Craft Crawl

I had fun on Thursday with my eldest sister, who is now retired. It was Craft Crawl Weekend, but we're both pretty busy, so we were glad they added a week day. Mom is still at the ranch and my friends had other plans. It's good to do things with family. I found a quilt I love at Hamels Fabrics, hello Karen??!!! I love the happy colours and the white space, like a picket fence. Next door is the Smitts Cheese farm, and I bought assorted gouda cubes.

Instead of yarn (no yarn shops on the crawl), I bought a yarn bowl. It is exquisite. Holly form Greendale Pottery made it in my favourite glaze. See how happy it is next to my little dishes of stitch markers? It's actually more luminescent in person. She does some beautiful crystal glazes, too.
We enjoyed the lunch at the Little Beetle Restaurant, and bought some hand made soaps at Rustic Soap Co. and candles at Chilliwack River Honey. I love real bees wax candles! So there was no Black Friday shopping needed. I think I have all the gifts bought, and only 4 small ones to knit. Next month will be busy with extra shifts, two concerts, a pageant and a weekend in Vancouver. Oh, and Christmas.

The rain held off, but you can see the snow line creeping down. We certainly are feeling the weather. It is cold and crisp, alternating with monsoons.

The amaryllises (what is the collective plural) are reaching toward the window. They get a quarter turn each day. Soon one will go on my dining table and one will go with me to Hospice to share the wonder. My dining table is covered with research books right now, when I don't push them aside to do some crafting for gifts and wrapping of birthday presents.
I finished knitting the little mittens and am entirely charmed by their size and colour. Tonight I hope to string them on the i-cord and get them ready to go up in the dining room (or on the mantle?) after the first of the month. They took all year to knit, but I will have them for many years. I may even turn them into an advent calendar as there are 24.

On a sadder note, I was asked on Sunday to make a prayer shawl for a friend of a friend, whom I worked with in the hospital years ago. No, I won't sell one, but I'll make you one. This is the delightful Balm to the Soul by Jaala Spiro. She had gifted me the pattern, and I had the yarn in the stash. It came together and was blocking on Wednesday when my friend called to tell me it was too late and her friend had already passed. We talked a while and I let her know right away that the shawl was now for her. I hope I have such good friends when it is my time.