Seems Like a Year

I got back home from camp today.
I had my birthday up there which meant I had lots of great visitors and wonderful hugs from the very young campers. D brought up a big cake for everyone.
The counsellors this year were so awesome. They are responsible for 6-8 little kids for a whole week of water sports, campfire and dining experiences and they make all the difference. Thanks guys! I had a steady stream of kids in my nurse's cabin: from homesick tummies to cracking great head injuries. There are extra lifeguards all over the place and I never felt I was alone in making decisions.





Here are some 7 year olds learning to kayak on our lake. They really took to it. My cabin is a few steps from the left hand of the photo.

And we offered sailing this year. Amazing! These kids learned so much. So much that I don't know. Plus I won't know because I stay on the grounds to field injuries. But it was stunning!

For my birthday, D gave me an ipad. (Yay). Mom gave me a great cookbook from Cooking Light. The kids gave me another pandora charm and some purdy's chocolates that are always on my list. Emily was especially thoughtful and picked me up from camp.

When I got home, I had a surprise from Grumperina. I won her knittaversary contest by very cleverly entering a random comment. Yay! I love Cascade 220 and will dive into this book as soon as I do inventory on my works in progress:

Ishbel was cast off at camp and then squirrelled away with my unnecessary warm clothes and raingear to keep her silk and merino goodness safe. I will block her in the days to come as I get my sea legs and even go back to work.

Thanks to the simple garter stitch, the blue blanket is growing quite quickly. I have lot of yarn and will try for 36 inches square (or so) before I put on an icord edge. I will be working on this mainly in the next few days (see working reference).

Love the Woodland Shawl. It's rhythms of lace are perfectly suited to my own needs. I knit next to the lake and during meals at camp. But "somehow" my needle broke on Wednesday. It may have had something to do with lots of kids and teens at camp. There were no witnesses. I was grateful for my emergency knitting (blue blanket).
So my laundry is hanging on the line and I'm catching up on mail. But I wanted to read your blogs and post my own to let you know how much I think of you, dear reader. Thanks for being there. It seems like it's been a year.

The Ravelry Game

These nasturtiums were planted for Angie.
Like "Chinese Whispers" or "Telephone", ideas travel through Ravelry and change and grow. I am loving it! Have you seen the Friends' Activity button on Ravelry? I can see what each of my friends have been faving and queueing. Then I found out I can see what each of their friends are doing. How many great patterns have I found because someone else "told me".
Take Lala's Simple Shawl. I had already faved this, but I love Lala on the Knit Girllls videocast and had to take another look. I decided it was perfect for a prayer shawl of mixed green yarns.
I got a new friend when KrazyQuilts faved it. Next thing I know, she's casting on one of her own and I can't wait to see it.
I spent so many years buying yarn at Woolworths and knitting from my grandmother's old Patons patterns that I still can't believe the wonderful world of colour, ideas and characters that I have been invited into.
Our dinner party went well last night. One of the ladies already knits a bit and we've shared children's patterns in the old days. The other asked if I could do fancy stitches. Welcome Ishbel to the party. When can I teach you and what will be your Ravetar?

Planning and Preparation

Summer has already passed her zenith. The dusk comes earlier and the dew is heavier. I'm so glad we had the trip to the Island to celebrate the high summer sunshiny days. This is my favourite time of the year. Tonight we are having a dinner party. It has been so long that we're a bit excited. Just two couples on the deck with barbequed salmon, but we hope to get back to more of this.
I crave the deep, dappled shade of my lakeside cabin. Tomorrow I go to camp for a week. Of course I bring easy and complex knitting, reading, writing, guitar, flute, and I considered watercolours this year. I 'm not for packing lightly when I have a big cabin and some quiet time. I have the beginner campers, aged 6-8. There aren't 100 of them like last year, so I'm hoping to catch some rest. Last year I came out of it exhausted and went straight to night shifts and pneumonia. I did work last week and gave great care, but forgot some paperwork and felt like an idiot. I need to do a better job on my long weekend shifts.

Still no word on my flower girl's baby. But I did finish the blanket and I'm writing up the "unvention" in a pdf. That's a big move for me. I'm really happy how this turned out.

The seed stitch border is done log cabin for simplicity.

It's about 36 inches square. That's the biggest I like a baby blanket. I also have the blue/green one if she has a second boy.

Jean and I signed up for Sweet Georgia's Yarn Club. We're so happy with her silk blend lace weight and the colours are the best. And she is the loveliest person!

I'm afraid that Urban Yarns in Vancouver is going to be our LYS from now on. We get great service at one of the shops locally, but the selection is not always on my mark. They refuse to look at knitty or Ravelry.

I'm so angry at the other shop right now because they have a summer 40% off sale that they not only don't advertise, but they actually hide. Direct questions were deflected this week! And they know us by name. I just won't shop there when the client is the least important. I'm not prepared to be crabby all the time just to get the deals.

I wish I lived near Needles in the Hay . I was born in Peterborough but have no memories of it. We moved around a lot and then to BC when I was 3 years old. But this looks like the kind of shop I could really enjoy.

So now my conscience is free to shop on line or when travelling or wherever I choose. I could ride my bike to that shop, but I don't feel like a neighbour.

I will lick my wounds at camp and calm myself with the truth that I really have a wonderful stash, no real needs and lots of projects in my queue.

Wedding Journey and Joys

We travelled, the four of us, to Nanaimo this Friday. There were orcas in the bay! The big kids were good companions, eventhough we shared one room. My three sisters and almost all their boys were there. Plus my one niece with her young family. It was a great time.
There was lots of fun. The bride is beautiful and we are lucky to add her to our family. Perhaps this younger nephew will teach the older ones how it's done. The girls all danced for hours at the Country Club. We enjoyed the ocean breeze in the late night and sat on the deck by the golf course talking and laughing.
This is where they we married. It made the 2 hour drive to the ferry, the 2 hour ferry ride and the trip up Island worth it. Ishbel was a good travelling companion. And it's perfect knit up in the Sweet Georgia Merino Silk.
We had fun last week when Jean was trying to get the perfect yarn for a wedding shawl (for her, she already made one for the bride) and couldn't find it in a shop. Her son was in Vancouver. I phoned Felicia at Sweet Georgia and he went by with the dress. They bonded and friended each other on facebook and everything. He wants her studio. He also knits and joins us sometimes on Thursday morning knitting circle.
This is where we stayed. The Inn at Long Lake. It was lovely and a good spot for families to gather and hang around.
D was sad because his Grandma's house was right across the highway and it was demolished after it was sold this spring. We did get to visit Grandma in her apartment in Nanaimo. She is really content there.
And we are content to be home after a lovely journey back.

Field correspondence

I'm trying out my new iPad from the hotel in Nanaimo. It's a bit tricky, but great fun. With the wifi here, I can sit on the deck. But there's lots to learn and I don't seem to be able to download a photo of this beautiful lake.
My birthday isn't for a few weeks, but my FIL let the secret out, so D gave it to me early. I was just saying I needed to joint the 21st century with an iPhone. But this is better. Pretty. Shiny. I can check out ravelry !
We have a family wedding this afternoon: one of my many nephews and so far everyone is behaving pretty well. My two oldest sisters arrive today with their grown boys. And I even get to see my great nephew, Patrick. he's the one I knit the bunting for. Won't be wearing the wool sac today.
ishbel is back on the needles and she enjoyed the ferry ride and the orcas off the bow. I wanted it larger, and I had almost half the yarn left, so I decided to be in charge of my knitting. It hurt for a little bit as I was trying to figure out how much to rip and where I was when the stitches were seated. Now I'm knitting patterns A and B until I have more than enough. more drama to ensue.
This is your field correspondent from the patio overlooking the lake.

Blooming

The garden is so happy to have a few days of heat. There has been enough shade, too, that I haven't wilted. It helps to go to the lake and the camp where it's more pleasant. Today is raining, so I can knit indoors instead of on the deck.

The quick Inspiration Baby Blanket is moving along. I hope to finish the last set of stripes today and start the border. Will I get it done before the baby is born? If it's a boy, I'm already set. But I worry it's a girl. The only girl in that family. Hence the "My Little Pony" colours. I know a few 4 year olds who would choose these colours. So I try to put my own aesthetics on the back burner (with all my other knitting!). Get this done, then I can do some more summer fantasy lace.

I'm also writing up this simplest of patterns and hope to post a .pdf. Yay!

Wake Up!

I worked last night and again am thankful for the great nursing team. Some of our patients are so sick, but we are able to improve their comfort, and even their health.
I have been invited to the party.
When I woke up, I had an email from Lynn Zimmerman, the Knitting Triathalete who is holding a fundraising contest to raise money for Make a Wish Foundation. I heard about her through her friends, the Knit Girllls, a great podcast that I'm addicted to. Well they went out of their way to let me donate by paypal when the program spit me out for not having a home state. Thanks so much.
Then I got an email from Grumperina. I know! She has been one of my favourite bloggers for years. Eventhough it is frustrating that she has only been knitting a short while, her ideas and patterns are full of awesome math and construction detail that inspire my own work. Plus her eye for colour, and her tenacity in solving difficult problems make me feel like I'm not alone.
But I won a prize! You haven't read that too many times! I chose the Cascade 220 book, 60 Quick Knits. I feel like it's an early birthday present, and belated Bloggiversary present, too. I missed my fourth anniversary of my blog on June 17th. I guess I was living in the real world a bit.
But I love the connection I get from reading your comments and your blogs and seeing what you're knitting.
I've got my coffee and my list of favourite blogs and it's a delight to wake up today.

Happy Canada Day!

Change of Seasons

We have changing weather every day. There is a bit of hot summer in there, but really just changing. I worked nights this weekend- it's good to sleep on a rainy day. This is my turn around day. If I had flown across the continent, this is the day I would unpack, do laundry and answer emails. I am not too badly jetlagged, but my reliability is a bit shakey. Usually I have to be careful about picking up my knitting on my cranky pants day because I start ripping. But last night I was comforted by the Woodland Shawl and watching Bones all by myself. Thd dark Cascade Heritage sock yarn did not stymie me because of my new lamp. Yay.

This morning I figured out the Ten Stitch Blanket. I'm using blue fuzzy yarn my sister bought to make sweaters for her little boys. They are grown and getting married now and she destashed when she moved to the ranch. I think it will please her to have the yarn used for a special co-worker's third son.

My baby is going to camp to be a counsellor this summer. She is almost packed and we should have left 15 minutes ago. Sometimes I think if she had a better mother, she'd be ready. But I also try to give her the space for her big personality. They love her at camp and have known her since before she was born. I nursed up there pregnant (twice). I'm nursing the last week in July, my birthday, as I did so many years in a row. Must start packing.

All Knits

Whoot highspeed internet. Finally got the knitting shots on blogger. D was on the phone for over half an hour again after our kind Scottish contractor came out to say there was nothing wrong on our end.

In other news, the Maltnomah shawl is growing. I hope to make the lace much wider as I have more yarn than it calls for. I now call this the Coquihalla colourway because Erin didn't name it. I was lucky to find 2 balls.

Can you see the green shiny beads. They are subtle but they will add nice weight as with my Ophidian.

Sweet Georgia is queen! She wins the miss congeniality as well as most beautiful for this merino silk 50/50. And Ishbel loves her.

Planning ahead for MIL's 70th. I made her sister a Kiri of magenta Kid Silk Haze. I know she will never wear a shawl, but probably would like to "have" one. I'm going to knit this Panda Silk in Meandering Vines Shawl. I look forward to it, even if it only comes to one party, its debut. I romantically dream she will one day wear it to the weddings of my children. As long as I can pad my dreams from reality. I will knit anyway.

Are You There Blog? It's Me, Angie

I finally managed to get some photos on the blog. I'm praying that is holds. Telus is coming today and I have to vent my rage before I talk the the technician who has no fault in this scramble. Last Friday I slept till 2 (worked nights) then we travelled the almost 3 hours to Kamloops. There was teenager angst, but I think it was worth it to have our family together and spend time with my sister at her ranch.

Emily picked eggs right away, she loves the chickens. I bought extra to donate to my friend, Bev who is selling bread to support an orphanage in her old community in Jamaica. On Saturday Julie took us out for a ride. This is me brushing up Chex. Until last spring he was a very well behaved stallion. Julie has several nice foals from him. Now he is a well behaved gelding. Thanks D.

Everywhere you look there is a changing vista. The hollow emptiness of wide fields and changing sky. It's very cowboy. I wonder if I could paint any of this?

We stopped for a snack and just let the horses graze like they do in the movies. Her horses are so well trained, they just hung around and grabbed at the unusually green grass. They've had lots of rain, too. This was their first warm and sunny day, but the sky was closing in with thunder heads.

Thanks for a great ride. We stayed for supper and got home really late, but it was lots of fun. Hope your solstice party is a hit.

Trying To Post

We have had no internet for days. Imagine my suffering!
Right now I'm trying to download pictures of our trip to the ranch and it keeps crapping out.
There has been knitting but the pictures won't stick. I even bought some banboo and silk today for a September birthday shawl.
I have been able to read a few of your blogs, but I want to put my pictures up!
Yesterday started being summer. Maybe tomorrow will start being the 21st century.

Gansey Gone Awry

Warning: Those of you who are queesy may always think twice before accepting a dinner invitation at our home. I am a nurse and my husband is a dairy vet- and I can gross him out! But this is a tale of a sweater that tried to carry on forever and bit me in the end. See that three stitch steek? It is not enough. A small steek is 5 stitches. Watch and learn.

I sewed each stitch to the one above it by hand because I grew up embroidering and making stuffed toys out of my older sisters fabric scraps while watching Bugs Bunny. I lived in that kind of home where the four of us would shout "Mice!" and pick up scissors and thread.

After the hand stitching I crocheted the steek because I'm pretty comfortable with crochet although my hand is no longer- a horse back riding injury.

The trick is to crochet the furthest leg of the v. Why didn't I do that? Can I plead debilitating allergies, or allergy medication? Don't know. Don't do it. Wouldn't do it again.

You think these stitches are bad? I took the whole knitting vomit to my friend Jean's knitting circle and soon discovered whole swathes of unhinged stitches. Oh yah, then the crochet cord pulled out of a whole row. Screw it, I said with my tea getting cold and scones in my teeth. I'll blanket stitch the bastard. I should have done that in the first place, although it made it gapey and rippley.

Could the selvege be salvaged?

Gratuitous gore.

Yes. I sewed the seams- without tears or alcohol!! And nephew # 6 got the sweater this weekend and said, "Oh, sure, now that it's hot." But you have to know him and he did say thanks and put it back in the bag. He wasn't expecting a gift and I think he liked the colour because it's one of the only ones I've ever seen him in. I have to follow up with the wool specs (Patons Classic Wool) and the washing instructions: don't even think about it and don't let your mother. I'll do it myself.

So it has flown the coop, leaving me scarred and shaking and turning to merino silk lace. Whew! Next time I'll.. what am I saying?!!!

New Window

My computer is back. Actually he put all my stuff in a new faster, slicker computer. There will be glitches as I figure out the new pathways of Windows 7. I have to reinstall a few programs, but what a relief.
You missed the steeking debaucle. There will be pictures, but they'll come with a warning. I managed to surf the interweb a bit and comment on a few blogs, but it was like being shackled. I missed y'all.
Today is cooking turkey and packing to go to the ranch in Kamloops for a bit of a birthday party for D. But tonight I work nights. Whew.
Emily has her two final exams for grade 11 tomorrow before we go as well. Whew.
I am knitting on the Ishbel in Sweet Georgia blackberry merino lace. I'm still on the Slip Jig Rockin Sock Club. The new shipment came and I went "meh". I'll do the Raven next instead. I'll probably swap this cream with barely colour.
Because I'm working nights, I very cleverly anticipated not being clever and cast on the Multnomah shawl in the Zen from Twist of Fate. It's mostly garter stitch and I like what it's doing with the variegation. Sorry no pics just yet. I'll try to interface with the camera and the new computer when I get back from the ranch. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Crash and Burn

I am posting from D's laptop because my computer is in the tech hospital. So sad. Very disturbing and rather irritating. Everything was backed up and it crashed during a scan, so I have hope.
But I have no pictures to show you the finished "Mixed Greens" shawl I made for our camp director. I gave it to her lastnight after a gruelling board meeting and I hope it brings her some comfort. It makes me cautious to be happy about my home and marriage and job and good fortune. I pray her path will get a bit easier.
I am also in the process of steeking the giant grey gansey. I sewed (by hand) all the stitches down either side of the stitch I will cut. Then I decided to crochet as well. Just to be safe. I need to measure the sleeves against my resident over 6 foot tall young man to see if they're long enough. Then I'll cast them off, cut (yes cut) the steek and start the finishing.
The Ishbel cast on like a dream and I'm in heaven over the Sweet Georgia silk/merino. Yum. This makes up for the loss of cupcakes and cookies somewhat as I try to shed one size before the summer wedding.
Also happily skipping along is the Slip Jig sock from the Rockin Sock Club.
So I have no reason to dwell on the carcass of my computer. I will take a drive in the suddenly summer weather and then enjoy a lazy afternoon on the deck while our plumber upgrades our toilets to fancy shmancy low flush. Isn't I exciting?
Reporting from the desk of the wreckage.

OMT

My friend, Barb, uses "OMT" for One More Thing on memos to the camp staff. This is the sad and wet last day of quite a nice May. Our walk today was long and quiet. I am almost finished listening to "The Swan Thieves" by Elizabeth Kostova. It has helped me with my knitting and walking.

The rhododendrons, indigenous to this area are dropping their spent blooms in the rain. They, too are almost finished. I have finished the Cascadia socks, thanks to Hazel for sharing her extra wool. And I finished the baby blanket for my flower girl's second baby.

This is not a pattern, but an inspiration, made up as I went along. The knitted on seed stitch border took quite a while, but it is better than picking up all the way around for me. The down side is weaving in the ends with cotton yarn. That really hurts my poor hands. But it is done now and awaiting blocking. I hope to machine wash and gentle dry this because that's how I expect the mom to do it.

The second sock looks like the first. You may think that boring, but it is the goal of the experiment. These will also be blocked and then I'll get a better picture.

I must finishe the nephew sweater. One more thing to finish. I already have socks on the needles, and two shawl - the heritage woodland and a quick prayer shawl in Lala's pattern with leftover gorgeous greens. I am drawn to the quick shawl and need it set up for a night shift later in the week. That's what I tell myself anyway. And it's rarely just one more thing.

Coming Close

I'm almost done the body of the inspired baby blanket. This is without a pattern. I decided to make the ivory stripes textured for some fun. The purl back on the colour change has the added bonus of making the back tidier- almost reversible. I think I'll make a seed stitch border in the green. If I slip the first stitch, it maybe won't curl. I want to knit on each row rather than pick up the whole thing.

The gansey is also coming along. Two huge and heavy projects. I think I'll get 3 centre diamond patterns. But this has turned out too big. I wanted a 44 inch chest and it's closer to 50. I'm not panicking because nephew #6 is larger. It is only a little disappointment.

This is a big disappointment. The Pacific Northwest Shawl that I knit so many years ago. I've worn it quite a bit. But it has some holes in it. Sivia Harding showed us a Russian join to repair it. But I think it's beyond help.

There are about 4 spots. Maybe I caught it in a zipper. Maybe I just didn't knit it right. Or maybe it's aging out, a bit like me.

Read it and weep. I am actively knitting and queuing more shawls. This was my first real big lace. But I wouldn't knit it today, I like other styles.

I will turn my thoughts to the next shawl because with the finishing of these big projects, I'm coming close.

Anniversary Fun

D and I went to Seattle for our 21st anniversary. We stayed at this hotel right downtown and had wonderful service from everyone.

The weather was pretty good and we enjoyed walking around. I took him to the Tom Bihn factory to buy him a super computer bag.

It was right next to the Global Headquarters of Starbucks. We had to stop.

It was a game day for the Mariners, so traffic was crazy. We loved the big sky that we don't usually get to see because of the mountains.

Pike's Market was just a short walk from our hotel and we enjoyed poking around.

We did find one wool shop, Tricoter, which was in full flurry for a yarn crawl. They had extra staff and everything on sale and it was well worth the extra drive. I bought two balls of Filatura Di Crossa Superior in slik and cashmere. Yum.

We failed to find any other wool shops and gave up after getting lost to revel in the cathedral that is Barnes and Noble. Wow! Great big store. Our big Chapters/Indigo bookstore is pushing us to on-line shopping which, although there are great deals to be had, is not so rewarding an experience as books on shelves.

Back home in time to enjoy the Victoria long weekend Monday. I pick up Emily from camp after lunch. We'll all be home for a nice BBQ tonight.

Hope your weekend was fun.