April Showers

 We have a shower of Finished Objects (FO's). I stitched this bag for our choir director to thank her personally. We also take a collection for flower money, but I wanted to express my thanks. This was truly a catch up week, sandwiched between two busy work weeks.

 Here is the kippa. The pattern says it can be just a hat, or an object worn in observance of humility in a place of worship. You can't see how the malabrigo glows. I love this colour combination and would like to make a vest like it.

 But it may have been one of the most challenging knits I've ever done. Starting with i-cord and increasing in two colours over brioche stitch pattern. Whew! Now I want to make another because I have this skill. The pattern was influenced by the Pecan Pie Beret in knitty.com. I have almost crocheted a simple yarmulke to go with this gift because I don't know if our host wears a head-covering at his synagogue, and I don't know if he is very conservative, or likes a kick of colour.

 For his wife, our lovely hostess, who once knit for my babies, I have a linen Multnomah. I think it is the best use of this hand painted linen. Unfortunately, the last one-third of the skein was riddled with knots and some of them I missed. There was mending in the blocking stage. Still I'm pleased with it, and I hope she is too.

 This will take a while to soften, but it has lovely drape.

And not to forget my walking buddy and constant companion, her crocheted cushion cover is complete and it is not only soft, but will help hide the shedding hairs.
Already I have cast on the camel and silk Taize shawl that I will be knitting on our trip. The eighth nephew sweater has part of a sleeve, and the two unfinished shawls that somehow got put aside during the Christmas fuss have reared their heads and demanded some attention.
The light is bright enough to get back to the black Frost Flowers.
I hope to plant the front door pots and put the old daffodils and irises in the spring garden bed. There is weeding to do because the poor light and rain have been perfect for encouraging the dandilions and buttercups. Luckily we have lots of rhododendrons which are native to this area and don't mind the heavy rains. And I have been using my time to finish projects and hide from the rains.

Palliative Knitting

It has come to this. I joined a knit a long with friends who were excited about the interesting construction of this Dahlia Cardigan. I had the yarn already and wanted to knit with non-virtual friends. Right away there were problems with the gauge, steps, ripping out and forging ahead.
I really just wanted it finished so I could get along with other projects.
I put it on my 12 in 2012 list to make me work on it.
Can you hear where this is going.
Yesterday, taking it out again after a period of neglect I looked for the unused skeins of yarn. Three? I still needed to do one front and two sleeves. That can't be right. I had ten!
 I called my friend, J, to talk me off the ledge.
Did you look in your other knitting bags? Is it in the hidden stash inside the footstool? Was it left behind. Can you tell she has experience as a mom?
 How much does it weigh now? 320g. From a total of 500. Oh no.
There's the truth. I don't even have enough wool to finish it.
Thanks to Three Bags Full for responding to my PM. I didn't think you'd have more. Mission Falls is a late wool producer.
This is a late sweater.
I can no longer linger in the state of denial. I have moved through anger and am rapidly approaching the state of acceptance that this sweater will either be frogged or be the death of me.
Still, J's wisdom is to wait 24 hours.
Sigh. It pains me that I liked it so little, that I have to let go of my poor choices and decision making skills.
Oh well, look at the pretty mittens.

Serving

When the thimble berries bloom, the hummingbirds aren't far behind. We have a huge bank of these humble flowers across the river in our back yard. I hope to put out some fucshia plants this year to encourage them. We have trouble keeping up with the sugar water feeders but want them to feel welcome.

I have been working a lot this last week and a half. I love the people I work with and I love being there for my patients and their families. But it has knocked my schedule off a bit.
I missed a bass guitar lesson when I had to stay late, and I don't know when I can make it up.
(When Emily started Highland Dance classes she was 4 years old. The teacher was sick and scheduled a make up class. Em started to cry when she found it wasn't a class in putting on make up but just more  dancing.)

University classes are over and exams begun. Maybe Scott will come home next week. That may mean taking a day trip across the ferry to Victoria. I had planned a visit with an old friend, but she'd probably like to come along.

Today I have an interesting workshop on Children and Grieving. It is mostly for the Hospice volunteers, I think, but I was invited and look forward to this good speaker. I did an inservice in Nursing School on how children envision death.

But I need to squeeze in more visits to friends who are unwell or in hospital getting better. I think I'll go this evening instead of to choir because I may not make it to church. I wish I had time to bake. Fresh fruit is going to have to suffice.

I took a knit shawl to a dear old friend who has moved to a higher level of care. She was so gracious and lovely, but didn't remember me. I was pleased she remembered her grandchildren whom I taught Sunday School years ago.

If I think my friends and family are more important than "things", then this is the way my life will look. You are welcome to come over and share a cup of tea, but don't mind the messy floors.

Walk With Me

 This is my neighbourhood. Come take a walk with me. I like to take the 4 mile block that runs past the farmland, down to the high school and along the newer homes.
The plum blossoms are covering the trees like new snow.

 Mt. Cheam (She-AM) is the beautiful 6,000 foot dormant volcano that looks over us from the east.

 The raspberries are getting ready to delight us.

 I love me some magnolias. I'm looking forward to adding a star magnolia this year, but I'm not sure where in the back garden.

 Grape hyacinths go crazy around here. There were a few in the "shed bed" when I moved here and they have taken over.

 Late primulas. The rain has held off a bit this year so they didn't turn to mush.

 And back to our driveway.

 This is the best year yet for the Snow Lady Azaleas.

And that's my neighbourhood.

A New Neighborhood

 We joined South Wood United Church in Calgary (18 adults and teens) for a 4 day build of a boy's dorm at one of the Project Help Mexico Lunch Rooms turned foster home. The slab was poured and we had the walls up in the first half hour.

 At the end of the day the roof and the walls were on and we were tired. Dinner was at Renee's Taco Stand. Carlton takes all his groups there, so they even made him act as waiter.

 Friday some of us were chosen to do a second build that had funding and materials, but no volunteers. It was just like day one, but much faster.

 The roof was up before lunch. We even dry walled it and painted the outside. This house was completed in one day. There was a Good Friday procession on the streets below with people taking turns carrying the cross. It was still bright and celebratory.

 It's donated paint, don't blame us. Everything there was loud: the music, the colours, the tastes. It was invigorating and exhausting.

 After building all day, we took bags of rice, beans and soup to the highest homes on the terraces where Pastor Juan has a community centre. There were lots of dogs on roofs (they go, "roof, roof") and small children behind fences. There are no streets this far up. At one time, these families lived in the middle of Tijuana. One day a bulldozer came and destroyed their homes. 300 families were dropped off on the eastern outskirts. Carlton was there, 30 years ago, and started Project Help Mexico to build houses for those who have nothing.

 I enjoyed teaching origami (with my very limited Spanish) and getting the kids to decorate crosses for Easter. It was a bit hard not hiding eggs for my own kids in our burgeoning garden, but I brought little chenille chicks that kept popping up all day. What does a Mexican chicken say? "Kiky, riky".

 Here are the bunk beds our own men made and some of the blankets I helped find in the market. Everything is stretched to the limit. There is no extra food, clothing, shelter. They learn to share and look after one another. It is a joy to see the children looking after one another. Two little girls were my special friends. They liked my clapping games and drawing in the dirt. They laughed when I said, "no entiendo", and helped me learn new words.

 We had 2 pinatas! There is a song they sing while the blindfolded one swings with a broom handle. It was all very organized chaos, like driving on dirt roads and picking up a game of soccer.

On our last day, after handing over the keys and saying a blessing, we went to Rosarita, a resort area and tried to feel normal. It was an amazing sea of humanity enjoying the Easter holiday and the warm beach air. I found it difficult to be away from the team, but D and I poked around in the market, walked on the beach and joined them for a buffet dinner (same food, different setting).
You know when you say you'll keep in touch, but don't? It hasn't been like that. We're sharing photos and facebook updates. D and I hope to return to Terrases de Valle in a year or two with the same team. I have ideas for crafts and games, gifts for the wonderful women who look after the foster children (and cook for us) and a new knitting scheme for the new year.
When we are done with the scarves for our local Salvation Army Christmas Eve dinner, I want to organize knitting each of the 16 children a sweater. I know what this one's favourite colour is, and what his favourite team is. It gets surprisingly cold in the evenings now, the winter would be very chilly.
I was delighted to be able to give a Travelling Woman shawl to our lovely finance person who put it on right away and made all the right noises of approval.
We received as many blessings as we bestowed. We met some of our Mexican neighbours, and we forged a new and enjoyable group of friends.

Travel With Friends

This was my first "weekend with the girls". My friends have had long standing annual trips with others and we decided it was time to set one up for us. There was shared driving, which meant a mix of seat mates in the front or middle seats of the old van. There was a ferry ride (knitting in public) and home made soups and lunches out and lots of knitting.

 After lunch on Saturday we drove to Tofino, about 25 minutes, to poke around. Right away we found a delightful wool shop next to a jeweller who gave bonus chocolate. A little coffee and the circle would be complete!

 Felted orcas and bears, oh my!  If you're thinking of doing the BC trip, it would be incomplete without Tofino. We drove past the Clayoquat Sound rainforest on windy roads that, surprisingly, had bits of the sea out of both sides of the road.

 On Sunday we had brunch at Black Rock Resort. This has to be one of the most beautiful places I've ever been!

 Our resort was on the quiet side of the peninsula and we had better weather (most of the time) than they had at home. I elected to go for a walk instead of a spa facial or massage (I'm getting over my hesitation slowly, but would rather start with our local Powder Room).

 The view from Long Beach was, as always, spectacular. But the rain was pretty medieval and I was the only one who would get out of the car. I could have had a long walk and then gone back for a tub bath and knit by the fire. I did get the knit by the fire.

 Did these logs know the devastation of the Japanese events of last year? A fishing boat has been spotted higher up on the coast. It reminds me to knit the mitered cross blanket. I thought I could raffle it, too for the Red Cross, or similar cause.

 I spied a very cold and wind blown heron on my walk. Turned around as it started to rain, so there is still much to explore in this area.

And we were lucky enough to celebrate a birthday with the very best Victoria Sponge cake.
Hope to venture out again next year, to repeat the best parts, discover new delights, and to delight in the company of knitters.

Fiesta

 D and I hosted a Fiesta lunch to fund raise for our Mission Trip to Mexico with Project Help Mexico. We are leaving the Wednesday before Easter for the whole weekend and meeting up with some Calgary friends to build a dormitory onto a foster home that D helped build last year. Our high school sent a team for many years, but with the job action/strike it is not possible.
We planned for 75 guests for right after church.

 I made a six times batch of corn bread to go with D's famous vegetarian chilli. Also a 5 times batch of brownies and carrot and celery sticks.

Saturday, after work, we set up the hall and had a bit of fiesta doing that. There were about 60 people and we surpassed our fundraising goals. We are blessed to have the support of our church. Maybe next time we can get a real team to come out.
This weekend I go to Ucluelet, near Tofino with three knitters for my first ladies' weekend. We are taking some of the chili.
I will be knitting on the Dahlia. The right front is done and I have picked up for the left. But I had to knit my Knit Girllls Afghan Square for the swap (it's blocking) and cast on the Kippah.
I started the Kippah last week, but couldn't manage the brioche increases in two colours in the round on night shift brain. I couldn't keep track of what row I was on and couldn't tink back in the brioche. It went better this morning.
So floors are clean, laundry done, dog walked. I'm off to town to copy letters for our Green Heart Warm Heart scarf initiative and continue my to do list fiesta.

It Only Takes One

I worked last night because we had a staffing problem. My first night shift in 8 months. Luckily the nurse I was working with was patient enough to help me with all the charts and medication checks for the morning. When I come on a day shift, the medication schedule sheets and the medications are ready for me and I can trust that they have been checked against the doctor's orders. It makes things go much more smoothly. I have never done that at this hospice. It took me till 0330! The other nurse was done tickety boo, but if I'm signing my name, I need to know it was properly checked and it took me forever to find the info.
Then I slept. The first day of spring and I slept through sleet and wind and darkness. There was about an hour of sunshine that I enjoyed when I woke up around 1 pm. Then it was dark again.
But the promise of spring is lurking in the garden. We can hear the small birds and smell the wet grass.
And my magnolia tree has a bloom.
It only takes one bloom to bring hope to a new season.

Fibres West

What a great time we had this morning in Abbotsford at Fibres West. I have gone for 5 years now, I think. I love to see it grow and change. This year there was a real shift to fibre and spinning. You could easily walk out with a Sidekick Wheel, but I'm not ready yet. Caroline Sommerfeld was there and I really think she is the most amazing spinning teacher, and her booth was filled with gorgeous colours from her Ancient Arts Fibre Crafts. She is leading the vanguard on supported spindles and has a beautiful scholarly publication on the technique and history of supported spindles.

We started at sweet georgia, looking forward to her moving sale. She is just as sweet and her colours are just as vibrant, but the sale was a bit thin. Still, I bought this teal for a swap.

Couldn't leave this superwash chunky. Probably will be a hat for D.

And this is a poor representation of trinity lace in glacier. It is really a deeper turquoise. There is enough to make a featherweight or something like it. My last attempt ended up in frogging a camo jacket. This is a rich, almost solid.

Knitopia is a special shop that is now back in White Rock. Lynne was there and helped me choose this grey-green shiny silk and merino worsted. I would love to make it into Sivia Harding's Harmonias Ring sweater. I fell for it hard. Not my usual colour, but complements my bright aquas.

The real treat was Valley Yarns! I remember meeting Julie at the first Fibres West that I attended. She floored me with her careful selection and soon after I was ordering Noro and other special yarns in the colours and amounts that I really wanted. Her customer service is awesome and delivery was quick. Great yarns aren't as far away as I sometimes feel.
Last year I bought some Shi Bui from her (which I haven't knit up yet). Again, we hit her booth last and had spent a few sheckles. Still, the selection of Hand Maiden and Malabrigo and Madeline Tosh was beyond any store I've ever been in. Next year we must go there first. Her prices are more than fair and I couldn't walk away without some yarn to mop up my drools. The Casbah actually reads more as a black. I'm going to crochet a yarmulka for a hostess gift this summer.

I needed help choosing these two malabrigos. My pattern calls for Noro Silk Garden, but these are truly gorgeous and still pretty manly for a kippa hat. When I got home, I saw this was the same Rios that I used for the trim on my brown Moody Kerchief. I must really have an affinity for this colour. Well done, Valley Yarns!
One of the great things was bumping into other knitters who should be strangers but become instant friends- thanks for saying hi from North Van! We fondled and marvelled at one another's choices and went through the choices of patterns for the new stash and what yarn and patterns went into the shawls we were wearing. Such a friendly tribe. Even when it was busy and crowded, we were laughing and chatting and agreeing that knitters are great people!

A Cup of Comfort

I went to work this morning. It was a bit of a stretch with my cold, but I don't think I'm shedding virus anymore and I get to rest tomorrow. I'm in that transition time after my shower, before the troops come home to be fed and watered. Thank goodness I have my cup of tea.

Last night I picked up the Dahlia. I had ripped her back because I had some terrible "rowing out". I don't know if my  purl back was tight or loose, but I had been worried about my gauge, and I tried to manipulate it. Many bloggers have written about changing needles, or even yarn before you try to "knit differently". They're all correct. I now know I'm knitting the right size, so just knit to the 13 inch mark and make nice fabric. In music, I had an instructor who once said "piano" (play softly) means make a beautiful sound. Too often, especially in flute, you get a strangled whisper. Blow as quietly as possible while still getting a lovely sound. Sound advice.

I'm doing a 12 projects in 2012 in the Knit Bits Forum on Ravelry.com and it's challenging my priority setting process. Apparently I have a short attention span and a very long queue. But I think it's a good idea to remember what was important to keep in mind what was important at the beginning of the year. 

So Dahlia gets knit on before I start another sweater, or even pick up my true UFO (unfinished object), my Philosopher's Wool fair isle sweater. I drove in a rain storm to a sewing fair to get this kit. It was important enough to save up for and even to make the sleeves. But I have angst about sizing and have been paralyzed. Now I have my Cassidy sweater that fits so well (except it's 2-3 inches short) to measure against. That will give me courage.

What I really need is courage and comfort. It's raining right now and I just want to disappear in a SciFi show and knit. But I have music to practice and dinner to heat up (made a roast yesterday for that purpose). I am proud that I was able to do my work today, but I was a bit behind and now I'm done in. Tonight is a quiet night in with D and Dahlia.

Coming Around

 On Wednesday I was feeling so poorly that I couldn't knit on the lace Qiviuk scarf, despite the great set up of rows on cards. So I picked up the dog cushion cover that I'm knitting out of Lion Brand Homespun. I heard Miss Kalendar of Brass Needles podcast say that she liked this yarn in crochet and that was all it took. As a moderate yarn snob, I am not drawn to acrylics, but only the best (machine wash) for my doggie. Her pillow is green and doesn't go in our home, especially since I had the big chair recovered. It looks like two skeins are enough for each side. One side is black and the other charcoal- sneaky camouflage for the buckets of black dog hair that make up our "dust puppies".
This is based on a hexagon crochet pattern, and I can see how the lovely afghan squares can be addictive.

 One of my 12 in 2012 projects is a mitten banner for Christmas. But I was already behind my 2 mittens a month. I adapted a small pattern that I felt was way too small. But my first one was even too small for my image of hanging 24 on a cord in the dining room. I did bring up my leftover red and ivory sock yarns and place them in a basket with the pattern and needles (step one). But beginning time is an investment and you have to be prepared to fail a bit. This is a bitty fail, but will stay in the set.

 The second one is the right size and I made lots of notes. I will post them after I check them with a third and fourth (and 24th) mitten. Yay for starting.

 I also picked up the Knit A Long (KAL) Mittens For Me from Laura Linneman (Lala) of the Knit Girllls video podcast. I put the stranding on the inside because it just wasn't working for me. I made the smaller size but got a bigger mitten because this electrictree yarn is very squooshy. The second thumb increases are done and I'm working on the hand, but now it's hurting my hand, so I'll probably crochet a bit today. I was down to the last 6 inches on the halved ball of green yarn. Now I get to fuss that I won't have enough for the thumb. I'll do colour work if I must. These will probably become a Christmas present, so if they're for you, act surprised.

And I did finish the Qiviuk (15% qiviuk, 80%merino, 5% mulberry silk) Seafoam scarf. It is lofty and drapey and I'm so glad I chose the pie crust edging. This definitely matches the image I had in my mind. Plus it's ready in time for St. Patrick's Day. My family has Irish roots and I gave my last green scarf to the cowboy sister when she took my daughter for spring break a few years ago (Malabrigo don't you know).
I'm really sorry to miss choir practices and being with my friends.
So I'm coming around to almost healthy enough to go to work on Wednesday, and I'm knitting and crocheting around and around.