Friday, June 20, 2008

What have I been up to??

Dyeing some yarn:


Ordering more. I have a sock club to dye for (not my own but I'm thinking about trying one) and need more yarn.

Starting some socks (They are bananas, it's a Plurk thing)


Visiting some friends in their new house (they had been in for merely hours when I showed up to spend the night)

This is Janna amid her kitchen trying to find her dishes (how many boxes of Steve's spices did we find??)


This is their house when I left in the early morning:



Princess B had her first ride on a school bus as the school took ALL the kindergarten kids to the Beach for the day. They weren't allowed to swim but they did get to dig in the sand, find animals and go on "adventures" (not sure what that means, but she had fun)--I think she had a good time:

Andrew had his birthday yesterday but he had work and other things to do--so we went to an end of the year BBQ and then he took Princess B to soccer as I had a meeting at the Church.
Not the greatest birthday but we are actually going to celebrate tomorrow.

Friend's of ours had their baby girl (Go look at the pictures, she is just gorgeous!!).

Hubby is out tonight with a friend, the kids are in their rooms (sleep HA!) so I am going to do some dyeing and couch with my new sock.

:)

Sunday, June 15, 2008

I've found something more addictive

than facecrack.

It's PLURK.



Thanks to Wendyknits and miss violet I have been plurking for a few days, and it's fun.
Basically it looks like a timeline and you can type messages and people respond.
It's instant (like instant messaging) and you can type whatever you want:
ie:
thechickswithsticks (thinks) plurk is addictive.

One fun thing is that Wendyknits released a sock pattern only to those on plurk--so fun!

So, if you'd like to give it a shot-- follow this link here to join as my friend!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Knitters Represent

It's WWKIP Day!

Last year I partook with a friend at a local coffee shop and this year I did it again with another friend!

We decided to meet up for coffee and just sit and knit for a bit (there are NO events anywhere near us, so we improvise)


I met another knitting friend on the street, and a la Harlot, had her hold the sock.


Vic and I had some coffee and moved to the comfy couches....

...where another couple joined us to read the paper--and then....
she pulled out her knitting.
She didn't know it was WWKIP Day--but we chatted about all things knitting, the county and the fact that her mother has a radio show where she talks about knitting!!

They have a boat and are sailing around. They also have a blog.
I pointed to the LYS (visible from the coffee shop)

and then she let me blog her.



She has a sock knitting blog post here.

Lovely lady--I am going to try to find a vintage knitting pattern for her.
Anyone heard of the kitty hood? It's a hat knit all in one piece that has a neckband, covers the ears and has ear knit on the top.
Apparently it was famous years and years ago and she cannot find the pattern anywhere.

Anyways.
We then went on to Princess B's last swimming lesson, had an ice cream and ate the first 3 strawberries of the season.


What a great day!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

The End of an Era


aka
The last craft night on the Fry.
So....our very very good friends are finally at the leaving stage.
This Monday they pack their house and will be gone.
It's been a long time of saying good bye and not saying good bye.

Steve has been in Toronto at the new job since December so Janna and the kids have been selling the house and getting packed for the big day.
Monday is that day.
Last night was the last craft night at their house (aka on the Fry).
Some people couldn't make it, but we had a big turn out last week.

I was trying to figure out what pictures I could take--when it was just Janna and I left.

The laptop--is always on and we use it to check knitting patterns, sewing directions, g/chat with others that can't make it and use it for funny YouTube video breaks (my favourite is linked here)


Janna blogging me blogging her



The sewing machine. Where I learned to sew things--a bag, a sock fish and then I actually sewed something myself at home (gasp)


and the house....
this is how it looks when I leave at
o'dark thirty in the morning (after craft night phase 2 has finally commenced--missed you Sophie)


So.......
.......there are no good-byes.

I will get to see them on Tuesday as I drive the boys to their new home and stay over (am I the first guest?? Huh? huh??) for an appointment in Toronto Wed.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

You know it's hot when.

It's a little game we play with our google tags. (Half of my friends are on gmail and we change our taglines to talk about what we are doing each day)
One friend said that she knew it was hot when she went to get coffee out of the thermal carafe and it was still hot--from yesterday.
I have had melty butter in the cupboard, but last night after soccer I gave the kids some limeade before bed--and in 20 minutes, it turned. Went all weird and the pulp stuck together. EWWW

So, Friday I was complaining that it was 23C in the house-yesterday it was 30C in our house--outside it was 30C with a humidex of 37+.
To channel Paris Hilton: "That's hot"

We are fortunate to have a pool.
We are fortunate that hubby has worked on the pool for 5 days straight to get it ready.
Sunday afternoon was first swim of the summer (expcet me, for some reason the 1 bathing suit I own is missing)
Yesterday I did swim (in shorts and t-shirt) with the kids.
It is going to be a long hot sweaty
can't do anything because it's too hot summer.

On the knitting front:
I have almost finished the final repeats on the Forest Canopy Shawl.
I want to make it bigger--but then might not figure out the edging.

I have made 1.5 more pattern repeats in the Kelly socks (Hi Kelly)--but they go very slowly with stretchy cotton yarn.

I hope to have something done soon--I don't' want to touch wooly wooly wool these days.

The garden is going well.
I haven't blogged about the garden this year yet...
I bought 3 tomato plants from Vicki's Annual Sale.
I also got an eggplant--last year's didn't to well , so I'm hoping this will be better.
I have garlic (some to use and some to replant in the fall), beans (the kids did bean plants at Church one Sunday), radishes (not really coming up), Carrots (didn't come up at all--how hard are carrots?), Squash and another squash (was supposed to be cucumber--that is the section it was in with all the other cucumber plants--but it's a blue hubbard squash).

I put lavender in (since my seeds don't ever want to grow)

Basil and mint (I have had a mint plant that I bring in each winter and put out again next year and have been doing that for 3 summers but this winter I forgot to water it at all, so it needed replacing), peas, lettuce, potatoes.
and finally 1 Kenya corn plant.
While we were in Kenya I used a corn kernel in a lesson for the kids one day. I kept the kernel and decided to plant it this year--and it's growing!!

:)

Friday, June 06, 2008

Summer Knitting Goals

The heat is one.
It's 23C IN my house today
We had a picnic outside since Daddy is home. (Actually Princess B says: "We are having a picnic and YOU can help us get the food if you want". nice eh?)

So, I'm thinking summer knitting.
I have sock on the needles (always)
I have to finish the Picovoli--soon-ish would be nice.

Skeins her Way is having a summer knitting goal contest.
But my number 1 knitting goal:
Lace

I have started the Flower Basket Shawl (ans haven't worked on it in more than a week)
but I want to do a big shawl--an intricate, drool worthy, heirloom shawl.

I was thinking Icarus-but there are so many.

What shawls have you knit that you absolutely loved???

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Happy

Things that make me happy:

Happy Kids


Good Breakfast:



Daddy's home

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

What to say what to say

Hubby has been away since last Wednesday and it's been busy around here.
2 kids, school, soccer, Church, shopping, sleepovers, swimming lessons.
The days have been long (mostly good days with a couple of really yucky ones in there--unhappy kids, unhappy Mommy--ick).

Thursday night after Princess B's first soccer game (she is number 5)


I cast on a pair of handspun socks (while supervising a sleepover where they stayed up way too late)

Not my handspun, but from MerlintheCat.
I scored it on a super sale in the Spring and for some reason even though it has been getting warmer around here I wanted warm woolly socks.

(OOOH she has more handspun sock yarn for sale--for $15.00--someone stop me)

I used a toe up recipe from The Twisted Sisters Sock Book (love love that book) and it was cool.
The heel they call an hourglass heel, but it actually is the same short row heel that Priscilla Gibson-Roberts does, as I learned it from Alison.

I finished them Saturday--not bad for three nights of knitting.
I split the ball in half and just knit until the yarn was gone--it comes really tall up my calf, not that you can really tell in the picture.
I love the way it sort of stripes with the pink.


Other than that--we have been getting our Porch fixed. Originally it was supposed to be just floor boards but we found out that the supports are rotting and may not have lasted much longer (ie: porch and roof over porch falling down)

See the space--that is where the support beam is not attached to the porch. Nice eh?
We figure that the porch may be as old as this house (108) because of the way it was constructed--but not sure.

Princess B went to her friends house Saturday all day until Church on Sunday and it was very quiet around here w/out her around.
Little man had fun splashing in his pool/sandbox (the naked part was his idea)



We ate the 2 carrots that were growing in the garden from LAST YEAR:



That's about it.
I have done some dyeing, had some sales and won't get to go to my Spinning Guild meeting tomorrow-but am looking forward to craft night with my favourite birthday girl.