kiss the boo-boos and wiped dry the little tears and hugged her when she needed it the most. They have also listened to her 'matter 0f fact' stories, laughed at her silly faces, and welcomed her into their rooms as if she was one of their very own children. I am going to have to come up with some flippin' awesome teacher gifts. Oh dear.

My favourite moment though, came on the way back to the car. "Mum, you shoulda known that my teacher said no flip flops on the stage." That would have been handy to know when we were heading out the door. What a noodle!

N

Convinced

Great post over the weekend. Very inspiring. You’ve convinced me to knit a lace ribbon scarf too with the sock yarn that I bought for the Woodland but frogged out of frustration. It’s just not a knitting in front of the tv project, and really, that’s the only time I knit. Actually, T and I have been off of the tv lately and it’s been great. It’s nice to just have the quiet or some nice music. Anyhow, your socks look really fantastic. I am so jealous. I am determined to learn how to knit socks. My family members WILL HAVE SOCKS THIS CHRISTMAS!!!

Our annual event is tomorrow, as is our interview with US Immigration. I am nervous about the interview even though we have nothing to hide. The USCIS just has a way of surprising you with things no matter how prepared you think you are. Wish me luck! I may barf at some point tomorrow.

I have completed a sleeve on the Hourglass. It took awhile because I was doing Magic Loop and kept getting those ugly ladders between the joining stitches on the round. I got it figured out and it seems as though this sweater will fit me, which I’m excited about. Bottom up raglan is not my favourite but I’m down with not having to seam anything on this sweater once it’s done except for a few kitchener stitches in the armpit.I was going to model the one sleeve but if you've ever tried to take a picture of your own arm, you know that it's difficult and the picture just ends up looking like a disembodied arm. And that's not cute.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

No! It's a toe-up sock! That's right. I learned another fancy-pants technique - Judy's magic cast-on. It's brilliant.Starting a new project and learning a new technique was my reward for finishing the Candy Cane/Canada Day plain stripey stockinette socks. I used no pattern - I just used the first one to measure against for the second sock and just made it up as I went. That's the nice thing about socks - once you've made one and throw all caution to the wind, you can do just about anything! Really!

And just to show you that it's not all about the socks here, I am working on my lace ribbon scarf very diligently. I love this scarf. It will be just for me. It is so flippin' soft and drapey and all lovely and most precious.
This is what B was doing this morning while she was eating her cereal. I must point out that we just dropped a LOAD on new windows, and I kind of forgot to warn J that it was nothing to freak about since the markers were special window writers. Of course I was busy chatting away on the phone when I actually heard him stop breathing. Poor guy. Must remember to communicate quicker! I like this little depiction of a princess - see the emerald diamond in her crown. Super cute.

Off to brew some coffee and sit down with my newest sock project - I have to learn how to knit the heel when knitting toe-up! Eek. I've also been knitting to the Pretty In Pink soundtrack - who doesn't love a good dose of The Smiths, Echo & the Bunnymen, New Order and Orchestral Manouvres in the Dark??? I borrowed the movie from the library, and I forced El to watch it this weekend. I'm not sure what my next childrearing move into the teen years might look like - Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, or Weird Science? If J can introduce the kid to Dr. Who and some other really weird sci-fi tv shows, I think I can foist some retro 80's movies on her. I was so in love with James Spader and Anthony Michael Hall and Andrew McCarthy. Oh they were so dreamy then! I could spend all night linking all my favourite flashbacks, but that's seriously enough. Next up: dread Monday.

Cheers!

N

World Wide Knit In Public Day

I was checking out the World Wide Knitting In Public Day website, and I noticed that the closest event involved over three hours of driving, so I found some knitters interested in gathering here in London on Saturday, June 14. We will be gathering in Victoria Park from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the north end of the park along Central Avenue under the trees. Weather permitting – in that case, bring an umbrella!

So please, please join us, and bring your lawnchairs or blankets for seating, your own drinks and snacks, your camera, and your knitting of course. Slather on your sunscreen! The International Food Festival will be in full swing, so there will be gads of people and a ton of delicious food!

A bunch of us are also bringing with us some scrap yarn and old knitting needles, and a sign will be posted offering to teach anyone who is interested in learning to knit. We will be accepting donations for My Sister’s Place – a transitional support centre for women who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. I think we have a lot of scraps, but if anyone has some old needles to donate, by all means, bring them along with you.

I've been busy making knitting needles using this book to bring with me to the park. So far I've made four pairs. They're easy to make, but I am not loving the sanding part. I need to step up production because I've got a little over a week left to go. Wish me luck!

N

Not for the Faint of Heart

I think this photo is great on so many levels:

:: It's a plate of meat.
:: It's a plate of burger and dogs on my mum's best china.
:: My dad displayed them quite prettily on the plate - it's meat as art!
:: El thought highly enough of it to capture it forever.
:: It makes me want to chuff a little in my mouth.
:: And when I think back to this particular day, I was hankering for a sausage, and I grabbed a weenie instead, and the letdown was huge.
:: What would Martha say?

N

Achtung Knitters!

I stopped by the public library near the office last week thinking that I would pick up a copy of Scarf Style. Don't you just love the library? It's my favourite public space hands down. Anyway, I also thought I would revisit Last Minute Knitted Gifts so I borrowed that too. When I got home I noticed this note written on the inside cover of the book.

In case you can't read that (it's a little blurry) it says - Please note: Several patterns in this book contain errors. You can find the corrections here: http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/book_corrections Happy knitting!

Tucked inside the book jacket was also a printed copy of the book's errata. It made me smile and think, there was a knitter out there who risked being fined for defacing a library book to ensure that other knitters could be successful at their project. Thanks!
On a whim I chose to start the Hour Glass sweater. There were just so many lovely versions of it on Ravelry that I just had to try one for myself. I'm using Plymouth Yarns Jeannee, which is a lovely cotton blend, perfect for a summer sweater. So far the knitting is going quickly and the yarn is quite nice, not to mention economical. And because of the kind knitter who brought the errors to my attention, I should have this baby done in no time!

A Family Outing

We started off our weekend with some flower shopping - the planters are all topped with potting soil, so we went to a local gardening store, and we went wild.

Everyone pitched in finding just the right flowers.
The girls love yellow, orange and white - and I admit it was coming along quite prettily. We found zinnias, daisies, and marigolds!

As with any usual family outing, things got silly. El with camera + B's need to pose = good times.

Oh, and Friday night, I hitched a ride with the blogless Alana and her mum and her husband, and we drove to New Hamburg to drop in to Shall We Knit for knitting and yarn shopping, and about ten of us sat around a dining room-sized table and sipped tea, ate handfuls of M&Ms, and just chatted with Sally Melville like it was any other ordinary night. I just barely kept my cool. She is super fabulous, tres chic and absolutely sweet in real life. I want to be just like her when I grow up!

How do you top that?

I'm just going to call it a night. Cheers!

N