Puzzling...

I didn't get into jigsaw puzzling during COVID like many of my friends did. I certainly had a lot of time to kill but tended to sew, stitch, and knit.

I'm now quite obsessed with jigsaw puzzling and have done a few since I got back from vacation.

I bought this one in the fall with the intention of doing it after Christmas - since I wasn't going to be home for Christmas. I worked on it just before the New Year. It was lots of fun.

The pieces were nice and thick and snapped together very well. And lots of blocks of colour. After I was done with it, I gave it to the mother of a friend who likes 500 piece puzzles because they fit nicely on the table she uses.

I bought this 1000 piece Lego puzzle for $5 at Dollarama. I love puzzles like these where there are several little puzzle areas to solve. It, too, was very fun.

Right away, I did this one over two days. I wasn't all that fond of the knitting chaos but was able to sort several of the colour blocked areas first. Again, 1000 pieces.

This 506 piece puzzle was loaned to me (thank you, Barb!). I started it yesterday and finished it last night.

Where my guild meets is a recreation room at an apartment complex. There is a bookshelf full of puzzles so I donate the ones I no longer want and borrow any that look interesting. Truth be told, I prefer 500 piece puzzles as well. Mostly because I only use one end of my dining room table. I also prefer puzzles with blocks of colour.

While I do the puzzles I either listen to audiobooks or have a YouTube video on. 

I'm going to take a bit of a break from puzzling because I want to do some more stitching.

I finished Miss Hazel last night so she goes on my 'to be FFOd' pile. 

These Animal Crackers series patterns don't really take that long to stitch. I have Clovis the Badger my pattern stash. Is Clovis a female name? If not, he has a very cute apron and dress.

The one I want to start is Spring Rabbit Pillows by Tiny Modernist.

This should be a very quick stitch. I picked up the two DMC threads I was missing this afternoon. Now to pick the fabric. It calls for 14ct or 16ct (28ct or 32ct evenweave or linen) but I prefer 36ct or 40ct - mostly so I can get away with stitching with one strand over two. However, it would be really cute on 28ct evenweave over 1 with one strand. The result would be about 1.5" x 2.5" for the one on the left. Hmm... will have to think about it.

Another project that would be pretty quick is Autumn Quaker by Lindsey Weight. This was in our swag bag at the Simple Stitching 2024 Retreat sponsored by Pastime Pieces. 

I have a lovely, tonal floss - JK 07 Sleepy Cat by Cottage Garden Threads all ready to go on this. 

Again, fabric selection will be from my stash. The model was stitched on 28ct and was close to 5.75" square (Dontcha just love how I mix my Imperial dimensions with Metric?). Honeybee Quaker also appeals to me, 

Like a couple of my stitching friends, I just might have to start making these into little pillows and displaying them seasonally. The other seasons in this series are also very cute.

Jen1, Poppy, and I are getting all excited about our upcoming tour of Iceland on our way to our cruise up the western coast of Norway. Jen1 is knitting a Musselburgh hat and Poppy has started an Icelandic sweater, Ranga by Vedis Jonsdottir.

She's knitting it as a pullover and has picked a beautiful, golden yellow as the main colour with white as a contrast. It uses Alafoss (bulky) for the cuffs and collar and Lett-Lopi (Aran) for the body and sleeves. I have knit a few Icelandic sweaters and they knit up pretty quickly as the main parts are all stocking stitch. Ranga's sleeves are tubes with all the increases at the transition between the cuffs (with the bulky yarn) and the stocking stitch with the thinner yarn. I'm sure she'll be able to get it finished by the time we leave for our epic trip.

I plan to wear one of the sweaters I knit Skip, Riddari:

These sweaters are unisex and this one happens to fit me perfectly. Icelandic yarn is very lofty and makes for very warm garments. The sheep are dual coated with a strong, lustrous outer coat (Tog) that provides protection from wind, rain, and cold, and a soft undercoat (Thel) that keeps the sheep warm. The fibre is a spinner's dream. 

I found a little break in the yarn on the front of this sweater so have tracked down a remnant of the yarn to make a repair. It will be a very cozy addition to my travel wardrobe. And I'll feel like Skip is with me. 

I also knit this one for him, Afmaeli, a free pattern by the same designer, to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of Istex - the Icelandic yarn company. This one also fits me quite well.

Skip wore one or the other of these sweaters every day, all winter. He was always so appreciative of the things I'd make him.

I'm trying to decide what hats I'll take. I'll definitely take one of my Musselburgh hats for really cold

 weather due to the 4 layers of knitted fabric over the ears.

Then there are the other two I discussed in my previous post. Maybe I'll take all three.

I've just been made aware of an excellent retreat I could possibly attend next September. Must investigate...