Rock your boots

I love all the seasons-even winter! Of course all of us knitters are just hitting our stride in fall. We can finally pull out all of our knit finery!! Yippee, comfy warm socks, cozy cardi's, pretty scarves and shawls and there is nothing nicer than wrapping yourself in a warm handknit throw at the end of the day. Simple pleasures are just the best! I had forgotten I had knit these last winter for a friend.We were out together recently and I am glad she wore them. They were fun to do and knit up quite quickly. I knit them with Berocco's Ultra Alpaca Fine in the Ocean colourway. The pattern can be found in the book Gifted by Mags Kandis. I am definitely going to knit a few more pairs for my gift box.

Cute Kitties

Last week Lori came in to the yarn shop with a plastic tote filled with little kitties and other amigurami animals. We all went kinda cuckoo over them, They were just so cute! She crocheted them using a 1 mm hook-(way beyond me) and they are beautifully made.Unfortunately she has just moved away but hopefully will start an Etsy account. I did succumb and bought these two-one is destined for a life in Calgary.You just can't help but smile when you look at their happy little faces.
 There sure is something special about making, giving and receiving hand crafted gifts.  Maybe that is my own perspective as that is what I like to do. I always make things for my family  but I am finding gifting to other friends who are also handcrafters really a lot of fun. Of course I am preaching to the choir on this one!I really am trying to support crafts people and local based businesses a lot more now.. especially now with all the economic and financial turbulence many are facing.For many of us that whole creative process is such a necessary component in our lives-be it knitting ,cooking, knitting, quilting, artwork, woodworking ,knitting, jewelry making...etc. I  was listening to a radio program on the CBC the other day and there was a blurb about how some anthropologists had found some" tool kits" used for cave drawings in India that were estimated to be tens of thousands of years old. Interesting. So my friends keep knitting or painting or gardening or doing whatever makes you feel good-it is important!!

Back in the saddle again.....

Wow it is the middle of October already. It gets dark by 6:30 now. Definitely apple crisp season-heh heh. My garden is still hanging in there but it is supposed to go below freezing tonight. It is always sad when all the flowers and veggies are done for the season but then it does free up some time for our favourite activity-knitting!!!And finally there is some actual knitting content today.

No this is not me-unfortunately! This is Jen from my Thursday morning class modeling a cowl I have just finished. We all love this one . It is the Alameda Cowl from the Fall 2011 issue of Knitscene. I knit it using Malabrigo Rios in the pupuras colourway. It is knit on the bias and buttons up on one side. As you can see it is very versatile. There are so many ways you can wear it.It is double sided so it is super cozy and so soft. Now what else can I use to knit this one again...... I have started another project but haven't taken any pictures yet-it does involve some Noro yarn (big surprise)!

 I will finish with some more garden pics. We always let a lot of rogue sunflowers grow wherever in our garden. They always look good and they attract so many birds. Fortunately our old kitty Puff is quite deaf and losing his eyesight so there is no problem there. Mind you he has always been strictly ornamental!

 I planted these morning glories at the base of some old wooden ladders. I planted them in late June and it looks like they are going to freeze before they really hit full bloom-rats!! There's always next year. Have a good knitting weekend everyone!

Bees Birds Bugs and Things

The first half of September has been very sunny and hot. It appears we are getting our summer now. This quail is sitting on one of my old ladders. The Celestial Blue morning glories I planted at its base have yet to bloom. Hopefully we won't get a frost before they bloom.It has been a really goofy growing season here.

However, we have had a lot of bees this year-honey bees, bumble bees and mason bees. Perhaps that is why I have had so many zucchinis and tomatoes.

The bees really seemed to like the annual salvia and snapdragons.

What a handsome little fella!

Oh no it is an invasion of another sort!!

Looks pretty friendly-no need to hide the wool. Speaking of which I recently purchased some Malabrigo Rios in the Azules colourway. Very Pretty!! I haven't started anything yet. I have a new brace for my arm and I am allowed to knit for 15 min intervals only. I haven't knit a stitch for almost 3 months!!!! I really should have addressed this problem earlier-denial can be very powerful in a knitter's heart.

However this too shall pass and I will be able to pick up the sticks and knit like crazy (modified crazy) again.

Enjoy the golden rays of late summer!

Days are getting shorter

Gosh it is hard to believe it is September already! I find it really annoying it is getting dark at 8 p.m. I haven't knit a stitch since the end of June and all my good gardening practices...weeding and watering ...etc seem to have fallen by the wayside as August passed by. I am such a keener in the spring, not so much now! We still have a good 6 weeks of really lovely weather ahead of us-I hope. We did go for a trip to Calgary Alberta to visit our DD , We loaded up the car with lots of chocolate zucchini loaves, jam, fruit preserves and lots of other food treats. Here are a few pics of our trip..

This is a picture of Field BC. I am amazed at the camera on my phone!

Ooooh ridin' down the highway...

Seriously, the scenery is just magnificent.

I love Calgary, it is such a vibrant city and lots to see and do. This was our 6th trip in the last few years and the first time we haven't hit snow! It was sunny and really warm.

I thought the name of this place was hilarious-tubby dog. For all you hot dog connoisseurs this is the place! I did check out a couple of yarn shops-of course. I found a few interesting things, I will post about them soon.

I thought these planters were quite interesting, there is chard and rhubarb growing in them.Urban ag in action!!

And on our way home, still lots of pretty scenery.

 We stopped at D-Dutchmen Dairy in Sicamous for some ice cream. Oh my! All their ice cream is made on site with cream and milk from their dairy herd. It is pure heaven, I am always sad coming home so it is a little consolation (ha ha). There are a  few different animals in their farmyard in addition to lots of cows.

Back to K-town.

Back to Sleepy Hollow. It appears there is a large garden gnome lurking in the background. Okay okay enough pictures already! More knitting content to follow...have a great long weekend everyone!!

Flowers in a Garden

There is certainly a lot of growth happening in the garden.

This big guy looked asleep. Too much pollen, too little time!!

The Lilies smell divine!

Although our summer has been cooler and wetter than usual, everything is flourishing.

I finished another Noro modular afghan and it really does look like a summer garden. I really enjoyed doing this one too and I think I did improve on my construction techniques.

It is always hard to get the right lighting with some yarns.This is another big project-the new fence. Painting fence boards isn't the most exciting at times but it is great when it is done.

The fence and the shed are progressing bit by bit. We are thankful it hasn't been too hot or we would have not been doing as much as we have. I like to supervise from the lawn chair in the foreground-ha ha!! I don't have a project on the go right now-knitting wise. I have been making lots of jam, strawberry, strawberry-rhubarb, raspberry, bumbleberry... I like making jam! A lot of it is destined for friends and family. I did notice the zucchinis are growing very fast. I guess some loaves and breads are next on the agenda. My neighbour likes to grow zucchinis too and used to leave anonymous donations on our front doorstep-maybe that will be my next maneuver!! Beware of a knitter bearing jam and zucchini loaves!!

Attack of the swirlies

I very seldom or really hardly ever knit the same pattern two times in a row. Here I am knitting another modular afghan using the Taiyo yarn. This is really great knitting. It is fairly easy and the yarn is so nice to work with and the colours are so much fun. I know my needle is stuck!!

The weather here is perfect. It is sunny and warm but not too hot...yet.Everything in the garden is growing like crazy. I picked some snapdragons yesterday and they have such a lovely scent.The nicotiana that reseeds every year is starting to bloom. It is very fragrant in the evening. As it hasn't been too hot everything looks so green and fresh. I think that I was drawn to this colourway as it has a lot of bright summertime colours.

We also had an unusual visitor in the backyard this week. I don't know how he/she got here. There is a pond a few blocks away but that would be a long trek for a lost turtle. We also have a large horned owl that roosts close by, maybe it was picked up and inadvertently dropped by the bird. We also have raccoons, deer,coyotes and bats. The turtle was transported back to the pond and they can sure move fast when they want to!